Janette Mallory's Interior Design, Inc. Blog

Kitchen and Bathroom Remodel Series, Part I

2012-02-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

I have been in the Interior Design field for almost twenty years and throughout my career as an Interior Designer I have remodeled many Kitchens and Bathrooms (as you can imagine) . Most of the time the Bathrooms are completely gutted and redone but not all of my clients have that kind of budget so you if you don't have the budget to completely start over it makes a huge impact if you change out faucets/fixtures, mirrors, lighting, new towels, area rug, new paint, etc which will make a huge difference and add value if you are trying to sell your house.   In my opinion I feel that most people when they are looking to buy a new house the most important and sometimes deal breakers can be the Bathrooms and Kitchen. In this tough real estate market I think more now than ever its important to update Bathrooms and Kitchens to make it easier to sell.
For my Bathroom and Kitchen remodel series I am going to share with you some Bathroom and Kitchen remodel projects that I have done for myself and my clients that are not on my website or blog, some of them are big and some of them are small but all of them are drastic improvements from what was there before I made any changes.


One of my favorite materials to use for the shower is Carrara marble and it comes in many shapes and sizes, I always mix and match the shapes and sizes. The walls and shower pan are from Walker Zanger the walls are 2 x 4 brick field and the shower pan is 1 1/4" hexagon field. I used leftover Carrara Slab from another bathroom for the curb so there are no grout joints. The shampoo box is also left over slab, its always nice to use slab material when possible for a cleaner look.


The Kitchen below had nice cabinets for the most part so to save money my finisher sanded adn repainted them a darker color to make it more interesting. We took down the wall (where the two counter stools are) having to literally twist my clients arm!!! You will see what a HUGE difference it made not only making the kitchen more open and making it feel larger it opened up the flow to the dining room and living room which is much better for entertaining.



The wall that we took down is where the new banquette now sits which is covered in Brenda Antin vintage fabrics that she brought back from France.

So basically we bought new Viking appliances, fixtures, the counter tops are honed Bardiglio Imperiale marble (which looks like a gray limestone), painted the cabinets, new wood floors and my client has a brand new kitchen with a more updated look.

I just love the cabinet color that my finisher and I came up with. The cabinet pulls are from Restoration Hardware. Don't you just love the new Restoration Hardware look and quality of their products? And you can't beat the price!!!

I think some of the best bathrooms are the small ones. This entire Powder Bath is Waterworks, my client and I flipped out over the Brickworks field tile that we used on the walls, the color is fantastic. I mixed nickel, brass and copper using the Henry low profile one hole faucet in lacquered brass, the oval sink is hammered copper, the legs of the washstand, mirror and p-trap are all nickel. There's also some brass on the handing light fixture over the sink. I like the mixture of all three finishes, its kind of my thing right now as you will see in upcoming posts.

So this is Part I of my Kitchen and Bath Series, I hope you like it and I would love to hear your feedback.

Tastemaker Tag Sale One Kings Lane

2012-02-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

My sale starts tonight 6pm PT. Wish me luck! xoxo Janette
www.onekingslane.com

Atlanta

2012-01-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

I went on a buying trip in Atlanta last December for my space at Wertz Brothers Antique Mart and I'm having ANOTHER Tastemakers Tag sale on One Kings Lane!!! How exciting is that!!! So I wanted to share with you a couple of the pieces that I found in Atlanta.

One of the vendors I buy from is from France and I love most everything that he has for sale so I just had to buy this painted wood bookcase from the South of France circa 1800s. This piece is at Wertz Brothers and I am using it for a display cabinet for my smaller items and it look incredible.

I'm obsessed with harvest tables and I feel that they are hard to find so I had to grab this one. It's from a factory in France from a town in Northern France, Lile and its early 1900s. This piece will be listed on my One Kings Lane Sale next month.

How Fabulous is this??!!! I have never seen anything like this old hotel towel cart from a hotel in the South of France called St. Marie. If it doesn't sell I will have no problem keeping it.

You don't see a lot of these vintage pharmacy cabinets so naturally I had to buy it

One of my favorite things to shop for is antique and vintage artwork and Atlanta is a good place for that, other than the Paris flea markets (which I am going to end of April). I love to buy still life paintings especially when wine is involved. This painting is signed and dated 1963.


