12 - 13 - 2012

Extreme Makeovers…from 80’s to Modern

It is truly fun and gratifying to take on the task of renovating a dated house and completely transforming it into a dream home. We have been blessed to take the goals and design style of a client that loved the location of this particular house – when they asked us about the potential of what it could become – we said the house has good bones and location, location, location – go for it! A week later they owned the house and tasked us with the renovation. Low Ceilings and narrow dark hallways went the way of the dumpster…and the transformation began.


After we literally raised the roof, and moved the garage, we converted the previous driveway into a private courtyard at the front entrance.


Outdoor living and a large place for entertaining was a must for these clients.


There’s a pass-through from the kitchen to facilitate serving.


The pool has an integrated firepit.


Love the shade that an arbor provides - this was our first installation of artificial turn – it looks amazing and is no maintenance!


The interior spaces are unexpectedly fresh open and filled with natural light. The art collection brings color to the tone-on-tone spaces.


Several walls were removed to create this open kitchen / dining space. The built-in banquette is a favorite spot in the morning.


An integrated walk-in wine celler is visible through massive sheets of solid glass.


What was once a narrow / dark hall has now become an open and bright gallery for art.

This project was a true success we had clients that knew what they wanted and we were able to translate their wishes for their new home into reality…and best of all got new friends along the way.

Happy Gardening -

All My Best -

Comments (4607)

11 - 12 - 2012

The Art of Outdoor Living

This wonderful outdoor room sits adjacent to a great room oversized sliding french doors allow easy flow from one room to the next. The modern, coastal-inspired railing is a nice touch in this unique space.

We have been designing and building outdoor rooms for over 14 years now, and we usually build this type of space with every one of our projects. This must come from our own desire and passion for enjoying the great outdoors. We like to sit in front of a roaring fire, while the smell of pinon wood drifts through our neighborhood; watch a football or basketball game, have friends over to eat an oven fired pizza or just take a nap.

Today it’s no problem to have an 80” TV in a space – this one is concealed behind these Antique architectural doors. Over-scaled lanterns and large round windows add to the Beauty of this outdoor room.

We designed and built this outdoor room a few years ago. Our clients have used this space countless times and it is a warm and inviting space. The oversized fireplace is the crowning jewel in the space. Furnishings were hand-picked and the lighting was custom made for the Large – scale of the overall space.

This intimate cabana has a rustic elegance and charm. Reclaimed wood, drystacked stone, custom lighting and unique furnishings all add to the overall ambiance of this room – making it a delightful space to sit and relax in. Of course there’s a TV behind old French architectural doors.

This is a recent addition to one of our extreme makeover homes. The space sits just outside the open concept family room…the access is great with oversized French doors. An outdoor kitchen, dining and seating - this space has it all. The design is fresh and clean, and look at those beautiful ivy topiaries!

Our ingredients for a successful outdoor space: 

o Incorporate a dining space 

o Fireplaces will bring life and beauty to the room – they also take the chill out of the air in the Spring and Fall 

o Today’s oversized flat screen TV’s bring a purpose to the room – what better place to watch Sunday golf, or Saturday college football games – Thunder basketball is also great fun when watched outside 

o Style your space like you would an indoor room – comfortable chairs, a sofa for napping, rugs on the floor – art on the walls – accessorize with fun and unique items 

o Fans and heaters – they will extend you long you comfortably use your space

Happy Gardening -

All My Best -

Comments (531)

9 - 10 - 2012

Extreme Makeovers

Sometimes Anders and I are lucky enough to take on the task of a whole house makeover. This home is situated on a beautiful street in our neighborhood – what a setting! But it was looking a little “tired” and really didn’t reflect the fun and youthful personality of our clients. Now it has a beautiful roofline, slate shingles, a 2-story cast stone entryway, a soft stucco finish over the busy red brick, and several large raised planters that are the hallmark of this garden design. Truly an extreme makeover if there ever was one.

