Content, content, content
I’ve not been very good at keeping you updated, with.. anything. So here’s a quick post, jk, it’ll be super long, with mucho mucho information while I sit here with the pups listening to the Beach Boys on vinyl in my sunny front room.
I’ve been working on a project overhaul in Wimberley, TX. Have you ever been there? R and I just recently took a trip so I could check in on my subs, meet with my electrician, and enjoy a weekend away with my guy and my pups. OH! Did I mention we added a new member to our trio?
Chips. Like.. Fish + Chips.. get it?
It has been.. an adjustment.. to say the least. He is definitely not nearly as easy as Fish was. My sanity and my patience has been wearing quite thin with this guy. He’s like both ends of the puppy spectrum: super lazy, and suuuuper hyper. His zoomies are a sight to see. Fish is mostly amused.. until he’s not, and then Chips gets sassy and sits just far enough out of reach to yap at him. It’s like he’s talking ish to him, and Fish is like “yeah.. ok.. come a little closer and see what happens.” It’s hilarious. We adore our 2 little pupperonis.
Back to our normal programming.
Clients are a lovely family out of Houston, who just recently purchased a huge beautiful home in Wimberley // a lowkey magical place outside of Austin with bookoos of swimming holes filled with natural spring water, and wineries and music galore.
Carisa enlisted my help after she found me on Decorist // click here if you don’t know what I’m talking about // and hired me direct. We met up for our consultation which went terribly due to my computer not functioning, and the wifi at the cafe nonexistent, and constant interruptions from the owner wanting me to actually fix his router.. while in a meeting.. with a potential client..
I was stunned when she texted me back asking to start right away. She was relying on my terrible, nervous ridden analogue sketches to convey the design ideas I had for the house, and showed an utter unprecedented faith in my abilities as a stylist and designer.
The project started off as a small scale project with the focus being minor updates to surface materials, and furnishings // a stylist’s bread and butter. But as we continued, the project grew into this blossoming abundance of updates including a new remodeled kitchen, removal of doors, new floors, fresh paint.. everywhere, a paneling and beams installation for the ceilings, new lighting installed everywhere, new bathroom, and a soon to be new entry. Next phase will be furnishing the house, and then landscape // then potentially an addition for a guest house, pool, and outdoor kitchen.
We’re currently about 2 weeks out from the construction being done, appliances installed, and everything in the house ready for touchups, cleaning, and livability.
Click here for the before.
Kitchen //
Did I tell you the analogue was rough or what?
The plan was to knock out the existing tiny baby pantry, absorb the closet in the bedroom behind the kitchen // because the room was for kids, so open shelving and open storage will be utilized so we get a bigger kitchen // knock out all the soffits, and expand the cabinets to the ceiling, making the ceilings look taller and the kitchen bigger. Once we hired our contractor and examining all the floorplans (there were 5.. not kidding.. 5), we had a plan and were moving forward. Until we broke into the walls to discover that the soffits housed ventilation that was installed after the house was built, and couldn’t be relocated anywhere else because all the other walls and ceilings had already been removed. They had to stay. *sigh*. So I improvised. We still gained a ton of space, added our tall cabinets, and just wrapped the custom shelving // courtesy of MyIronHome // around the kitchen.
We saved a ton of money by buying wholesale cabinets, and our appliances were on Independence Day sale, so we got them for quite a bit less.
I’m aware that the vignettes and visuals don’t give a realistic visual of the materials we’re using. Buuuut, the countertops are a beautiful icy white with gray flakes of marble throughout, and we’re using this in both the kitchen and the bathroom. The backsplash is a black and white eclectic tile from Riad Tile, I’ve used their tile in my own // in progress // bathroom, and recommend them for any project you might be working on or considering doing in the future. All our lighting in the entire home is coming from Illuminate Vintage, all custom and absolutely amazing.
Living spaces //
Initially, this space we were just going to furnish. But now we’ve installed the paneling and beams, new custom lighting everywhere, and we’ve stripped the towering fireplace of it’s busy texture making it a smooth matte finish, removing the mantle and built ins on either side, and installing a faux stacking wood piece // I’m going to be custom making this // and bringing in some new shelves on the other side.
For the house we wanted it to be rooted in natural materials, lots of wood, white, grays, with pops of colors coming from her treasures.
She’s a crazy plant lady like me, so you can rest assured that there will be lots of plants in the mix. We’ve got a custom console table coming from Houston, as well as a custom dining table // more of that coming later.
Game Room //
Oh yeah, there’s also a huge 21×20 gameroom that we’re focusing on freshening up with new bright paint, and then furnishing until the decision on whether or not to expand to a new guest house is made.
This space has huge 15′ glass sliding doors, so keeping it feeling natural was a must. This will also be the main entertaining space for the family and their guests, and I can guarantee you no one’s gonna wanna leave. That sofa is an extra deep, extra long beaut from West Elm, and take it from me, it’s worth the investment.
Guest Room //
They’ve got this space we’ve been calling “The Apartment”, and it comes complete with it’s own living space, en suite, and room all secluded on the other side of the house. With this set up, you can see it’s still very neutral, but just you wait until we get those frames and accessories in there. It’ll be a dream, literally.
This almost canopy bed is the perfect addition to the inset window, and will be the main event in the new design of this room, and it’s been one of my favorite finds during this project. The nightstands come complete with a hidden charging station at the back, so as to keep the design super clean and super minimalistic. The rug is a shag moroccan style from RugsUSA, and I can’t wait to install this room and see everything together.
Apartment Bath //
We simplified this space the most I think. We took out all the cabinets that existed and replaced them with a new 60″ double sink vanity. Super simple, more accessible, and took out yet another door and swapped it for a pocket door. Did I mention there were a TON of doors in this place? We took out 4 so far, and 2 more to come.
It’s almost done // pulls are ordered, lights are in, mirrors on their way, countertops getting installed today, new faucets for the shower, sinks, and some new accessories to tie it all together.
The end product of this home will definitely be one for the books.
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Until next time,
Kat.