I saved the best for last!!! This is the most amazing Quan Yin I have ever seen. I hope you can check out my One Kings Lane sale February 1st because there's a lot more so please take a look. I have been scouring flea markets and going to antique shows for the past six months in preparation for my sale and my space at Wertz Brothers Antique Mart.

Thanks for stopping by. Ciao!!

Moonshadows Restaurant Remodel

2011-12-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

I am proud to announce my newest project... the iconic Malibu restaurant and lounge, Moonshadows. I have been working on the plans for the past two months and we are ready to start the first phase of construction in January.

The owners have done such great job with the food that its time for the interiors to match the culinary aspect of the restaurant.

Moonshadows is a Pacific Coast Highway landmark and I  am excited to begin what will be  such a challenging and rewarding  project. I have great plans in store  and look forward to sharing  progress updates with you all.

Cheers!

Fall Harvest at Wertz Brothers

2011-10-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Fall is officially here so its time once again to pull out all the decorations and start getting in the spirit of Halloween. I love this time of the year even though it seems like the time is going by much quicker now and I seriously feel like I just put the Halloween decorations away not too long ago.

My One Kings Lane sale was a huge success so my booth at Wertz Brothers is looking a little sparse so its perfect timing to decorate for Halloween until I can go to the next antique show to buy more fabulous stuff!!!

One of the latest additions to my collection are the Burmese wood statues that I found at an antique show I went to in Atlanta a couple of months ago. They really are incredible and I'm not sure that I want to part with them.

I still love all the Victorian bamboo furniture, I actually bought the two door cabinet about 20 years ago, it has an embossed leather top and is in really great condition.

I found the vintage pales at the "Three Speckled Hens" antique show which is held in the central coast of California, they look really great at night with candles in them to lead all the trick or treaters right to your door.

The sofa and large ottoman just sold so I just went to a flea market this past weekend and found an amazing harvest table to take its place which I will show you in my next blog.

Thank you for all your support with my One Kings Lane sale it was a big success and a great experience so I am looking forward to the next one in March!

Have a great day and Happy Halloween

xoxoxo

Tastemaker Tag Sale!

2011-09-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

My sale starts tonight 6pm PT. Wish me luck! xoxo Janette
www.onekingslane.com

Timothy Whealon's Southampton Cottage

2011-09-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone I hope you all had a great summer. Its' been so long since I posted on my blog I almost forgot how to do it!!! I had such a busy summer working and traveling that I got really lazy with my blog. Thank you so much for hanging in there!

I had a lot of exciting things going on this summer the most important of them all is that my son JD got his drivers license just as school let out and his father bought him a new car... At first it was frightening but he's a safe driver so I was able to relax after a couple months.

One of my many trips this summer was to visit my best friend in New York and we were invited to stay at a house in Southampton that belongs to Timothy Whealon who just happens to be one of the most talented Interior Designers on the east coast.

You can just tell by the photo that this house belongs in The Hamptons

He did such an amazing job remodeling and decorating this house. My girlfriend and I were so happy to be staying there, the weather was perfect and we had the best time.

The backyard is absolutely stunning, the landscape, hardscape, the pool, everything is just perfect about this house.

We stayed in the guest house which was done really well and there was even had an outdoor shower!

Simple but extremely comfortable and I love the ceiling. Now on to the main house!!!

Here's a shot of the dining room from the living room and yes the walls are pale pink which works well with the dark floor and the white furniture.

Here's my bestie Diane taking a break from all our shopping and eating adventures. There's more amazing photos on Timothy Whealon's website if you want to check it out.

More exciting news, finally my sale on One Kings Lane will be online starting next Tuesday evening 6pm PT so make sure you check it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I promise not to stay gone for too long I have a lot more exciting adventures to share with all of you. xoxo

Hercules Drive Remodel Complete (well sort of)...

2011-06-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

Me installation day, my photographer/friend Marco Franchina is a famous fashion photographer so while we were waiting for all the furniture to be delivered he took a couple photos of me. Why not?

At the beginning of the year I started on a new remodel project in The Hollywood Hills it took a couple of months to do the drawings, get the permits, work out the design, get bids and convince my client that he absolutely had to move out of the house during the remodel!!! The house was built in 1975 and desperately needed to be updated. In mid March my client moved out and we started construction. My client only agreed to move out for two months so I had to get my crew started right away. The original plan was to remodel the family room, dining room, living room and master bedroom for Phase I and then do the rest of the house later in the year. My client and I both agreed that since he was moving out that we should remodel the whole house at all at once instead of breaking it up into phases. We replaced all the windows and doors from Fleetwood, removed all of the existing floors and replaced them with reclaimed wood floors from Living Green, demoed all the bathrooms and kitchen, replaced all the fixtures, tile marble, limestone, new closets, replaced all the electrical, etc. So basically we started from scratch. As you will see in this blog the master bath needed updating more than any room in the house!

