As residences in some of Southwest Florida’s well established communities continue to age, outdated technologies and design styles can diminish the luster of spaces that at the time of construction represented all that was chic and beautiful. For some homeowners, the beautiful residences they purchased 20-something years ago have gone untouched. While a certain amount of resistance to change and a sense of comfort with the familiar is understandable, the “state-of-the-art” of home technologies, appliances and design styles has evolved considerably over the past two decades. Energy (and dollar) saving heating, air conditioning and plumbing systems, new audio-visual and lighting technologies, new cooking and food storage methods and fresh, clean-lined interior designs that eschew the sometimes heavy looks of the past are making homes less expensive to operate, more comfortable and more enjoyable.
“Our firm takes on extensive remodeling projects as well as renovations to smaller spaces,” said Donna Overly, ASID, founder of Vogue Interiors in Bonita Springs. “No matter how large or small the home might be, we obviously want to create a great design that compliments the homeowner’s lifestyle. There’s another aspect to remodeling, though. The process provides the owner an opportunity to take full advantage of the latest, most up-to-date technologies and materials to reinvent their living space in ways that will lower their month-to-month costs, enhance their personal comfort and enjoyment, and, in some cases, make their homes healthier through the use of green materials that are free of potentially harmful volatile organic compounds. Owners who have not updated their homes in the past seven years or more would be amazed by the advances in home technologies and materials and by the degree to which design styles have evolved.”
Overly and Vogue President/Owner Debbie DeMaria, ASID, I.D.S. have been retained by the owner of a condominium in Bonita Bay’s Wedgewood neighborhood to design and execute a total remodeling project. Ironically, DeMaria created the home’s original design when it was built more than 20 years ago. Since then, the residence has remained the same.
“The residence is 2,036 square feet with three bedrooms, two baths, a nicely sized great room and an open kitchen with a breakfast bar,” said Overly. “The existing finishes are very much what was in style 20-some years ago. Initially, the project involved just remodeling the kitchen. As the owner realized what could be done, it evolved into a total remodel. Our intention is to completely update the home with a clean transitional design style.”
The updating will start with removing the original eight-inch square tile in the entryway, kitchen, hallway and bathrooms and replacing it with 18-inch rectified porcelain flooring with a natural stone tone. The straight cuts of the new rectified tile will allow it to be laid closely together and keep the grout lines very narrow to enhance the stone-like look. New lagoon colored cut pile carpeting will be introduced in the great room and each of the three bedrooms. The majority of the walls will be painted in a soft white tone to brighten the space. New furnishings will provide a visually pleasing mix in keeping with the transitional design style.
In the kitchen, Vogue will remove the existing drop ceiling and fluorescent lighting fixture. A new coffered ceiling with a six-inch plenum and architectural LED cove lighting will increase the volume of the space while giving the kitchen an up-to-date look. A decorative lighting fixture will be placed in the center of the coffer. New, energy efficient, stainless steel appliances, including a new microwave, an induction cooktop, a convection oven and a refrigerator, will provide the owner with a state-of-the-art kitchen. Creamy, off-white cabinetry with a chocolate glaze will play against lagoon and dark green exotic granite countertops and the room’s fresh, off-white walls. Four new counter height barstools will be positioned at the breakfast bar. The iron barstools will have a weathered sandstone finish, sage-toned leather seats and open backs with a scroll design.
A new transitional, three-piece sectional sofa in a solid sea-green woven textured fabric will be the centerpiece in the great room. Contrasting throw pillows will feature lagoon and plum tones. The owner’s antique swivel rocker will be recovered in an off-white chenille fabric. The seating will face the television wall and be grouped around a glass-topped cocktail table with a sculptured base splayed in a tree branch fashion. Behind the sectional sofa, Vogue is introducing a four-drawer console table with shaped iron legs, a specialty blonde driftwood finish and two open bottom shelves. Contemporary suspended track lighting in a serpentine pattern and pendant fixtures will be used to illuminate artwork and the seating and bar areas.
Furnishings in the master bedroom will include a light driftwood finished king bed with a slight sleigh on the headboard. A dresser with scalloped shaped drawer fronts, decorative pulls and a travertine stone contrasting top will be finished in a medium fruitwood tone to match the nightstands and mirror frame. A counter-height swivel counter stool with a sage and cream pattern fabric with wood legs and a bisque finish will bring a fresh note to the master bath.
“A well-designed room should please the eye and stimulate the mind, as well as welcome and excite you,” said Overly. “Remodeling can bring fresh visual appeal and excitement to a home no matter how old, large or small it might be. In this particular residence, we’ll establish the new look with a three-drawer chest in the foyer that will have a washed and distressed grey finish and a beige scroll design on the front. The appeal of the piece and the fresh new wall color and flooring will leave the eye wanting to see more. When the project is finished, the owner will have a much more efficient home, a home that is updated and consistent with current design styles, and a home that has re-established its value within one of the area’s most prestigious and desirable communities.”
Founded in 1979, Vogue Interiors has earned numerous national, regional and local awards, including three consecutive Aurora Awards, the highest award presented by the 12-state Southeast Builders Conference. From corporate offices at 24520 Production Circle in Bonita Springs, Florida, Vogue Interiors provides design services and model merchandising to residential and commercial clients in the United States and abroad. Visit Vogue Interiors online at vogueinteriors.com.