When I was first interviewed by the prospective client for this remodel, I was five months pregnant. I brought up the pregnancy during our first meeting; it wasn’t obvious yet. She handled the news with congratulations and all-around grace. It was a great first meeting, the best kind of interview one can have. I felt an immediate connection – and understood some uncertainty about getting the job when the timeline fully overlapped with a new baby in my life.

Hiring me was her first in a long line of considerate, although rare, decisions. And that philosophy instilled a brand of loyalty and kinship that has been unshakable in the subsequent years. Beyond the overall ‘I-got-you’ juju, this project has many remarkable qualities. It was a funky home to begin with, before the transformation. The layout included some unnecessary diagonals, doors opening onto toilets, small clearances where maybe the whole idea of circulation was an afterthought.

All of that is fixable, but in this case, we wanted to not only improve it but take it one step further. We wanted to make it tailored like a fine-fitted suit. The kind of polish that we sought is closely associated with planning. It’s rare to start with a kooky old home and come away with poetic simplicity. Yet a calm, healing space is what we made.

I should mention financial cost here. Refinement is expensive. It’s like paying for the best possible care, because care is necessary to achieve the goal of refinement. In this case, remodeling was less expensive than starting from scratch (a little), but slower, with more constraints, and less predictability. If you truly transform a structure – to the studs – the demolition vs renovation decision is usually not a cost decision. It should be about what you are going to live with at the end. Because the cost is not that different. Environmentally, reuse is a win here, and it feels important to recognize that. Mentally, this approach was harder. It is emotionally taxing to work through the unpredictability of a remodel.

On this project, the scope gradually increased. I was uncertain at first, worried about the budget, always pointing out the scope creep.

I finally got the Zen memo (from the owner herself): Make it beautiful and do what it takes. So yes, lift that beam and pocket it into the ceiling. We did, and it was worth it. Here, each little moment of design was an opportunity for an infinity pool-influenced response. As usual, it’s gratifying to see the results of committing to excellence.

Aspen Magazine featured the project in this fantastic article about team collaboration and art integration.

On this project, I was gifted something beautiful when I least expected it, and when many women before me didn’t receive it. Thank you, Universe.

 

Project Team:

Photography by Dallas+Harris