The Master Bath happens to have the best view in the house, the Hollywood sign and downtown Los Angeles. So I convinced my client that we definitely had to remodel the master bath for obvious reasons but also it was in the back of the house and it would not be a good idea to remodel the whole house, install wood floors, paint, etc without redoing the master bath. He finally saw the light and agreed!

The focal point of the room was by far the bathtub so we decided that the room needed the Waterworks Candide freestanding oval bathtub. The tub is so beautiful it comes primed so you can choose your own paint color, naturally the tub filler is also from Waterworks the Easton series.

The sink vanities were custom built to our specifications and the wood we used is rough cut white oak and the marble is one of my new favorites Calacutta Borghini with vessel sinks from Ronbow faucets are from Kallista Tuxedo by Barbara Barry.
I really didn't want to style the shots because all the materials I used speak for themselves and work so well together. Why complicate things!

Here's a shot of the shower pan. I stayed at one of the many boutique hotels in Los Angeles the SLS Hotel and all their showers have invisible drains! It was not an easy task to duplicate but my fabricator Gene with All Marble recreated it and even better than the SLS Hotel. Check it out!

The whole house was completed last week and my client moved in on Monday. So instead of taking two months it took three, not bad. My client is happy and everything turned out beyond our expectations and that's whats important.
More to come from Hercules Drive so stay tuned.......

One Kings Lane

2011-05-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share with you that I was selected by One Kings Lane to host a "Tastemaker Tag Sale" in September!!! For those of you that are not familiar with One Kings Lane founders Susan Feldman and Alison Gelb Pincus are home design enthusiasts and they discovered that there was no online venue for top-quality, high end home goods at affordable prices so they created One Kings Lane. New sales launch daily at 8am and the Tastemaker Tag Sales start Saturdays and Tuesdays. One Kings Lane partners with top brands and interior designers to give their 1.5 MILLION members insider access to designer decor, entertaining, travel, food and wine, etc.
I will be featuring my incredible collection of antique and vintage furniture and accessories as well as my one of a kind vintage rugs.

My good friend Katharine Marinaro of gogovoyage was gracious enough to introduce me to One Kings Lane so as a thank you to her I am going to host a give away on my blog one of her fabulous travel accessories!

Sunset Restaurant Featured on Party Resources Blog

2011-04-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Beachside in Malibu

JANETTE MALLORY INTERIORS recently sent me images of remodel she did at SUNSET RESTAURANT in Malibu, CA. As I love Janette's style and her blog, I couldn't wait to see the photos.

The Sunset is open for brunch and dinner and has a large number of regular (and often celebrity) clientele. After paying a visit to this divine seaside locale, you’re bound to become a regular, too.

The venue is a great example of Janette's work which results in beautiful, contemporary interiors.

She also sent me images of the weddings on the beach that the Sunset has planned - now I was swooning!

Visit Party Resources Blog

805 Living Magazine – In Good Taste Article

2011-04-11T13:20:00.001-07:00

I want to share with you an article from 805 Living Magazines March 2011 issue , an interview featuring myself and another interior designer Ann James!!! Mallory McCreary from 805 interviewed both of us about good taste, you either have or you don’t (in my opinion). I know its from last month but I have been so busy working on my project in The Hollywood Hills that this is the first chance I have had to sit down and blog.

Mallory chose the photo below to include in the article and its from a restaurant I remodeled a couple of years ago, The Sunset Restaurant in Malibu. It’s one of my favorite photographs in my portfolio.

805 Living is a fantastic local magazine in my area. Check it out, if you can still find this issue on the newsstands!!

Wertz Brothers Antique Mart

2011-03-23T10:14:00.001-07:00

Some of you may know that I have been renting a retail space at the Agoura Antique Mart for the past two years as well as a display case for my Majolica Collection at The Summerland Antique Collective in Santa Barbara. Before I moved to the Agoura Antique Mart two years ago I put my name on a waiting list at Wertz Brothers Antique Mart in Santa Monica for one of their coveted spaces and finally after a long wait I got a call from them saying that they finally had a prime space for me to rent! So without hesitation I moved all my Majolica and Vintage furniture and accessories to Wertz Brothers Antique Mart. The display case and my new space are much larger than what I had before (which is a good thing I hope). The down side it that its not as close to me as Agoura was but the demographic is much better for the product that I sell and who can complain about going to Santa Monica once a week.

