Reader Kitchen: A Stunt Driver’s Race Car-Inspired Remodel
Her kitchen color scheme pays homage to Steve McQueen’s classic auto-racing flick
This series profiles kitchen remodels shared by homeowners on Houzz.
Professional stunt car driver Sera Trimble had a strong idea of what she wanted for her Los Angeles remodel: a kitchen that would channel the colors and racing details from the 1971 auto-racing film Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen.
Professional stunt car driver Sera Trimble had a strong idea of what she wanted for her Los Angeles remodel: a kitchen that would channel the colors and racing details from the 1971 auto-racing film Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen.
Photo by Simon Davison
In the 1960s, Ford entered the high-stakes world of European car racing in an attempt to beat the Ferrari. The first American car — a Ford GT40 — to win the grueling 24-hour Le Mans bore the orange Gulf livery. Later, a Porsche 917 bearing the same Gulf colors, similar to the car in this photo, won the Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. McQueen’s movie came shortly after. For Trimble, the film turned the car into an icon.
In the 1960s, Ford entered the high-stakes world of European car racing in an attempt to beat the Ferrari. The first American car — a Ford GT40 — to win the grueling 24-hour Le Mans bore the orange Gulf livery. Later, a Porsche 917 bearing the same Gulf colors, similar to the car in this photo, won the Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. McQueen’s movie came shortly after. For Trimble, the film turned the car into an icon.
Kitchen photos by Sera Trimble
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Sera Trimble
Location: Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: 132 square feet (12.3 square meters)
Cost: About $34,300, not including floor and backsplash tile
Construction time: Three weeks
Style muse: “In the 1971 movie Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen, he races a Porsche 917 with the number 20 on it,” Trimble says. “That car is the inspiration and the reason the kitchen has orange appliances in that stripe color with the opposing powder blue wall.”
These photos show a storage bench Trimble had created to the left of the dishwasher. “[T]he area before was sort of a dead space with unusable storage in the corner, which tapered due to the window placement,” she says. She had custom cushions made with racing stripes, and the “20” appliquéd on top.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Sera Trimble
Location: Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: 132 square feet (12.3 square meters)
Cost: About $34,300, not including floor and backsplash tile
Construction time: Three weeks
Style muse: “In the 1971 movie Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen, he races a Porsche 917 with the number 20 on it,” Trimble says. “That car is the inspiration and the reason the kitchen has orange appliances in that stripe color with the opposing powder blue wall.”
These photos show a storage bench Trimble had created to the left of the dishwasher. “[T]he area before was sort of a dead space with unusable storage in the corner, which tapered due to the window placement,” she says. She had custom cushions made with racing stripes, and the “20” appliquéd on top.
She chose a simple white backsplash tile and white Caesarstone countertop, allowing the orange and blue to stand out. The Big Chill appliances were costly, Trimble says, but they brought character to the white and wood space, and they’re what everyone comments on when they see the kitchen for the first time.
The floor is ceramic tile designed to imitate aged wood.
The floor is ceramic tile designed to imitate aged wood.
BEFORE: When Trimble bought her house, the kitchen was what she describes as “very ‘country bumpkin’ feeling.” After she moved in, she painted the walls above the brown granite countertops orange. “And it didn’t go with the brown AT ALL,” Trimble wrote in an email. She lived with it for a year before she embarked on a kitchen remodel.
AFTER: The contractor put in new custom lower cabinets and flooring. To open up the kitchen, Trimble had the peninsula separating the kitchen and living area replaced with a breakfast bar with a storage compartment beneath.
Trimble had her contractor install four new can lights, as well as a Sputnik-style chandelier she bought on Etsy. “With the appliances feeling older, midcentury modern-shaped, I opted for a Sputnik lamp in the center,” Trimble says.
Trimble had her contractor install four new can lights, as well as a Sputnik-style chandelier she bought on Etsy. “With the appliances feeling older, midcentury modern-shaped, I opted for a Sputnik lamp in the center,” Trimble says.
Here’s a better look at the breakfast bar. The reclaimed wood beneath covers a storage cabinet. This photo shows how removing the peninsula opened the kitchen to the adjacent living room.
Trimble has a tiny model of McQueen’s car from Le Mans displayed near her new storage bench. Though her work and travel schedule prevents her from cooking most nights, her new kitchen is a wonderful place to entertain. “It’s amazing how many people want to stand in the kitchen to socialize,” she says. “I think people prefer the kitchen and bench to any of the couch or chair options.”
