Oh the possibilities.....

The second I stepped foot into this home I knew we had found our home. Well technically my husband found it, but I gave it my stamp of approval. You could tell that this home had been well cared for, and truly loved by its previous owners. Our main criteria when we were house hunting was finding a home with good bones that we could put our own personal touches on. We’ve owned multiple new construction homes before, and while they were all wonderful, they never felt unique to us.

Remodeling a home can be very intimidating. What started as a “small” kitchen and bath remodel turned into a total “gut job”, taking the majority of the home down to its bones. The best part of this story is we ended up living in our home while it was being remodeled. I say that sarcastically because it truly was a living nightmare for the majority of my family….except for Me. Our General Contractor and his team were amazing. They allowed me to learn and work side by side with them on a daily basis.

I will always tell clients that they need to interview multiple general contractors. While it can be time consuming interviewing contractor after contractor, you will get a better understanding of their timelines, their work ethics, their response times and cost per square foot of the remodel. You can always use the General Contractor that’s referred through your Designer, but you also need to do your due diligence-- anytime when you’re spending a significant amount of money.

Before the remodel started my husband and I each made a list of what we wanted in the kitchen. He cooks, I clean, and somehow it works. Having an abundance of counter space was crucial for him. Having a gathering area and making the room open was a no brainer for me. Both of us wanted to be in the kitchen but not feel closed off from the remainder of the home. That pony wall had to go and I knew that would completely transform the space.

Oh the pony wall. So that wall ended up being load bearing which means the wall is holding up the second floor. In order to remove it we had to put a very LARGE, 10ft wood beam into the ceiling. Taking down a load bearing wall isn’t a small feat nor is it an inexpensive task, but WELL WORTH IT! Even my husband who fought me tooth and nail agrees that it was the best decision we made when it came to the remodel.

So what exactly did we do to this area to completely transform the space, (aside from taking down the wall). I will deep dive into every one of these bullet points in later posts, but for now here’s a breakdown of what we did to the area to really make it personal to my family.

1.) We “tongue and grooved” the ceilings- not shiplap but looks exactly like it.

2.) We replaced all 36” cabinets with 42” cabinets, taking them to the ceiling. This gives the visual impression that the ceiling are taller. Some of our cabinets were pre-fabricated and some of our cabinets were custom. This little trick saved us a significant amount of money.

3.) We painted the cabinets. Although the pre-fabricated cabinets came in white, we wanted a “warm” white as most of our color tones in the home were a warm tone. The white cabinets were painted Simply White by Benjamin Moore, and the Navy was Hale Navy (my favorite) by Benjamin Moore.

4.) We painted our entire home, including the kitchen Simply White. So yes the white cabinets and the white walls are the same color, just a different sheen.

5.) We added a subway, ceramic tile backsplash in a light grey color. Around the stove hood and sink we took the tile all the way to the ceiling.

6.) We ordered a pre-fabricated, pre-stained hood, and then stained it to match the floating shelves.

7.) We replaced the flooring throughout the entire home. Ninety Nine percent of the people that walk through the home think it’s genuine hardwood floors. It’s not. I have three kids, and three dogs. I’ve had real hardwood in my previous homes, while incredibly beautiful it doesn’t work with our lifestyle. That’s one thing to consider when remodeling your home. What does your lifestyle look like? If it’s anything like mine you want durability, functionality and style. Those three things can go hand in hand, you just have to get creative. Again, I’ll go into more detail later…..

8.) New appliances, new lighting and new hardware throughout.

9.) New countertops. No they are not marble, or quartz….they are porcelain. If you go online you’ll see mixed reviews about the use of porcelain countertops. Just like when you’re sick and you google your symptoms, 5 minutes later you learn you’re dying when in truth all you have is a cold, yea don’t believe everything you read on the internet. I’ll do a blog post about these countertops later.

10.) We replaced the bay sink window with a slider as we added an outdoor bar on the opposite side of that window.

11.) We added natural gas to the kitchen, because we were adamant on having a gas stove.

There are certain things we did not do to the area to help save on cost.

Let me preface this by saying, this is not going to work for every home.

1.) We did not move plumbing or electrical. I loved where the oven, stove and sink were originally located so we had no need to move them.

2.) We had plenty of can lighting so adding more wasn’t necessary. We took two of the cans and re-configured them to hang our pendants, and then capped off the one in the middle (as we only needed two pendants).

3.) We did not move windows or doors (however we will be replacing our french doors with bi-folds in the future.

4.) We DID NOT demo the tile flooring. You’re super curious as to how that’s possible and I’ll discuss it in a later blog post.

29 Design

Every home should tell a story. So should every Designer.

Here we are, July 29th, 2022. It’s 6pm, and I’m sitting at my kitchen counter (aka: my desk) drinking an Aperol Spritz listening to my 7 year old son play, along with my 9 year old 81 pound German Shepard in the background barking at the wind. Forgive me if my thoughts are all over the place because in reality, that’s my life. I’m the mother of 3 kids ranging from 16 down to 7, and 3 dogs ranging from 9 down to 6 months. We have a doormat that says “Welcome to the Shit Show.” If you think I’m joking, spend 5 minutes at my house.

