Before and After: Family Home Refreshed for a New Lifestyle
A couple turn to a trusted designer to update their home for their changing needs and a future resale
Several factors influenced the renovation of this 24-year-old home outside Atlanta. First, interior designer Laura Freeman had renovated the homeowners’ master bathroom a few years earlier, and they were ready for the rest of the house to be as pretty and updated as that bathroom. Second, their needs had changed. Two of their three children had finished college and the family no longer used its shared spaces in the same way. Finally, with their nest almost empty, the couple decided this would not be their forever home. They planned on moving in about five years and wanted to remodel accordingly.
After: The kitchen is a great example of how Freeman struck a balance between making the space work for the couple and making it work for resale down the road. The designer knew where to invest money and where to save. “The flow in this kitchen worked really well,” she says. “We didn’t need to do a full remodel.”
With new paint, lighting and refaced cabinetry, the room went from dark cocoon to light and airy. A big decision was whether to replace or reface the cabinets. “We really had to ask how deeply we were going to renovate when they knew they’d be leaving in five years,” Freeman says.
She found a cabinet refacing company, Detail Design & Remodeling, on Houzz. Refacing meant that rather than replacing all of the cabinets, they kept the cabinet boxes and replaced the doors and drawer fronts. In some cases, they replaced lower cabinet doors with more desirable and efficient drawers.
Wall paint: Nuance, Sherwin-Williams; trim paint (throughout the house): Dropcloth, Farrow & Ball
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With new paint, lighting and refaced cabinetry, the room went from dark cocoon to light and airy. A big decision was whether to replace or reface the cabinets. “We really had to ask how deeply we were going to renovate when they knew they’d be leaving in five years,” Freeman says.
She found a cabinet refacing company, Detail Design & Remodeling, on Houzz. Refacing meant that rather than replacing all of the cabinets, they kept the cabinet boxes and replaced the doors and drawer fronts. In some cases, they replaced lower cabinet doors with more desirable and efficient drawers.
Wall paint: Nuance, Sherwin-Williams; trim paint (throughout the house): Dropcloth, Farrow & Ball
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Before: The backsplash and countertops darkened the room. The island had a dated bar-height breakfast bar. Also, the family didn’t eat at the kitchen table like it used to when all five of them lived here. “They told me that now it always had a sewing machine or a school project on it instead,” Freeman says. Part of the renovation included a new craft room and a larger bedroom for the teenage son, so they could put the kitchen eat-in area to better use.
After: Freeman matched the trim and cabinet color to the existing mullions on the windows, which the clients had recently replaced. “There was no way to change those, so we just worked with them,” she says. She chose a light-colored backsplash and countertop to brighten the space.
In comparing this photo with the before shot, note how doors were swapped for more efficient drawers on the lower cabinets. And now the upper cabinets extend all the way to the ceiling. The cabinet refacing professionals accomplished all of this. After removing the original upper doors, they added foot-high cabinet boxes on top of the original boxes. Then they installed new doors that cover the new boxes.
Freeman prioritizes wellness in her work. Extending the upper cabinets to the ceiling prevents dust and allergens from collecting in the space above the upper cabinets. She also warns of the dust and allergens that accumulate on artificial plants. “Unless someone is going to constantly dust those fake leaves, get rid of them,” she says.
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In comparing this photo with the before shot, note how doors were swapped for more efficient drawers on the lower cabinets. And now the upper cabinets extend all the way to the ceiling. The cabinet refacing professionals accomplished all of this. After removing the original upper doors, they added foot-high cabinet boxes on top of the original boxes. Then they installed new doors that cover the new boxes.
Freeman prioritizes wellness in her work. Extending the upper cabinets to the ceiling prevents dust and allergens from collecting in the space above the upper cabinets. She also warns of the dust and allergens that accumulate on artificial plants. “Unless someone is going to constantly dust those fake leaves, get rid of them,” she says.
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Freeman removed the breakfast bar portion of the island and replaced the pendant lights. “They have this beautiful view of the backyard but the pendant lights blocked it,” she says.
The designer also prioritizes sustainability in her work. She believes in reusing and repurposing as much as possible. The homeowners had recently purchased a new dishwasher and refrigerator, so there was no need to replace those. “By working with what we had and refacing rather than replacing the cabinets, we saved them at least $35,000 over a full kitchen remodel,” Freeman says. Keeping the cabinet boxes also meant they didn’t end up in a landfill.
