Skysail Project: Refreshing a Custom Home, Bringing in Light
Updated: Apr 8, 2021
When Peggy and Mark Smith contacted us about their 1982 custom home in Colorado which they purchased in 1999 from the original owners, they had the goal of overhauling their entire main floor of their home while staying true to the “bones” of the house and leaving a few key elements in place. For one, their slate floors were still in great shape and Peggy loves them, so these remained as we tackled redesigning and rebuilding their kitchen, laundry, eating, office, living room, formal dining, powder bath, entry and front hall areas. This was a major project on a home that had underwent a remodel in 2001, but had only had minor aesthetic changes since.
This major update to a well-constructed, beautifully crafted home is one that the Smiths are appreciative of and that displays our commitment to quality. Peggy commented, “We love this house, but it was dated. We thought of downsizing, but we love this neighborhood! When COVID hit and we were home all the time, we started to really think about our housing situation and we decided to work with what we have and make it into what we want.”
From there, Cheri met with Peggy and Mark to begin discussing what their preferences were and what we could offer in terms of giving a full rejuvenation to this property. This was in June of 2020 and we launched into the project thereafter, completing it in early 2021.
“It’s paralyzing to do a project like this,” Peggy said. “It can be tough to get started, but Cheri really listened to us. She didn’t just incorporate her designer ideas, she really listened to us and helped us see the whole, huge project ahead, but broken into pieces. This made it easy to understand and process.”
Working with the slate floors in one area, the oak tongue and groove in the living room, brick fireplace surround and also keeping the formal dining room oak cabinet that the Smiths still like helped to blend some of the existing features of the main floor into the new design. “We aligned with Cheri and Savannah right away and hit it off. They were able to translate inspiration photos into the reality of what these elements would look like in our particular home. That was incredibly helpful.” Decluttering, updating, and moving to a more clean, contemporary look not only brought the Smith home into 2021, it brought in tremendous amounts of light.
Coming from a rich, cherry wood kitchen, which was very in style in the early 2000’s, and changing the lighting scheme to a modern design allowed the entire space to look lighter and more inviting. It remains warm, yet is sleek and clean in its lines. Peggy and Mark love that the new space didn’t change the layout of the home as no walls were removed, yet it feels more flowing and open.
Another area that is dramatically different is the stairwell in the front hallway. Removing heavy-looking wooden spindles and simplifying the paint colors throughout the main floor to all be the same, neutral shade now presents as full of light and offers a simplified look. “The house was built very well and had some amazingly unique architectural features that we wanted to enhance" said Cheri. "Our goal with all of our remodeling projects is to be respectful of the core house design as we create a more modern cohesive design for what becomes new.”
For the Smiths, the one stop shop of our company worked well and they enjoyed engaging with a family business. We loved working with a couple who were inspired yet looking for guidance, open to ideas, and ready to see significant changes to their home. Now, all areas of the main floor reflect their home’s natural beauty while stepping up in terms of contemporary flair and function. Skysail will always be known as a truly successful project that stuck to what our clients wanted and where we could showcase our design and build skills, creating a comfortable, livable, and fresh space that will last for years to come.