Trimble worked with Ram Moskowitz of New Look Home Remodeling to execute her vision. He encouraged her to make her decisions on flooring, backsplash tile, sink, faucet and appliances well in advance, as the suppliers would need long lead times.
The construction moved smoothly. On day one, the workers removed the flooring and lower cabinets. The next day they leveled the kitchen floor to match the wood floor in the adjacent living room. (The kitchen tile had been higher than the living room floor by about three-quarters of an inch.) On day three, the workers installed the tile. Next came the custom lower cabinets and corner bench, followed by recessed lights, countertops and sink and backsplash tile. The construction work took under three weeks. Waiting for the appliances to come in took about three more weeks.
Lessons learned: Although her remodel wasn’t the cheapest, “it was perfectly executed and accomplished quickly,” Trimble says. It was important to her that she not live in a construction zone for months. “Although monetarily it probably could have cost less,” she says, “the amount of sanity I saved by having it all done quite immediately was worth it.”
Sink: stainless steel 30-inch undermount sink, Vigo; faucet: Axor, Hansgrohe
Lessons learned: Although her remodel wasn’t the cheapest, “it was perfectly executed and accomplished quickly,” Trimble says. It was important to her that she not live in a construction zone for months. “Although monetarily it probably could have cost less,” she says, “the amount of sanity I saved by having it all done quite immediately was worth it.”
Sink: stainless steel 30-inch undermount sink, Vigo; faucet: Axor, Hansgrohe
Trimble inside her home.
Walls moved: No
Plumbing moved: No
Plumbing replaced: No
Professionals hired: New Look Home Remodeling in Woodland Hills, California
Special features: Undercounter storage, custom bench seat
Splurges: Big Chill appliances
Costs
Appliances: $12,700, including $3,500 for refrigerator, $6,000 for oven, $600 for oven hood, $2,000 for dishwasher and $600 for microwave
Sink: $700, including $350 for undermount sink, $350 for faucet
Lighting: $500 for a custom Sputnik chandelier from an Etsy business
Accessories and decor: $400 for custom bench seat cushions, including $100 for materials and $300 for upholstery
Labor: Approximately $20,000 for labor and materials, including the countertop and new custom cabinetry, as well as demolition, creating the waterfall breakfast bar, refinishing the upper cabinets, installing new electrical, floor and backsplash
Total: $34,300 (not including materials for the floor or backsplash tile)
Just for fun: Trimble often has to wear wigs to resemble the actress she is doubling. Check them out here.
More Reader Kitchens
An Overhaul in Washington for $99,000
More Space in San Francisco for $36,000
A Dallas Refresh for $40,000
A Kentucky Makeover for $37,000
An Ontario Update for $13,700
An Open-Plan Space in St. Louis for $44,000
More Storage in Illinois for $26,000
Walls moved: No
Plumbing moved: No
Plumbing replaced: No
Professionals hired: New Look Home Remodeling in Woodland Hills, California
Special features: Undercounter storage, custom bench seat
Splurges: Big Chill appliances
Costs
Appliances: $12,700, including $3,500 for refrigerator, $6,000 for oven, $600 for oven hood, $2,000 for dishwasher and $600 for microwave
Sink: $700, including $350 for undermount sink, $350 for faucet
Lighting: $500 for a custom Sputnik chandelier from an Etsy business
Accessories and decor: $400 for custom bench seat cushions, including $100 for materials and $300 for upholstery
Labor: Approximately $20,000 for labor and materials, including the countertop and new custom cabinetry, as well as demolition, creating the waterfall breakfast bar, refinishing the upper cabinets, installing new electrical, floor and backsplash
Total: $34,300 (not including materials for the floor or backsplash tile)
Just for fun: Trimble often has to wear wigs to resemble the actress she is doubling. Check them out here.
More Reader Kitchens
An Overhaul in Washington for $99,000
More Space in San Francisco for $36,000
A Dallas Refresh for $40,000
A Kentucky Makeover for $37,000
An Ontario Update for $13,700
An Open-Plan Space in St. Louis for $44,000
More Storage in Illinois for $26,000
Trimble, shown here, has many professional stunt car driving credits, including doubling as Mary Steenburgen in the television series The Last Man on Earth.