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The designer also prioritizes sustainability in her work. She believes in reusing and repurposing as much as possible. The homeowners had recently purchased a new dishwasher and refrigerator, so there was no need to replace those. “By working with what we had and refacing rather than replacing the cabinets, we saved them at least $35,000 over a full kitchen remodel,” Freeman says. Keeping the cabinet boxes also meant they didn’t end up in a landfill.
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Behind the counter, a new sitting area replaced the kitchen table. “Now that the kids have grown up, a sitting room was a better use of this light-filled space,” Freeman says.
A new light, rug and window treatments continued the airy feel. “They had a lot of heavy window treatments throughout the house, and they didn’t really need them because their house is quite private,” Freeman says. “Removing them and replacing them with light-colored drapes and solar shades helped brighten things up.”
A new light, rug and window treatments continued the airy feel. “They had a lot of heavy window treatments throughout the house, and they didn’t really need them because their house is quite private,” Freeman says. “Removing them and replacing them with light-colored drapes and solar shades helped brighten things up.”
Before: The family room was also dark. Other problems included a bad flow due to two sofas that were too large for the space, a TV over the fireplace that wasn’t ergonomic and the wrong type of lighting.
After: Freeman lightened up the fireplace surround, built-ins and walls with paint. Because there were only three of them at home full time now, and because they had a big-screen TV in a lower-level man cave space, an L-shaped sectional sufficed. The designer moved the TV to the wall on the right. “This room wasn’t deep enough for the TV over the fireplace to be ergonomic,” she says. Now a mirror makes the fireplace a pretty focal point.
She also improved the lighting without changing the amount much. “So many times people just have the wrong bulbs or their lights are oriented in the wrong direction,” she says. Here she swapped 3,000 Kelvin LED bulbs for 2,700 Kelvin bulbs. She replaced the torchiere, which provided only uplighting, with a table lamp on the left and floor lamp (just out of frame on the right).
Wall color: Nuance; fireplace surround color: Alabaster, both Sherwin-Williams
She also improved the lighting without changing the amount much. “So many times people just have the wrong bulbs or their lights are oriented in the wrong direction,” she says. Here she swapped 3,000 Kelvin LED bulbs for 2,700 Kelvin bulbs. She replaced the torchiere, which provided only uplighting, with a table lamp on the left and floor lamp (just out of frame on the right).
Wall color: Nuance; fireplace surround color: Alabaster, both Sherwin-Williams
Before: The way the family used the sunroom had also changed. “The five of them used to play games in here a lot at night. But now that there are only three of them and their son is older, they don’t,” Freeman says. The goals were to create a more pleasing layout with less bulky furniture and provide spaces to read and a work area for the wife.
After: The sunroom is now a bright and relaxing reading room. The existing sofa didn’t fit in the house anywhere, so they donated it to charity. “But I’m very big on repurposing, and the sofas from the family room were in great condition,” Freeman says. She repurposed this one using white upholstery. She grabbed the woven chair from an old outdoor furniture set the homeowners had and repainted it. A circular coffee table creates an easier flow around it than their oversize rectangular coffee table did.
One of the most important changes was creating a workspace for the wife to keep the household organized and to work at her computer. Her desk is out of the way at the end of the room, with a nice view of the backyard.
Wall color: Wimborne White, Farrow & Ball
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One of the most important changes was creating a workspace for the wife to keep the household organized and to work at her computer. Her desk is out of the way at the end of the room, with a nice view of the backyard.
Wall color: Wimborne White, Farrow & Ball
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After: Freeman used a serene neutral palette for the walls, draperies and bedding. She kept the couple’s dresser and nightstands and replaced the bed, bedding and window treatments. The new bed’s upholstery is a light oatmeal color. She also helped the couple find some artwork that meant something to them.
“They weren’t really collectors and didn’t know what kind of art they’d like here, so I showed them different media like watercolors and sketches,” Freeman says. She determined that they liked sketches and talked to them about their love of New York City, where they had met. The couple hired an artist to create two pieces — one of the restaurant where they’d met and one of the Empire State Building, where they had gotten engaged. The original works flank their bed.
Wall color: Hardwick White, Farrow & Ball; ceiling color: Natural Choice, Sherwin-Williams
“They weren’t really collectors and didn’t know what kind of art they’d like here, so I showed them different media like watercolors and sketches,” Freeman says. She determined that they liked sketches and talked to them about their love of New York City, where they had met. The couple hired an artist to create two pieces — one of the restaurant where they’d met and one of the Empire State Building, where they had gotten engaged. The original works flank their bed.
