Projects

How to read a project

What these rooms have in common

None of these houses asked to become a showroom. The hex-tile kitchen still has a window over the sink because that is where the cook wanted to stand. The checkerboard bath kept its compact footprint and gained a place for towels. The porch house did not lose its shingles; it gained rails that feel steady and paint that matches the light on the lawn.

When you look through the gallery, notice the unglamorous decisions: a floor color dark enough for a hallway, a sheen you can wipe, an island that leaves a path, a terrace screened from the neighboring roof. Those choices are the work. The photographs are only the last afternoon.

A kitchen that stayed a kitchen

On the hex-tile project, demolition stopped at the wall that held the morning light. Cabinets were rebuilt with glass where dishes are used daily and solid doors where the mixer lives. The island top is stone because the household bakes on weekends and did not want a finish that feared a hot sheet pan. Electrical moved before the backsplash, so the outlets sit inside the tile layout instead of interrupting it.

A bath planned for steam

The checkerboard bath had a pretty floor and a failing fan. We replaced the ventilation, rebuilt the wet wall, and kept the black-and-white floor because it hides the grit that arrives with garden shoes. The pedestal sink stayed in spirit, with a taller storage cabinet to the side so the counter does not collect bottles.

An exterior that still looks like itself

The shingle house needed porch carpentry more than a new identity. Soft boards came out. Sound rails were repaired and painted. Planting was pulled back from the lattice so the base of the house can dry. From the street it reads as the same house, only looked after.