I love all the Majolica mixed with all the natural white and blue coral!

I like having a corner space because I think you get better use of the space and its more open. I’m a little low on inventory right now but not for long. I’m heading to High Point, North Carolina next week and then Brimfield, Massachusetts in May!

If you are in the area and are looking for antiques and vintage one of a kind pieces I would highly recommend that you stop in at Wertz Brothers Antique Mart on Lincoln Blvd. near the 10 fwy. the showroom is 20,000 sq. ft . so you are sure to find some little special thing (or two) to add to your collection.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog.

New York Glam in Encino California

2011-02-17T11:55:00.001-08:00

I have been MIA working on all my projects, photographing two of my projects for a local magazine editorial and moving my retail space from Agoura to Santa Monica which was quite a task!!! In the middle of all that chaos I got pneumonia which slowed me down a bit. I’m on the road to recovery and I am so excited to share with you this project that I just completed and had photographed.

How I met these clients is a funny story, I had a retail store a couple of years ago and she came in because she wanted to buy some mirrors for her bedroom and we ended up completely redoing her Family Room, Dining Room, Veranda and her entire Outdoor Furniture. We are about to gut the Powder Room. The clincher is we never got around to picking those two mirrors that she wanted for her bedroom!

The house is Mediterranean/Traditional style and needed to be updated and a little more Glamorous to fit my client’s personality. They are a young hip couple, she owns three fabulous clothing stores here in Southern California and he is a real estate mogul. With all of that they were a great couple to work with and open to all of my ideas!!!

We wanted the dining room to be modern but still keeping in the Mediterranean/Traditional style with a Glamorized twist.

We started with the pair of Louis Philippe mirrors from Big Daddy’s and this fabulous mica wallpaper from Romo that we fell in love with. I designed the two buffets and had them custom made with a specialty finish on both. She entertains a lot so she wanted a large dining table to seat up to sixteen people. The host and hostess chairs are from Gregorius Pineo (on casters) and are a dream to sit in. The chandelier and sconces are from Nancy Corzine and are absolutely stunning. The area rug was custom from Patterson, Flynn and Martin, took four months to get but was well worth the wait.

This is the most Glamorous dining room I have ever done and my clients are over the top happy with the way it turned out. My photographer Jim McHugh did an amazing job capturing the feeling of the room.

Here are the before pictures so you can get a sense of the transformation and what I had to work with!!

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

C.A.L.M.’s Antiques & Decorative Arts Show

2011-01-25T14:20:00.001-08:00

It is time to head up to Santa Barbara this weekend for the winter C.A.L.M.’s show. It a great show with lots of good finds. For more information please visit C.A.L.M.'s website.

Hope to see you all there!

My Latest Press

2011-01-09T16:58:00.001-08:00

Two of my projects are featured in the current issue of the Westlake Malibu Lifestyle Magazine!!! I'm so excited and extremely happy with the way it turned out.

Take a look…..

The Sunset Restaurant in Malibu

A beach cottage in Carpinteria California

What a great way to start the year!!! xoxo

Many Thanks

2010-12-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

As we say good bye to 2010 I want to take the time and share with you the many things that I have been grateful for this past year.
If you have been following my blog I have mentioned on several occasions that I have been extremely fortunate to have had consistent work through the recession and in my opinion have done some of my best work. I truly enjoy being an interior designer and love to share my work with everyone. DustyLu was able to help me make that happen in March with the launch of my blog. Most of the beautiful photographs you have seen on my blog this past year she has taken. She is so talented and incredibly hard working. It's nice to have someone like her on my team.
It was a milestone year for my son JD, not only did he turn 16 in October, being a sophomore he made the varsity basketball team! Yay Go Eagles! Everyday I feel blessed to be his mother, he truly is a remarkable son and an amazing basketball player.
I have a great passion for travel and this past year I was able to take some amazing trips, Paris being the best and most exciting. With every year there are some highs and lows. I've had a retail space at a local antique mart for the past two years and the retail side of business for me this past year has been a challenge so I have decided to put that on hold in 2011 and move on to some other types of retail adventures. I am still working on my esty shop and have a few other things up my sleeve. I am a firm believer that when one door closes another one opens up.

