We moved into this house over a year and a half ago and have spent a lot of time dreaming up the things we will do to make it awesome. We are very excited to have started our main floor remodel. But first, some before shots…
In phase 1, which was before we moved in and while I was a very 9 months pregnant (yes, this is Allison, not Steve), included this opening (it was a solid wall), a few can lights and sconces, skim coated most of the walls to get rid of the awful orange peel, some paint, a new window in the dinning room, and a few other little projects. 
Then the backyard was Phase 2. See before here and after here. And it looks even better now, but now is not the time for backyard updates.
So the inside main floor… here are all the before pictures:
Kitchen (worst layout).
Stairs in the entry and hall from the dining to the garage door.
Powder Bathroom and Laundry Room
This is the before floor plan… The issues we’re addressing include: a very small inefficient kitchen, huge garage door hallway with no real purpose, bottle neck hallway from the entry to the kitchen, office space that is cut off from the rest of the house, and an oven in the worst spot ever.
And here’s our new floor plan.. 2 foot kitchen pop out, actual mudroom with lockers, opened up office space and hallways with lots of sweet builtins and great details.
Progress pictures to come..
So to start with a little history on the Craftsmen style.. The Craftsman movement began as a response to the ornate Victorian homes. People started despising the whole culture that surrounded the Victorian movement. It came with self indulged families that flaunted their riches in their frilly homes, inside and out. Near the same time, trim became mass produced so it became much cheaper to look wealthy so everyone did it.
Craftsman forerunners wanted to take architecture back to the more simple times and place: humble European villages and shops. Craftsman trim is a reflection of that simplicity. It should have clean lines, little frills, and resemble simple post and beam construction. The ironic thing is, now-a-days, Craftsman is considered a higher trim standard.
Craftsmen Columns (between dining and family room):
Window Seats (living and family room):
Coffered Ceilings (from the front entry to the mud room):
Mudroom:
Fireplace (my drawings all over the drywall):
Well, almost finished.
This bathroom was still missing the mirror and the Euro glass around the shower (that was installed later the day these pictures were taken); however, you can see the tile work better without the glass. Click here for more about this bathroom. We were so excited with how everything turned out!
Photos by Meikel Reece.
We are so excited about our project in Bountiful. Craftsmen style has always been one of my favorites so I’ve really enjoyed diving back into it and researching all the details that make Craftsmen style so great!
Here are some of our exterior inspiration pictures:
And here are before pictures.. Well, before we demoed everything..
And the house about a week ago:
Interior Shots before all the trim went in:
Living Room Fireplace
Kitchen
Family Room
The Master Bedroom was another addition to the house on the very opposite end of the house from the Family Room. It isn’t a huge bedroom but has plenty of light and character.
A few great finishing touches by Caitlin. Go here for more about the interior design work.
Remember this sneak peak of the Master Bathroom.
The homeowner wanted a little something extra to make the master closet more interesting. She and Caitlin picked this wallpaper and wallpaper for the laundry room. I’m a huge fan of wallpaper now especially when used in an otherwise boring space.
Master Bedroom Paint: Pale Silver by Restoration Hardware
Master Bathroom Paint: Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware
Bathroom Sconces: Lugarno Single Sconce from Restoration Hardware
Mirror: Restoration Hardware
Chandelier: Available through Caitlin Creer
Vanity crafted by Benjamin Blackwelder
Furniture design by Caitlin Creer
Photos by Meikel Reece
Bathroom and Architectural Design by Steve Tiek
We are just wrapping up a project in the Salt Lake Avenues area. The home has all the charm that I love about the Avenues houses. It also had a small cramped main/master/guest bathroom that needed an update.
Here’s the before and after floor plans:
A 3D sketchup of the bathroom: 
And here’s a sneak peak with some iphone pictures.
The Family Room was a 350 square foot addition to the house and one of my favorite places with it’s all around windows. The original house had shallow sloping ceiling throughout the house so we wanted carry that into the new spaces with some modern touches, like 10 foot ceilings. To keep the room from feeling too big we added a cap molding, making the room feeling more cozy. I’m not a fan of the “super-sized” family rooms because a lot of character and warmth are lost in the vastness.
We also wanted the keep the family room more casual. Here, living room, has a lot more detail.
Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Healing Aloe
Interior Decorated by Caitlin Creer.
Photos by Meikel Reece.
Architecture design by Steve Tiek.
This kitchen was a lot of fun. It started out as one of those large oversized and never used 60′s living room. We wanted to squeeze a kitchen and a eating/dinning area in it. This left us with a snug 13′x14′ space so layout was crucial. By positioning the kitchen adjacent to the family room and dining space with large openings separating the space the kitchen doesn’t feel small at all.
The cabinetry was done by Benjamin Blackwelder Cabinetry, of course. The color on the cabinets is Dune White BM and the walls Healing Aloe BM. The homeowner wanted to use this unique pattern for the tile. It was easy to find at the tile store but super pricey. I did some research and found these on Overstock.com for a fraction of the price.
Pendents from Restoration Hardware.
Sink Pendent from All Modern Lighting.
I wanted the island to feel more like a piece of furniture than a cabinet. I did this by designing legs on the four corners and eliminating the toe-kick. The gray color for the island is Ocean Floor by Martha Stewart. I think we will be seeing more and more cabinets in this gray color.
Favorite shot. Homes have lost their way in establishing space separation with an open airy feeling. It seems like the more open the better has become the rule of thumb. It’s difficult to capture architectural interest, character, and a feeling of warmth in a space that feels like a cultural hall. Studies show people generally feel overwhelmed, insignificant, and even small (literally) in a spaces like this. I like to think of a home like a good book. It captures your attention from the beginning, interesting details and developments reveal themselves as you read on, and you can’t put it down till the end. Not like a book where you open it up and can tell the ending right from the beginning so you are bored and move on.
Dining Lighting Fixture.
The laundry room was one of the few rooms that stayed in the exact location and size. Just a few new appliances, cabinets, one inch hex tile, and great wallpaper (wallpaper chosen by Caitlin and the homeowner).
Cabinets by Benjamin Blackwelder.
Photos by Meikel Reece.
Before:
I’ve had my eye on doing a swing like this since I saw this photo:
What could be better than a swing a family could all sit on or one person can lay back and read on a lazy day. There are not many places where you can buy a swing like this and they usually sell for quite a bit. Even though we already had too much on our plate to complete before the open house we still made the swing a priority. We’re pretty excited with how it turned out:
Caitlin had some custom pieces made for the swing making it super comfortable to hang out on. However, we took off the pillows to show the details.
If you are at all interested in ordering a swing like this one, please post a comment or send us an email. We are considering producing more of these if there’s a demand. They would come in any of the following possible finishes: white, expresso, or pickled beach wood (show above). Prices would start at $1600.
