House hunting can be a long and complicated process. Finding a home that meets your family’s needs takes time and patience, and even then, you aren’t guaranteed to check every box on your wish list. For the owners of this Town and Country property, finding a house in the perfect location was only the first step. Before moving in, they completed an extensive 14-month renovation, which included creating a dream kitchen, transforming a basement pool into an epic game room and more. Now, they are giving T&S a look inside at the final results.
What attracted you to the property?
The location in Town and Country. We’d previously lived further west, but we’d always liked the area. We also love the outside of the house. It’s very pretty and traditional, and that drew us to the home. Plus, it had some cool interior features like the stonework in the basement. We’d been looking for a house for years, and while we found great options, there always were things that needed to be done. This house has great bones, but we knew we could make it our own without having to build something from the ground up. We were excited.
What renovations have you done?
We gutted everything. If you look at older photos of the property, you’ll see that nothing is the same. We tore out every floor, made entrances bigger and changed things in every room. The house was built in 1992, and there were some eccentric touches like mirrors on the ceiling of the master bedroom, so we updated everything. We put in a two-story addition and a large kitchen. The process took more than a year, but it made it the perfect house for us.
Tell me about the kitchen.
KM Designs did a really nice job with the space. I wanted a large island and a lot of storage. We also added a neat beverage center. There are a lot of hidden areas in my kitchen. The pantry door is camouflaged, and I don’t like paper towels cluttering the counter, so there is a special spot for them out of sight. The coffee station and the microwave also are hidden.
How would you describe your design style?
It is transitional. We have traditional pieces, but there is a lot of modern furniture mixed in, too. I also wanted every room to have a wow factor and each space to be unique, even the kids’ rooms. Some of my favorite elements are the stone wall in the great room and the couch in the hearth room. Elizabeth Glazer Designs helped me with all the finishing touches before we moved in. She really pulled it all together. The house was a little stark and cold, but the accents helped make it pretty and inviting.
The game room is impressive.
It’s a lot of fun. The basement was one of the draws of the house. Originally, there was an indoor pool down there, but we took it out. It’s a space that adults love as much as the kids do. When we mention racing cars in the basement, people look at us like we’re crazy, but we have friends who come over just to play the games.
How is the house for entertaining?
It’s super fun for parties. We have two sons and a large family so
I wanted to be able to entertain. With the changes from the renovation, the house has great flow now. You can enter the kitchen from two different areas, which is nice. We moved in last October and then the pandemic hit, but we got some parties in before.
What is the outdoor space like?
The kitchen addition includes an outdoor space that’s like a TV room. We also have a dining table and barbecue pit. We love sitting out there and watching TV or eating dinner around the fire. I didn’t want the furniture to look like it was meant to be outdoors. I wanted it to be elegant and match the interior, not big and chunky. Right now, we’re starting the process of adding a pool house.