A Family Home With a Place for Everything

Part of the extensive remodel included new millwork like the floor-to-ceiling wall panels. The console table, lamp and mirror, all by Uttermost, set the tone for the home’s carefully edited interiors. | Photography by Dynamic Range Solutions

Benjamin Franklin is often credited with saying, “A place for everything and everything in its place,” and for a couple with five children preparing to renovate their home, the old proverb could easily have become their personal mantra. Former members of the military—they met at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs— the wife admits, “We have the type of personalities that like things organized.” But with everyday laundry pileups, school supplies times five that needed corralling, and three aspiring hockey stars, getting the dated traditional design they purchased to conform to their very specific requirements was going to be a big job.

Noting that the homeowners love a sense of order, interior designer Corinne Ekle kept things symmetrical with matching bookcases, and parallel sofas by Lexington Home Brands. Twin chairs by Four Hands and a Big Ass fan complete the orchestrated space.

Initial plans for kitchen and bedroom makeovers soon expanded to include changes to the family and living rooms and making space for a mudroom and better laundry facilities, causing the owners to feel out of their depth. With the help of interior designer Corinne Ekle of c2Design, the project took shape as she not only managed the details—“She really got everything dialed in on time and budget,” says the wife—but solved all their design issues.

The gray tones of the woven Lexington Home Brands coffee table and Surya rug tie the space to the kitchen, where the cabinets are by The Kitchen Showcase. White Picasso quartzite from the Stone Collection tops the islands, and the pendant lighting is by Visual Comfort.

Not surprisingly, the immediate focus was the kitchen, where a solo entry point and an island set at an odd angle impeded any reasonable traffic flow. “They host family gatherings, and we needed to create movement and seating for a lot of people,” says Ekle, who introduced two islands, one that serves as an eating area large enough to accommodate the immediate family, which includes five children. New cream-colored cabinets in a classic door style, durable quartzite counters, two dishwashers and a separate prep sink, microwave and beverage cooler—the latter for kids to grab snacks and drinks—accomplish the goals of a good-looking, high-functioning family gathering spot.

“There were these 90s-style art niches quite high up that we decided to close in,” says Corrine Ekle, who designed the paneling to refresh the area. The chandelier is by Fusion.

To bring the adjacent sunken great room up to date, Ekle raised the floor, established a focal point with a white limestone fireplace and introduced wide-plank European oak floors. “They are fresh, light and can stand up to kids and a dog,” she says. The furnishings follow suit with slightly mismatched parallel sofas covered in performance fabrics—one in a light linen look-alike and the other in a slate faux bouclé. After squaring off the arched window, a retractable door system was installed that opens to the backyard, effectively doubling the entertainment space.

Above the floating vanity, bold blue Cloe tiles by Bedrosians make a statement. The sink is Kohler and sconces are by Fusion.

Reconfiguring the existing living room and home office and creating a doorway from the primary bedroom to the space resulted in a cozy library/sitting room. “It was meant to be a sanctuary for the wife, but it has ended up being everyone’s favorite place to hang out,” says Ekle, who offset the traditional built-ins with geometric-patterned wallpaper for a modern twist.

Wallpaper by York backs the Sunpan bed, and a Safavieh lamp rests on a Universal Furniture nightstand.

The introduction of the bluish-gray high-gloss paint on the library bookcases opened the door for shades of blue in other parts of the house, most notably the second-floor boys’ bathroom. There, a classic 1980s lavatory with sinks located in adjoining bedrooms was rearranged into one large space with three sinks sunk into a navy vanity and a trio of blue-framed mirrors to accommodate the three boys. Blue tones continue in the powder room, with a wall of high-gloss royal tile backing a floating vanity by Marc David Homes, the project builder; and a rich khaki/green color was used in the uber-efficient mudroom. Along with a new second-floor laundry room, the two areas dramatically up the home’s level of organization.

A high-gloss paint on the custom built-ins brings a modern touch to the traditional space, where a Four Hands sofa and a classic wingback chair provide comfy reading spots. The ottoman is by Sunpan.

About the finished product the wife exudes, “It feels like it should have been this way in the first place. It’s exactly what we were hoping for and a super good fit for our family.”

DESIGN DETAILS
INTERIOR DESIGN c2 Design Interiors
BUILDER Marc David Homes
PHOTOGRAPHY Dynamic Range Solutions