When you think of your dream forever home, what do you imagine? For these homeowners it was a large, open & unique kitchen, open screened deck with a cozy fireplace, nice new master suite, and plenty of space upstairs for the family and guests.

Their old house ended where their new kitchen begins. We opened up their main floor, relocated their master suite, added a new kitchen, deck, pantry, laundry, and large garage out back and lifted their roof a bit to give them more space above on the second story.

We gave them a new, large master suite with open master bathroom layout. This new bathroom features a freestanding tub below a large window, open walk-in shower, and open, large master closet.

Their new living room now is open to their dining room which serves as a threshold to the new large kitchen. We added a small bar behind the kitchen peninsula that divides the kitchen and the dining room spaces, while keeping the flow of view. This serves as an extra conversation placeholder while also giving the dining room a more formal feel apart from the kitchen.

The kitchen features a beautiful, vaulted ceiling with stained cedar beams. This vaulted ceiling continues from the back of the kitchen out to the new screened-in deck. The only thing dividing the kitchen from the deck is a large, sliding glass door that you can completely open up in the warmer months.

We also completely rearranged the upstairs, taking what used to be two small bedrooms with one small bath, and gave them a new guest suite with extra bath and playroom.

This renovation allowed this family to stay in the neighborhood that they loved while giving them the space and quality of home that they desperately needed.

Every year, we like to reflect on our design work from the past 12 months and predict what the next 12 will look like in our clients’ homes. We love dreaming up future ideas and designs and we’re anxious to start putting them to work in our upcoming projects. We’ve crafted a list of what décor and home design trends we love and hope to see this year!

1.     Mixed Metals. We’ve come across the dilemma where a client has found some beautiful antique brass detailed light fixtures but wanted chrome plumbing fixtures. Today, everyone’s forgetting the old rules here in the fashion industry, so why not follow suit in our homes?

Photo example from one of our projects in Greenville where the light fixtures installed were antique brass and the plumbing was chrome.

Photo of the powder bath in our custom home project on Tallulah with beautiful deep navy walls.

2.     Dark Jewel Tone Walls and Bold Wallpaper. Lately, everyone has been moving towards painting their homes in light, bright, and airy hues. These are always beautiful, but we also love to see some richer color and we expect to see more and more of it in the near future. Jewel tone or even bold wallpaper covered walls add depth, character, and whimsy to a space. Try featuring these daring walls in your powder room or dining room for just the right bit of wow.

A home renovation in Augusta Rd. neighborhood. Wallpaper designed and handprinted by Greenville’s very own Jean Wilson Freeman.

This is an example photo pulled from a project on Home Bunch featuring beautiful wide plank, matte, light wood floors.

3.     Light Stained Hardwood Floors. Dark floors have become very sought after lately, but if you have a pet who tends to shed you’ll be vacuuming almost every day. We see a rise in light, natural stained floors in the future. This trend can be paired with any rustic home design or also work beautifully for a more sleek and modern home.

This is an example from one of our past projects on Stone Hollow showcasing lovely honey toned floors.

4.     High-End Appliances. We have seen more and more of an emphasis on appliances with our clients when deciding where to focus their budget. It makes sense- these are the tools you use to truly cook a great meal. Your countertops can be durable and beautiful, but they won’t brown that turkey for you. Today, appliance companies are reinventing their products every year to top their predecessor’s performance and innovating new appliances that can do something your old oven never could before. On top of it all, they have some truly beautiful models out there that not only cook well, but look amazing in your kitchen.

This is another photo from one of our projects in Greenville showcasing their DCS range and Sub Zero fridge.

This kitchen features a Wolf range top complete with Wolf double ovens and panel-ready Sub-Zero refrigeration.

5.     Traditional Trim and Wainscoting. We are obsessed with some well crafted trim or wainscoting in an older home. We see this coming back more than ever along with a more traditional décor movement. Shiplap and the farmhouse craze has taken over everyone’s hearts lately, but we see this staying more relevant in coastal and rural locations moving forward.