You’re probably here because you want to know what’s happened over the last two years, so I figured I would write a blog post about it.

In August of 2020 my husband and I decided to relocate to Orange County, California. Both of us had spent a significant amount of time in Southern California, so this wasn’t new territory.

If you knew of me back in Seattle you know that I owned a little business called Nicole Glavin Homes. A small design and real estate staging business located in the Puget Sound area. That company was my 4th child. Just like I give my children 100%, I gave that business (probably) a little bit more. When I opened my doors it didn’t take me long to start staging homes. I’ll never forget my husband walking into our home one evening after work and looking puzzled. He turned and said to me “what happened to all our furniture?” It was all in someone else’s house. We sat on the floor for about 3 weeks. Thrilling for my husband and our children, I’m sure. If you ask any successful entrepreneur they will tell you that you have to pour everything into your business for the first couple years. You eat, sleep, and dream that business. It consumed a lot of my time and furniture, however I truly loved what I did. I loved having something that was mine. A business that I grew from the ground up, making it successful and profitable before its first birthday.

Nicole Glavin Homes was officially two years old when I turned off the lights and walked away. I knew that one day I would be back, but had no idea when that would be. My focus was on my family and getting everyone settled into their new home and new schools. The last two years for everyone has been nothing short of chaotic. It honestly feels like we all went on on a massive rollercoaster. You know the one that flips you sideways then upside down and then the second it’s over you’re thankful you survived? That’s how I describe the last two years. My recommendation for moving (with children) and remodeling a home all while in the midst of a global pandemic would be a 1 ⭐️ rating.

So now what? About a year ago my husband and I sat down with some friends. The wine was pouring and of course after a couple glasses you start reevaluating your life. Like I mentioned earlier, I knew that I wanted to restart my business and that conversation really opened my eyes to getting the ball rolling.

Starting a small business is incredibly intimidating even if you’ve done it before. My Dad was a Graphic Designer and owned his own business throughout my childhood and just recently “retired.” He and my Mom always taught my sister and myself that nothing in life worth it will ever be easy. I’ve held that with me throughout life, and it’s especially relevant when running a business. There were, and will be plenty of sleepless nights, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

I am beyond thrilled to announce the opening of 29 Design. My design firm located in Orange County, California. This time around we will focus on design and less on home staging.

If you would like further information on our services, please feel free to reach out to me at: nicole@29design.co, or (310)750-7220.

Thank you again for your continued support!

Cheers,

Nicole

Creating Comfort Through Interior Design

Creating Comfort Through Interior Design

Just because the Christmas decor is put away and the festive mood of the holidays is over doesn’t mean we have to stop creating a snug and cozy home. It’s a good time to embrace winter Hygge! If you aren’t familiar with Hygge, it’s a Danish word for feeling content and cozy.

Here are seven ways to bring Hygge style comfort to your home, even during the dreariest winter month of the year!

LAYERED LIGHTS

Even if you feel like you’re lacking in the cozy department, simply addressing your lighting will make a huge difference. Layers of lighting make every room feel more welcoming. In the daytime, natural light is ideal. But for evenings, it’s nice to add a cozy glow. A good rule of thumb is to try to have a least three light sources in every room. Use a mix of table lamps, floor lamps, task lamps, and overhead lighting. Consider using warmer lightbulbs for the coziest ambience.

COMFORTING MOMENTS

Your home will offer a sense of comfort when you incorporate some favorite photos of loved ones, treasured hand-me-downs, antiques or flea-market finds, eye-catching conversation starters, art that inspires you, special mementos, or simply things that make you smile.

AN INVITING AROMA

What aroma feels ‘cozy’ to you? Set the tone for your home by filling it up with winter scents that inspire you.

TOUCHABLE TEXTURES

The coziest homes contain a variety different textures that delight the eye. Incorporate different touch-worthy materials through pillows, drapery, throw blankets, rugs, lamps, and furniture. The fabric possibilities are endless: velvet, woven, knit, embroidered, grain sack, faux fur, tweed, etc. You can also consider creating contrast with varying materials like metal, wood, glass, rattan, mirrored, painted, and more.

A PLACE TO CURL UP

Make yourself a special cozy place to relax. A reading chair will be extra cozy with some good books nearby in a basket, a lamp, a footstool, a side table to set a cup of tea, and a soft blanket you can curl up in.

A BIT OF WARMTH

Every home can benefit from warmth. No matter what your color scheme, you can add warmth through natural tones like wood, leather, jute, warm metals, etc.

SOMETHING LIVING

A room comes to life when an organic element is incorporated into the decor. Every room can benefit from having at least one plant, bouquet of flowers, or even a sprig of greenery like eucalyptus to remind us that spring is on its way.