Now lets talk about whats going on in these beautiful photographs!

A couple of my clients asked me to help them complete their table settings and to spruce them up for the holidays. I found the perfect store in Los Angeles to help make that happen!! There's a store on Melrose Avenue called TableArt, the owners name is Walter Lowry and he is not only extremely talented, very helpful and has the best selection of everything that has to do with setting a magnificent table.

My client Carla asked me to help her set her table for Christmas using her existing china and the new pieces we purchased from TableArt .

All the linens were custom made to fit her table and to enhance her china we added the chargers and bread plates.

As you can see I am not very traditional when it comes to setting the table.

I threw in some of my favorite vintage cloisonne vases to add more color and to mix it up a little.

photos by Dustylu

Happy New Year to all of you and may all your dreams come true in 2011.

Hollywood Hills Project

2010-12-21T16:38:00.001-08:00

One of my new projects for 2011 is a remodel of a 1970s style house in the Hollywood Hills. My client purchased the house because of the 180 degree views of the Hollywood Sign, Downtown Los Angeles and on a clear day you can see the ocean!!!

The house has a great floor plan; the whole back side of the house which is the view side and where the family room, kitchen, dining room, living room and master bedroom are located. My client hired me to remodel the whole house inside and out. We are breaking it up into three phases since they plan on living in the house while the work is being done. The first phase of the project will start on the view side of the house in the rooms I listed above. I included a floor plan so you can get a sense of the layout.

Included in the first phase will begin with replacing all the original exterior doors and windows with a product from Fleetwood located here in Southern California which is the top of the line for french doors and windows. I chose the dark bronze aluminum finish without the mullions so there is no obstruction from the view.

Since the house was built in 1975 there has been hardly any upgrades so we are going to replace all the existing flooring materials with reclaimed hardwood throughout (finish TBD). I am including some before pictures of the family room, living room and dining room to give you a sense of what the house looks like today. I am planning on taking my followers through the process phase by phase so stay tuned!!!

Dolce Casa by Janette Mallory

2010-12-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!!

I am so excited to announce my new blog name Dolce Casa by Janette Mallory
and my new
blog layout, designed by Cathy over at Avalon Rose Designs.

I wanted to thank Cathy at Avalon Rose Designs for all

her hard work and for putting this together for me.

She is extremely talented and amazing to work with. I have a

love for peacocks and wanted to incorporate them into my new blog

design layout. She went above and beyond. I love how it turned out.

Thank you Cathy!

I also wanted to share a sneak peak into my upcoming

posts for 2011.

First off a stunning Hollywood Hills Bachelor Pad,

an interview with editor

Diane Lyle of Westlake Malibu Lifestyle Magazine.
A drop dead gorgeous dining room make over,

and my obsession with Raoul Textiles and I how
I used them in a recent project in Calabasas.

I am also in the process of remolding my own kitchen and hope

to share that with you in January.

Plus much, much more.

Stay tuned!!

The Winner

2010-12-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Janet from

Shabbyfufu

You are the winner of these gorgeous

Aidan Gray Candlesticks!

Thank you to all those who participated

in this giveaway and to Morning T for hosting it!

More fun giveaways to come...

Aidan Gray Holiday Giveaway!!

2010-11-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

It is that time of year to give!

First, I need to thank Morning T for blogging about this giveaway!

It was beautiful.

I wanted to giveaway another pair of these fantastic Aidan Gray Candlesticks.

One lucky reader will win these...

Three simple entry rules...

1. Follow me if you haven't already

2. Blog about this giveaway.

3. Post about it on your sidebar!

Good Luck!

Giveaway ends.

Sunday, December 5th!!!

Candy Cane Lane

2010-11-20T11:08:00.001-08:00

Its that time of the year again and I can’t believe that I actually decorated my space at the Agoura Antique Mart a week ago. What’s wrong with me??? Never in my life have I ever been so ahead of the game with decorating for the holidays. It all started about a month or so ago when I went up north to the Three Speckled Hens show and bought a bunch of vintage ornaments. The colors of all the ornaments are fantastic and I love the color combination of pink, red and white for the holidays. I went downtown to the flower market last week and found the pink Sugar Plum Fairy and my holiday theme came together from there!!!

I think the mixture of the colorful vintage ornaments, vintage glass compotes and jars filled with candy with the mercury glass all look so festive.

