Open Concept Transformation of a Windsor Family Vacation Home
Since originally purchasing their Windsor vacation home this family’s children have grown and so have their requirements for the spaces. The once sufficient living quarters have evolved into a home that now signifies a lifestyle made for family and entertaining. Enlisting the help of Architect Tom Hoos and RCL as their builder the home has transformed from a dwelling comprised of several distinct and individual rooms to an open concept transitional space that is family friendly, open and inviting. Every room embraces the quintessential indoor/outdoor living Vero Beach has to offer. We asked the homeowners to tell us about the renovation.
Did you purchase the home with the intention of renovating? Or had you lived there for some time and then decide to make changes?
“We purchased the home in 2007 and spent our first Thanksgiving Holiday there a few months later with our three children all of which were under the age of five including a newborn, just five weeks old. Our requirement at that time was definitely about doing the minimum required to get in! After living in the home for seven years, we were clear on what changes we needed to make and those we did not want. We were actually happy we had the opportunity to live in the house as long as we did before renovating.”
What do you feel was the biggest change that made the most significant impact?
“Well, the impetus for our entire renovation was opening up the kitchen to the living space. Certainly, that change has been exactly as transformative as we had hoped. Perhaps of even greater impact was the change we made upstairs, turning two very large bedrooms into three. That change created rooms big enough for our immediate family’s purposes. We were then able to repurpose our downstairs bedroom, which was enormous and always underused to a den and hangout area for our kids (preschoolers in 2007, now preteens!) It has been great to have a place to send the kids and their friends to be silly and play Wii without us all being in the same Living area—particularly on those occasional cold and rainy Vero Beach winter days.
The great room is open to the kitchen and the use of the same cabinets in both rooms makes the home feel streamlined and clean how is it living with an open concept?
“Our guiding principle was to have cabinetry that was to scale in a cerused finish that it would be minimalist and “go away.” Obviously, it is a lot of cabinetry, but I think the sweep of it is soothing and (as you say) streamlined. We absolutely love the open concept—it has changed the kitchen from a place I felt stuck and removed from our guests to the center of our home. I can stand at our island and see the trees and the beautiful Florida sky, and it is almost as good as actually being outside!”
How important is the outdoor space In relation to the interior? You choose a beautiful neutral color palette that feels bright and airy that seems to bring the outdoors in. Was that the intent?
“The color palette was all sorts of sand-and-sky colors, again going for a modern look that was still soothing and inviting. I did not want anything to feel too precious to sit on. With three kids and their cousin’s running back and forth to the pool outside, our fabrics and furnishings had to be equal parts sturdy and elegant. To that end, we used some Sunbrella and other outdoor fabrics to upholster our living room pieces; I guess that really is bringing the outdoors in.”
Do you have a favorite space?
“The new open plan living room and kitchen area are by far my favorite spaces. It is a great place to kick back in the evenings, and we find we have become serial entertainers all of a sudden! It feels easy and comfortable to have people over. All the kids have their own space to be kids and we are thrilled with how it all turned out.”
Photography by Aric Attas
Renovation Architect: Tom Hoos – Hoos Architecture
Builder: RCL Development
Originally Published on Vero Home Life & Design
RESOURCES
Hardware: Designer Hardware, 625 Beachland Blvd. Ste 2, Vero Beach, FL 32963, 772-231-5844
All Wood Flooring: Designer’s Touch Flooring, 1715 Old Dixie Hwy, Vero Beach, FL 32960, 772-978-9111
Counter Tops: Double E Marble, 540 2nd St SW, Vero Beach, FL 329621 772-567-7277
Shower Enclosure: HBS Inc, 722 3rd Place, Vero Beach, FL 32962, 772-494-5380
Cabinetry & Hardware: Lacorte Enterprises, 1566 Old Dixie Hwy, Vero Beach, FL 32960, 772-564-0068
All Bathrooms: Treasure Coast Tile, 1130 7th Court, Vero Beach, FL 32960, 772-770-2556
DESIGN DEFINED
What is a Cerused (aka limed) Finish?
Dating back to the 16th century, ceruse was a white lead derivative used as a cosmetic by luminaries such as Queen Elizabeth I. Highly toxic on human skin, it found favor with cabinetmakers, who used the paste to fill the porous open grain of oak planks.
Known in Britain as “limed oak,” the finish was popular throughout the Art Deco era and employed by notable midcentury modern pioneers including Jean-Michel Franck and Paul T. Frankl. A version of the technique, with a whitened grain contrasting against a black stain, was widely imitated in the 1950s.
These days, nontoxic colored waxes are used to create the effect, which evokes a bygone era of glamour and craftsmanship.
Source: David A. Keeps LA Times
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