This is another example photo from our custom home project on Tallulah.

Horizontal plank reclaimed wood as an accent behind the master vanity.

We are excited to see what this year unfolds in new designs and projects! What trends do you see for the New Year? Comment below!

-DfD

Before

1-story; 2 bed/ 2bath

After

2-story; 4 bed/ 3 bath

As residential designers in Downtown Greenville, the most common addition and renovation project we encounter is what we like to call a “pop-top” design project. This renovation design incorporates adding a second story to an existing one-story home. The design challenge is to ensure that the second floor addition does not overpower the home and impose on the character and quaintness of the other homes in the neighborhood.

The downtown Greenville area maintains its growth and with it, the desire to stay in quaint and cozy neighborhoods. For these homeowners, their current home is location in their perfect locations: a quaint neighborhood with sidewalk streets to walk the dog, close proximity to downtown, and a family-friendly neighborhood.

However, the house needed a transformation to fit their lifestyle and future. The main floor required an open floor plan with a large master on main, including a screened porch for outdoor living space and a second floor consists of three bedrooms with a Jack-n-Jill bathroom with access from the central hallway for guests. The ‘pop-top’ design allowed for additional square footage upstairs but kept the character of the home with some gable dormers.

Elevation Sketch

Floor Plan Sketch

Gray quartz countertops on the perimeter of the kitchen cabinetry to highlight the veining in the Calcutta Vintage Quartz island top.

No wasted space. A built in desk was utilized under the stairwell with a built in drop off bench at the front door.

The back of the desk wall has shiplap to add texture under the stairs with the stained desk top.

The master bath balances the perfect amount of natural light. Adding transoms above the vanity frames each of the sinks. The back wall accent is painted reclaimed shiplap. The floor tile includes a herringbone floor tile pattern. The mix of chrome and black finishes and different textures creates a spa like oasis.

Outdoor Living Area: screened porch with stained tongue and groove ceiling, brick fireplace with reclaimed wood mantel. The oversized hearth adds additional seating.

It’s that time of year when you’re most likely thinking about how your family is soon going to be knocking on your door ready to celebrate the holidays. It’s a great time of year! This all means that it’s time to deck the halls. How are you going to get your home ready? How should you decorate? What do you need? We love this topic and helping our clients get holiday ready! Whether you’ve started planning this past summer or you’ve waited until the last minute, we hope that this article can help give you some ideas.

1.     Find a uniform theme for your holiday décor and start to add hints of this throughout your home! This year, we’re all about the natural textures and shades of red. We ran with this theme in one home. Want to add some shine? Pick a metal (gold or silver) and run with it!

2.     Confirm your guest count and make room. Now is the time to find all of the chairs you can so that there’s decent seating for everyone. If you’re having a larger cocktail party, not everyone needs to have a chair, but make sure you have enough room available for everyone to congregate and chat. If you have a covered deck or even screened deck, make this space as cozy as possible with some music, ambient lighting, and maybe even an outdoor space heater.

3. Set the table. You may or may not be a family who dines in a formal dining room, but if you have a formal dining table at all- dress it up! This is one of our favorite places to really get festive. You can even set out very simple white or ivory dinner settings, but add festive fun with bright linens and some napkin rings. Take it up a notch by adding some greenery and ornaments to your chandelier!

4. Candles, candles, candles! Who doesn’t smell every candle in a home goods store or boutique? We do! This is the best time of year to really let your love of candles shine. Not only can they make your home smell like Christmas, but they also add a beautifully warm, ambient light to any room.

5.     Plan for next year! After the holidays are over and the family and friends have cleared out, now may be the time to think about how you could better host your guests next year. Maybe next year you’d prefer to turn that patio or deck into a larger great room? Maybe you’d like to open your kitchen, dining, and living spaces up so that the party is less broken up? Or perhaps you need a new guest room because you’re tired of sleeping on the couch so that your in-laws have a bed? Whatever the case may be, consider what you may need and talk to a professional about how you can achieve those goals for next year!