I found this antique banana dish from Dalzell, Gilmore & Leighton c 1889 in Atlanta last week. What a find! How cute are the Holt Howard feather Angels from the 50s?? also an Atlanta find…

Please stop by if you are ever in Agoura. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

On a buying trip, be back soon!

2010-11-11T09:55:00.001-08:00

I’m off to the Scott Antique Market in Atlanta then an Estate Sale! Tune in next week for the photos of all my fabulous finds!!

Sunset Restaurant Wine Dinners

2010-11-02T11:37:00.001-07:00

The Sunset Restaurant has a fabulous new chef and they are hosting wine dinners every Wednesday at 7:30pm with a special menu each week to match the varietal of the week. Bring your own bottle of the featured varietal and everyone can sample a variety of wines and discuss them. In addition John Selman from Malibu Village Wines brings additional bottles for everyone to taste! $50.00 per person includes a four course meal, tax and tip.

The food is really amazing. Hurry before it get’s booked up!!!!

NBA Season Opener with Derrick Rose & Slim Chin

2010-10-27T17:08:00.001-07:00

Last night was the NBA season opener with a doubleheader on TNT. Game one was Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics and game two was LA Lakers vs. Houston Rockets!!! Even though I live in LA my son and I are huge Celtic fans (sorry to all my blogger followers that are Lakers fans). As you can imagine, we were so excited they won 88-80 (close game). As we were watching the games, my client Ken Jeong’s Adidas commercial was played as least three times. He plays rapper Slim Chin and wears a metallic gold sweat suit and is so hysterical. Check it out below!!!

Even funnier is the Music Video with Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and Slim Chin!! You can watch that as well below.

In keeping with my sports themed blog I wanted to include another one of my client’s home office. He is a complete sports fanatic! I worked on this house a couple years ago and finally got around to photographing it about a month ago. I thought it would be appropriate to share with you his office with all his sports memorabilia in honor of the NBA Season Opener.

This is just a small part of his collection!

I love his collection of all the vintage radios!

I hope you got a good laugh like I did……

All good things must come to an end sometime……

2010-10-22T13:00:00.001-07:00

After two years my Padaro Lane project in Carpentaria, California is finally finished!! I have blogged about the interior over the past couple of months, but the second phase of the project, the exterior, is finally done!!! As I have mentioned in previous blogs, this project was one of the most incredible for me from start to finish.

The original house never had an entry. To get to the back two bedrooms, you either had to go through the master bedroom and master bath or go out the front door onto the porch and enter from outside. One of the first things I did was change the floor plan to create an entry, adding 105 sq. ft. and enclosing the porch to create a hallway to the back two bedrooms. I was able to close off the door in the master bath making the space more usable, but most importantly, more private. The same with the bunk room bathroom, we closed off the door leading to the back guest bedroom which enabled space to install a tub/shower. My clients have grandchildren so this new arrangement proved very helpful to them. The guest bedroom did not have a bathroom so we turned the closet into a bathroom. To substitute closet space, I added a built in armoire for hanging clothes, which was sufficient enough for my clients as they use this house as a vacation home. I converted the water heater to a tankless one and moved it from the entry to the side of the house. Relocating the water heater created space to add a powder room.

As you can see from the floor plan, this is not a large house so I had to make sure that every room and every nook and cranny was well thought out. My client’s bring their children, grandchildren and friends there so I had to squeeze in as many beds as possible. The bunk room sleeps six, each bunk bed has a pull-out trundle.

Let’s get back to the exterior….. Originally, the entire house was painted gray. I wanted to brighten it up and make it look more like a cottage in the Hamptons. I fell in love with the idea of painting the house white and the trim black… what a beautiful, dramatic contrast it turned out to be! The exterior lanterns came from The Federalist and can hold up to the outdoor elements, which need to be considered in a beach environment. The gutters and downspouts are copper and I can’t wait until they patina with age!

We tore out the existing brick in the walkway and replaced it with a gray/black flagstone. A curve was added to make it more interesting as well as a small curved porch with a step, which was lacking before.

I worked with Thierry from Paysage Landscape in Santa Barbara, California. He was a dream to work with!! Thierry and I both selected the type of plants that we thought would grow best in a coastal environment and keep the Hamptons Cottage style.

Don’t you just love the Australian Tree Ferns!!!

We also added a barn on the front of the property, but I think I will save that for another blog!!!

Stay tuned, more to come!