TRADITIONAL HOME, full design & Renovation | TOC design Tania Scardellato

It's your typical home renovation story--besotted homeowners; a charming yet seriously outdated home long admired from afar.

While the renovation process was par for the course, the results were anything but predictable.

My Clients purchased this home as a contractors build and lived  in it for 15 years,  they were looking for something more grown-up and sophisticated, and this house had the potential but need the help of the professionals."

"At first they thought they could transform the house by simply painting it, but the flow was all wrong, the spaces too small, and no storage. “With 2 young boys and a baby, my life is hectic enough to have to deal with picking up toys” Melissa says.

Soft greys and whites now prevail, replacing a profusion of jewel tones and black. Gold accents harmonious but never repetitive--lend their calming air to almost every room.

In the living room, 2 over sized traditional velvet purple armchairs act as a counterpoint to the symmetrical layout of the room. The black book case lends a traditional spin to a not-so-traditional mix of furnishings.

As a designer I like mixing and matching styles, it’s like wearing a pair of jeans with a sport coat or a great pair of designer shoes with jeans and a black T-shirt. It's really about mixing textures and colors and then adding something that gives a bit of an accent to set it off.

Nowhere is that mix more evident than in the den--reminiscent of a moody gentleman's club for the cool crowd. It's the perfect spot to ease into the oversized leather sleeper sofa with Sunday paper in hand and being able to enjoy the kids sounds of laughter, without having to worry about cleaning the toys. Once it’s adult time the kids each have their spaces and clean up is a breeze

In the less colorful yet equally chic dining room, the black and gold upholstered dining chairs becomes the focal point. Yet there is so much going on, like the tall glass cabinets with curved glass frame adding class and style, the perfect window bench and storage below, but its most impressive element is the dining room counter top made of cosmic black and gold.

My client did not want this dining space underutilized. It was important that her family have their meals every day in this room, but boys will be boys and she was concerned about damaging wood dining table. What is more resistant than wood, a hard surface, I made sure that the granite was protected with a DuPont protection, to last the test of time. Now spills don’t matter, no more table cloths, and the family gathers for dinner in a comfortable setting yet not stuffy. We made sure that the seats of the chairs would be upholstered in leather for extra protection.

While updates were made throughout the first floor, heated floors, staining the existing wood floors to a warm walnut color, a much better distribution of recessed lighting, most structural changes were saved for the kitchen. We enlarged the opening between the dining and kitchen space and closed off the opening from the entrance hall way to the kitchen to create a full wall for the extra large fridge, double ovens, pantry and even a coffee station with a pull out shelf.

The original kitchen was tucked away in a corner and not utilized to its full potential. Dark, dated and miserable. Now it's where it all happens. It's a bright and happy room, a true Cooks kitchen and the perfect gathering space. It's by far the most used room in the house.

A medley of materials works together to create a modern kitchen with a distinctly traditional feel. Oversized slabs of Quartz from silestone with a beveled edge and clipped corners. Custom cabinets  with many interior fixings, fluted legs, closed light valance with puck lights, the continuous crown molding. We even did a special cabinet just for a small TV. So that we would not see any exposed wires. The interior of the cabinets are made to match the walnut floor color  with a wood scrape melamine able to handle wear and tear. The cabinet doors where designed and manufactured especially for the client not too traditional not too contemporary. The backsplash is the belle of the ball, with its ornate shape and matt bronze finish. Each cabinet handle was carefully selected to blend with the proportion of doors. Giving this kitchen a warm touch. The large 24” x 24” rectified heated porcelain floor blends in nicely and conceals dirt tracked in by the boys. We can also find a wine rack , open cubbies for cook books, an oversized under mount double sink, extra large paneled refrigerator. What’s not to love. Every aspect of this home has been detailed and cared for with the clients vision of simple traditional that a family can live and Love for many years to come.