Highland Park, Dallas, Texas
Condo Study Remodel
Modernizing, creating superior function and incorporating personal style are keystones to the Renowned Renovation approach to remodeling and interior design. From the start of each project, we work with our clients to create a room or home that truly fits your needs and ascetic. Call today for a free consultation.
Renowned Renovation Interior Designer Melissa Blassingille appreciates the details of a home that have value to her clients. The goal is to connect with the pieces of a home that owners cherish most. By identifying a few treasured features, furniture pieces or fixtures—Melissa can create design concepts that take pieces of familiarity and blend them into a modernized layout. This article is a part of a series. Read here about the Hunter Douglas Window Treatments for the same condo renovation.
A Classic + Modern Masterpiece
The Highland Park condo was a head-to-toe, top-to-bottom remodel. The homeowners wanted to modernize the home while continuing to display their family’s art collection. The end result is a classic-meet-modern masterpiece.
The bookcases you see in the display video are an original feature of the home study. Since the early planning stages, the bar was set to undergo a major face lift. At first, the plans for the bar seemed to pose a clash in style with the classic bookshelves. However, upon further consideration, Melissa proposed rehabbing the cases instead.
The outcome provides a contrast between the two mainstays of the room that complement each other. A look that creates a perfect balance between classic + modern.
Open Up Your Living Space
Today’s renovations always seem to begin with the question: how can we open up the space? Older condos, like the one at Park Plaza, are often being updated per the owner's request.
Renowned Renovation is a master in the techniques and expertise needed to open up interior spaces. We work with structural engineers to be sure clients get as much of the open-plan they have in mind as possible. Where you can’t take a wall out there are still options to increase space and remove barriers.
Our clients at the Highland Park Plaza were looking to open their condo up where possible. One option for us was the entrance to the home library.
We removed the doors to the study while maintaining the original structure of walls and entrance way. This allows the study to continue to have some separation from the living room, while transforming the space.
The homeowners frequently host parties at their residence and this, too, was apart of the remodeling plans. The throughway between the rooms works to enhance the original layout and function of the two rooms.
A Modern Wet Bar
As you can see in the video, the bar previously had a “wing-wall” surrounding it. This enclosure was outdated and not ideal for hosting parties. We knocked out the walls around the bar to open it up and modernize the look and feel.
One benefit to working with the Renowned team is the exquisite attention to detail we provide with our line of handcrafted cabinets. Often, cabinetry are given a smaller budget in a major home remodeling job. This is because many factory-made cabinet lines appear to “do the job.”
It appears to be an efficient, cost-effective way to upgrade your cabinets. However, our commitment to craftsmanship is what lead us to get behind a cabinet line that we could proudly recommend to our clients. Click here to read more about Renowned Stylecraft Cabinet.
A gorgeous cabinet-front fridge door that was designed to hide the under-the-counter beverage cooler. This is a truly modern and minimalist look. There’s nothing that sticks out, the eye gazes the room and sees a seamless line under the counter. A glass tile covering the wall behind the bar provides an elegant splash of style that adds texture and a subtle flare to the room.
Every Client is a Part of the Design
Melissa’s philosophy is to bring clients into the interior design in the early planning stages. It’s important to her and the Renowned team that your home reflects your taste and to function in the way that you function.
During a walkthrough, Melissa will ask clients, “what’s important to you?” “What has significance.” When a client says, “I want this, I have to have this,” Melissa will ask them what they love about it and why they need it.
This is her process to understand how to make the piece they desire to work for them combined with the other details (i.e. wall paint, countertops, flooring). This approach also helps her to know how to look for more features to fit their style.
For this home study and bar remodel, the clients found a beautiful, round and hammered sink they just loved. We knew that this was a great piece and wanted to plan aspects of the bar and room around it. It’s an undermount sink, providing a clean look without the lip that comes with a “drop-in” sink. The hammered sink + textured tiles on the wall + the Cambria countertops compliment each other well in a dance of style.
Restoring Original Home Fixtures
A beloved piece of art needs to have a significant place in the home. For this particular condominium remodel, the antique and fine art collection became the centerpiece in which rooms are styled around. Luxury homes with well-crafted fixtures often get restored instead of replaced.
In addition to the bookshelves being original to the home, so was the chandler. This is where the classic meets modern concept blossoms. Especially here in the Park Plaza condo remodel, which is home to a fine art and antique collection—a striking chandler will tie the whole room together. This lighting fixture gives the home a sense of uniqueness because it is a rare item that would either need to be found used and restored or purchased new in a similar style. Nothing compares to the original.
Whether you have a single-family home or a condo that has been in the family, we want to pick out what is important to you and update what is needed.
We will treat your treasures like gold. In the case of the home study, the bookshelves were completely restored. The wood was stripped, painted and filled in where necessary. Lighting was added to modernize the bookcase while finding a way to update the look so they can be featured. There are LED lights installed under the shelves and a lighter color of paint was chosen for the inside as well.
Continuity is a Key Component to Minimalism
In addition to custom cabinets, another keystone to many remodels are Cambria Surfaces Countertop. These are high-quality counters that have a look all their own. The counter chosen for the wet bar is the same as the powder room and the guest bedroom. As you can see, these counters are very striking and add a significant feel to every room. By allowing the counters to be a focal point, Renowned can keep balance by choosing more subtle paint colors to tie the rooms of the home together.
Sherwin-Williams paint is used throughout the entire Park Plaza condo. There are Dark Fox and Amazing Gray that was originally picked for the kitchen, and then chosen for all the rooms.
By making the walls consistently the same color, a more neutral backdrop is established, creating a foundation to add different materials and objects (i.e. art, furniture, lighting fixtures) which, in-turn get to pop. Minimizing clutter and contrasts that often take away from the more important aspects of a room. Additionally, when fewer colors are used throughout the home, there is a more smooth transition from room-to-room and floor-to-ceiling.