31 Oct Central Phoenix Mid-Century – Before & After
Today, we have a very special feature post for you: the big reveal of our latest Central Phoenix project!
Mid-Century in Central Phoenix
3 Beds | 2 Baths | 1,500+ SQFT
Every remodel is different, but this home challenged us in so many ways. We acquired the property in April of this year, making this the longest project we’ve taken on: a whole six months, from start to finish.
This was also an incredibly extensive remodel. The home was built in 1953 (!!), and has gorgeous mid-century lines. We walked up to this house and saw nothing but potential. Only, the potential happened to be buried under 60 years of wall paper and paint. So much work was done to this home that it will be difficult to explain all in one post. But, stick with me, because there are some seriously juicy details that we can’t wait to share!
Kitchen & Main Living
This home was about what you could expect when you walk in. Closed off kitchen, old and chipping paint, and just a general age to the home. If you’ll notice, the far wall had that great three-panel glass. Two panels were stationary while only the center was a sliding door, but the fact that this already existed here gave us a great opportunity to do something special!
Before
During
After
There’s a lot going on here, so let’s start in stages! First thing first, that kitchen wall had to come down. We installed this large steel beam to provide structural support, and left it in a raw finish to add character. If you’ll notice, the kitchen ceiling and adjacent hallway had a soffit that came down about twelve inches, which is where the duct work was. We were already replacing the AC and moving it from the hall closet to the roof, so we had to do some duct work anyway — why not expand the entire hallway height? By blowing up that entire section and raising the air duct further back into the attic space, we gained a whole foot of headspace in these areas. It made a HUGE difference!
Every window in the home had to be replaced, including the glass slider. We ordered a custom, three panel door that collapsed on itself to leave the entire space open to the backyard. It creates such an incredible open entertaining space!
You may also notice from the before pictures, that there was an exterior door in the kitchen space. We enclosed that, too, to create a greater kitchen functionality. Once the walls were put back together, that gorgeous patterned floor tile was laid in the kitchen. One of the very last things we did here was the fresh concrete poured right up to that tile height to create a seamless transition between kitchen and living. The concrete floor treatments was also carried through the hallway and bathrooms.
Guest Bathroom
This guest bathroom was so special! On first look, it was dilapidated, grimy, and showing decades of use. In this part of the house, there were layers upon layers of wallpaper, all stacked on top of each other. It was amazing to see a whole lifetime of home decor, stashed away beneath the old drywall! Man, oh MAN this bathroom was a wreck! But there was an allure to it even before. The water-stained wall paper, those porcelain cabinet knobs, the heavy cast iron tub…my heart! Well, it all had to go, and we took a few liberties with the new design.
Before
After
The trough sink is something we had been itching to try, and I just love how it turned out here. That fresh white tile and dark grout played so well with the concrete floors and white walls. There was just too much to like in this bathroom, and I love how it turned out. A few special notes here: You can always tell when tile has been finished properly by whether Schluter was installed. Here, we used a matte black Schluter, and it creates what looks like a border that finishes the tile edges. The only thing we kept original in this bathroom were the old cabinet doors on the built-ins, because we just couldn’t help ourselves! There’s just something about that bit of character, right?
Master Suite
An incredible amount of work went in to transforming this master suite. At some point early on, we realized that a utility room on the other side of the far wall, which was previously used as a laundry room, was positioned perfectly to be converted in to an en suite bathroom. The existing bathroom was the tiniest thing – so small, that it ended up being converted to the private toilet room of the en suite! Imagine if you can, and follow along:
Before
During
Above: Access to the utility room was created by carving a doorway through the exterior block wall (the opening on the right). You can see another doorway created behind the framing on the left, which leads into what used to be the existing bathroom.
Above: Second doorway into the existing master bathroom, which was converted to the private toilet room.
Above: This utility room was extended about four feet to add more square footage to the ensuite.
After
Did you notice something new in the bedroom? Funny story, the entire house needed new windows. Each one had to be replaced. When we were walking around the house to get a count, we noticed one window from the outside that we couldn’t quite place. Turned out, one of the master bedroom windows (over the new bed!) had been sheet rocked over from the interior wall. Since the entire house basically needed new sheet rock anyway, we obviously tore that spot out to expose the window. What a difference that extra light makes!
You can see from the after photo how the new doorway leads into an entirely new master suite. The existing closet got a make over, and the rest of the room was freshened up, big time.
About this master suite, now. We brought in the concrete floors, and are so glad we did. It looked amazing! Our buddy, Matt, with Rain Made Design, created this incredible floating concrete sink for us. It turned out even better than we could have imagined. Next to the sink is a white door that leads into the new toilet room. The frosted glass door leads to the backyard, and the pool!
We knew we wanted to install a free-standing tub, and we did a fun feature wall with the tile in a raw-edge style. The shower is extra long, and we love the added waterfall shower head. There are just too many beautiful things to look at in this room!
The Backyard
This home had a pool that needed to be re-pastered, and the decking was updated too. We added some simple turf, a bunch of clean rock, and trimmed up the large tree in the back to open up that view of the skyline. We also removed a large slab of concrete, and I love the idea of adding a raised patio with a fire pit in that space!
Before
After
A really great way to update any outdoor space is by adding pavers. They come in all sorts of colors (here, we used grey), and install is pretty easy. We pavered over the patio, added a walkway to the pool, and used pavers to create a border for the artificial grass. Classy!
A few other special touches…
I want to go through few more special points in the kitchen.
That 8.5 foot island is NO joke! The countertops in here are quartz – and we were blown away by the veining on the island slab. In this kitchen, we finally got to do exposed shelving! These shelves were designed by our friend Byron Cline (@byroncline on Insta), and he is just so incredibly talented with design and fabrication. Bryce chose that wild backsplash feature tile from Overstock.com! We were really excited to see it finally installed, as the backsplash and shelves were the very last things we did.
And, of course, we couldn’t help but add in that special touch of reclaimed wood from Porter Barn Wood on the island. There are too many special features in here to name, so I ask you to please reach out to me directly if you have questions or want more details about any specific feature here!
Special thanks to Modern Manor for staging, as well as Good to the Grain and Desert Loom for providing locally made art!
Links to Materials
Kitchen
Stainless Steel Apron Sink – Amazon
Matte Black Cabinet Hardware – Amazon
Pendant Lighting over Island – Amazon
Industrial Dining Chandelier – Amazon
Bathrooms
Tile sourced from Floor & Decor or Home Depot
Matte Black Cabinet Hardware – Amazon
Trough Sink (Guest Bathroom) – Amazon
Industrial Globe Sconces (Guest Bathroom) – Amazon
Free Standing Tub (Master Suite) – Amazon
No Comments