Wall color: Hardwick White, Farrow & Ball; ceiling color: Natural Choice, Sherwin-Williams
After: The son’s bedroom is a bonus suite over the garage. “Adding a ceiling fan was very important because the HVAC system didn’t work so well up here,” Freeman says.
Tip: Finding a ceiling fan that truly moves the air is key. “There are a lot of good-looking fans out there that don’t actually move air. I like to make sure it is rated at least 5,500 CFM [cubic feet per minute] to make sure it’s effective,” Freeman says.
“Teenagers do everything in their rooms — study, play video games, eat snacks and sleep,” she says. She created a video gaming corner with a low console, an area rug and two comfy beanbag chairs. A cabinet at the end of the son’s bed holds snacks. She placed a desk on the other side of the room. As for style, he loved Jeeps and soccer, so the designer helped him find art related to both things for his headboard wall.
Wall color: Brewster Gray, Benjamin Moore
Tip: Finding a ceiling fan that truly moves the air is key. “There are a lot of good-looking fans out there that don’t actually move air. I like to make sure it is rated at least 5,500 CFM [cubic feet per minute] to make sure it’s effective,” Freeman says.
“Teenagers do everything in their rooms — study, play video games, eat snacks and sleep,” she says. She created a video gaming corner with a low console, an area rug and two comfy beanbag chairs. A cabinet at the end of the son’s bed holds snacks. She placed a desk on the other side of the room. As for style, he loved Jeeps and soccer, so the designer helped him find art related to both things for his headboard wall.
Wall color: Brewster Gray, Benjamin Moore
Before: The son’s bathroom was past its prime. “This house was 24 years old, which meant its bathroom fan was also 24 years old,” Freeman says. “This meant it was ineffective and wasn’t extracting allergens and moisture like it should.” She notes that replacing bathroom fans is one of the most important and impactful ways to improve indoor air quality. “Even a slight amount of mold will result in bad indoor air quality,” she says.
After: This was a down-to-the-studs remodel. Freeman replaced the tub-shower with a roomier shower stall.
A glass shower enclosure, an open vanity and light-colored tile and paint make the compact bathroom feel larger than it is. The designer had to get clever when finding lighting that would work on the angled ceiling, choosing pendants to hang down on either side of the mirror. “The frosted glass shades offer softer illumination when looking in the mirror. This is good — because of the angled ceiling I had to hang them a little closer to the face than usual,” she says.
She also installed a new fan with a light that can be controlled on a separate switch.
A glass shower enclosure, an open vanity and light-colored tile and paint make the compact bathroom feel larger than it is. The designer had to get clever when finding lighting that would work on the angled ceiling, choosing pendants to hang down on either side of the mirror. “The frosted glass shades offer softer illumination when looking in the mirror. This is good — because of the angled ceiling I had to hang them a little closer to the face than usual,” she says.
She also installed a new fan with a light that can be controlled on a separate switch.
Before: This lower-level suite includes a sitting room, bedroom and full bathroom. It was dark and full of leftover furniture.
Though both daughters were done with college, each has had medical training sessions since graduation that have brought them home for extended stays. Their parents wanted Freeman to transform the suite into a space with the feel of a separate apartment for any of their kids to live in during such stays.
Though both daughters were done with college, each has had medical training sessions since graduation that have brought them home for extended stays. Their parents wanted Freeman to transform the suite into a space with the feel of a separate apartment for any of their kids to live in during such stays.
After: The suite includes a common area, seen here, a bedroom and a bathroom. The common area needed a game table, a comfy TV-watching spot and a study area. Freeman painted the walls and trim light gray, repurposed the second family room sofa and added poufs and fun throw pillows.
The study area is at the back right. The table in the window bay is for playing cards and having a cocktail with friends after work.
Wall color: Agreeable Gray, Sherwin-Williams
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The study area is at the back right. The table in the window bay is for playing cards and having a cocktail with friends after work.
Wall color: Agreeable Gray, Sherwin-Williams
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their teenage son. Their two adult daughters come home for extended stays.
Location: Atlanta
Size: 3,381 square feet (314 square meters); four bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Designer: Laura Freeman of Merits Design Group
Before: “They already had an open floor plan, but the kitchen was dark and dated,” Freeman says. “It had a lot of faux painting that was popular in the late ’90s, like glazed paint on the cabinets.” However, the home’s layout had a great flow, and the homeowners had kept up with maintenance. Recently they’d had the windows replaced, the floors refinished and new kitchen appliances installed. So the scope of the project was mostly cosmetic rather than down-to-the-studs remodeling.
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