Creating Open ConceptTue, October 03, 2017
One of Habermehl Contracting’s most recent projects took place in Lower Sackville, where a suburban home was transformed from small, limited rooms into a stunning great room.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ed and Kelly at the Spring Home Show; they were a pleasant, retired couple who were looking for an addition to their home. After several conversations, we discovered the only problem with the space they currently had was it wasn’t living up to its full potential. “You don’t need to add onto your house.” my dad told them, “Let’s look at what we can do with the space you have here.”
We began working with Ed and Kelly to design their dream home. “You had Christine (Habermehl’s interior decorator) assist Kelly in the selection process from start to finish,” Ed said. “That was an enormous help- right down to the paint colors.” “The team gave us ideas, and we’d give them ours, and we’d just mesh them together,” Kelly added.
Our crew then went into the house, working closely with Ed and Kelly, making sure the renovations would not only meet their needs but surpass their expectations. Their main desire was to open up their few dark, enclosed rooms into a large, bright, open space both beautiful and convenient for personal use and entertainment. Concept drawings and plans quickly emerged, and soon the project began. Darren (the sight supervisor) and his team knocked out walls and stripped most of the main floor down to the studs to create a fresh canvas of which we could transform.
The once separate rooms were converted into one large, bright great room, with a magnificent open kitchen. The coffered ceiling in the living room was a masterpiece, and one of my personal favourite touches to the house. The team worked tirelessly on the job to make sure it looked just right, lining up, and blending into the other ceilings lines flawlessly. “The conferred ceiling was an enormous task with a lot of mitered joints. The amount of detail they spent on sanding and painting was incredible!” Ed told us. The living room was adorned with new windows, for an even brighter, larger effect. The hardwood was original but was thatched where walls had been removed, sanded down, and re-stained a classy ‘gun smoke brown’, topped off with a new finish. The fireplace was particularly stunning, the team custom-built slim cupboards of teardrop decorative glass for either side. They were so elegant that I didn’t realize at first they opened for storage, thinking them just another crowning touch to the home. Both the fireplace and shelving were custom sized around their television to frame it perfectly against the wall. And to top all that off, the whole house was filled with exquisite new light fixtures that completed the house perfectly. “They’re eye candy,” as my dad says, “You’ve got to get just the right light fixture to make the room come to life.”
The new kitchen was strikingly elegant. With the help of Patti’s Kitchen and Bath, we were able to create a state-of-the-art kitchen that was not only stunning but also practical. The cupboards were stained a lovely dark cherry, custom lit to highlight their natural beauty! The drawers were filled with customized organizers and spinners that were so clever that they truly did “make Susan look lazy”! The stove was a beautiful glass top, set in the center of the peninsula. But without a wall, you have no place to mount an air vent, right? Wrong. With the simple push of a button, up rose the stove vent from the countertop! This was my favourite feature of the kitchen; it was so enjoyable to watch. Like the vent, the electrical plugs were creatively hidden, popping out of the counter with the click of a button. The flooring for the kitchen was beautiful, and the most practical I’d ever seen, a self-healing vinyl! If you look at most kitchen floors, you will no doubt see the years of loving wear on them, but this flooring is different. If you drop a knife, the cut heals itself! And it’s comfortable too, so whether you’re spending the day cooking turkey dinner or just making a quick pot of pasta, you’ll be pleasantly cushioned, without the worry of sore feet in the kitchen! And on top of all that, the original countertops and cupboards were salvaged to be later installed in their cottage.
Ed and Kelly were thrilled with the final results, loving not only the opulent outcome but the diligent service. Ed said, “The attention to detail was phenomenal! If they saw a nail pop during lunch, it would be fixed before they left that day.” Both Ed and Kelly earnestly agreed they would recommend Habermehl Contracting to whoever asks. They have already begun entertaining their pleasantly surprised guests in their new home. “Everybody just loves it,” Kelly told us. “They walk in, just like ‘You built a new home!’ They just love it.”
It was an absolute pleasure working with you, Ed and Kelly! Best wishes as you enjoy your new home for years to come!