Carmel-By-the-Sea Cottage Renovation
We are honored to share a project we had the privilege of completing recently. This one-of-a-kind Cottage, nestled in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea was last renovated in 1992, and was truly stuck in the 90s…full of pastel colors and small, confined spaces. Our homeowners approached us with the vision of bringing this home into the modern era, while keeping its quaint, cottage feel–making the most of natural light, and adding high-tech touches. This became a full interior and exterior renovation project for our team.
Our first goal was to bring the exterior of the home up to par. This included a brand-new cedar shake roof, trimmed with copper gutters and downspouts, which will age and patina beautifully in Carmel’s moist climate. We painted the entire exterior as well, giving the home a quaint and whimsical feel, tucked away in the towering oaks above.
The interior renovation of this cottage home did wonders to improve the use of natural light, increase energy efficiency, and keep the spaces cozy and inviting. Our homeowners are first met with a lovely Carmel Stone tile entryway, and then Hydronic radiant heat throughout the whole house, beneath beautiful Argonne Forest Oak wide plank engineered hardwood flooring. These floors were trimmed out with new baseboards, and all of the doors were refinished and trimmed with new casings. Another detail that makes this home so inviting is all its natural light, however many of the old windows were clouded and fogged. Our team custom-replaced many individual panes of glass, giving the homeowners a lovely, clear view out every window, and even added a solar tube sky light in the guest room for additional lighting. Other features that brighten the home and “lift” the eye are the newly painted open beam ceiling in the living room, and all new light fixtures throughout.
Bright White Custom Cabinets
The showstopper in this home is its gorgeous custom kitchen. Bright white custom cabinets were built to include custom pullouts, and topped with exquisite Naica Quartzite countertops with a leathered finish. They are complemented by stunning elite fixtures, such as an imported Ilve Majestic 6-Burner Blue Range/Oven from Italy, and built-in Thermador refrigerator. A sunny, garden window frames the user-friendly farm sink, and the bright, airy feel is completed by the Arctic White subway tile backsplash.
The bathrooms were also opportunities to bring some beautiful modern touches to the home. The Master Bathroom features a claw-footed cast iron Slipper Tub, custom finished in seafoam blue. White custom vanity cabinets are complemented by Cambria White Cliff countertops, and a private water closet features the ultimate in high-tech—a Toto Neorest toilet. The guest bathroom has a similar color scheme, but instead with custom blue cabinets, Cambria White Cliff countertops, and of course the Toto Neorest toilet. While not visible in photos, another amenity given to our homeowners was a newly rebuilt laundry closet, where we relocated the hot water heater to on-demand, and installed a new stackable washer and dryer in a convenient, centralized location.