It is our greatest challenge when we approach a home renovation to retain the original charm that our clients love about their homes, while combining their new goals and wishes for changes to their homes. We have some rules we never stray far from: 

o Being sympathetic to the style and bones of the home – retaining it’s character

o Injecting the personality of our clients style and taste into the finished result 

o Understanding how they live or want to live in their homes 

o Maximizing space – and capturing space where there was none 

o Bringing an unexpected beauty to their home

Anders is very talented at spatial planning – he can see through walls and ceilings. In this recently completed renovation, Anders combined 5 rooms – and attic space to create an open and integrated kitchen, breakfast and family living space. Before the renovation the kitchen, breakfast, and den were small and didn’t flow well. The new space opens up to a beautiful outdoor room accessible by multiple french doors – so handling a large gathering is a breeze.

The new family room is just steps away from the kitchen. It’s bright and airy and so much larger than the former space. Removing the walls and attic in this home changed the entire space. This home is filled with hand-picked European lighting, and French and Swedish antiques and a mix of comfortable new upholstery pieces.

Formerly this space was right off of the front entry in the home. The interior design was previously more formal, but for this active family this new style fits their sensibilities and is even the gathering place for one of their Christmas celebrations.

Love how we grouped the antique Swedish herbariums behind the Swedish bench. Lamps are from Angie Tyner Antiques in Atlanta.

This home has become a favorite drive-by in the neighborhood, and it seems like it’s always looked just the way it does today.

Happy Gardening -

All My Best -

Comments (3004)

1 - 06 - 2012

Our Swedish Inspired Jewel Box

We actually built the home we are now lucky to call home a few years ago…but we didn’t build it for ourselves – we built it as our first and one and only spec house. We sold the house very quickly to a wonderful client – but after a few years the house came on the market for sale…and with a twist of fate we became the lucky buyers.

Having built the house only a few years ago, there was nothing that needed to be done to the house, but we didn’t build it for ourselves, so now that we owned it we decided we had to put our personal stamp on our house. We knew immediately of the small changes we could make to the house to give it our design stamp. Anders being from Sweden and my many travels there has provided infinite inspiration and appreciation for the Gustavian style – which is actually a beautiful blend of Swedish and French country elements.

We troweled on the softest blue on our walls and painted the woodwork one of my favorite Farrow & Ball colors – Elephant’s Breath. A couple of buying trips to Round Top, Texas provided the resources to replace all of the lighting in the house with European antiques – mostly Swedish.

Our kitchen updated just with a softer palette of color, beautiful lighting and special hardware. We found the antique cow panels in Round Top, and we both thought they would be beautiful incorporated into a vent hood. I love them in this spot.

The biggest change we made to the master bathroom was to change the color of the woodwork to a softer patina gray with silver leaf accents, and we replaced the beige travertine stone to carerra marble – lots of subway tile…The mirrors over the vanity are Swedish and fabulous!

Our living room is just the right size for the way we live and entertain. We built the mirror using antique Swedish architectural elements we purchased from A. Tyner Antiques a few years ago, it is the perfect scale for our two-story space.

Happy Gardening -

All My Best -

Comments (4131)

8 - 01 - 2011

a transformation with a swedish twist: part 7


The onyx countertop within the vanity in the bathroom; I love how the two materials are one “flush” surface.


The onyx subway tile in the bathroom off the kitchen; the dimensional surface gives it depth and character.


One of my favorite pieces


Beautiful sconce


The mirrored inlayed in the paneling is a perfect example of how all the thought out details is what really makes the whole space a masterpiece.


More beautiful details in the woodwork


Just one of the kitchen islands


The two lantern light fixtures above the kitchen islands, I LOVE these.


Another creative storage solution




The hardware, icing on the cake!


The coffee table after the painting is completed


The beautiful usage of all the grey; pops of color to come!

Happy Gardening -

All My Best -

Comments (1275)