We have a new project to share with you today!

It’s a little different than some of the other tours we’ve done because we worked with Northstar Builders, a local builder that designs homes in the salt lake area. We’ve worked with them before! They bought a lot in a very, very desirable neighborhood filled with mature trees, and older homes that have been remodeled. The home was small, and they decided that they’re going to take advantage of the lot in the neighborhood and tear it down and build a new spec home, and they enlisted our help for staging it!

WATCH THE WEBISODE HERE! 

The demo day was a community affair. We had neighbors out watching, and the workers kindly invited Shea to get in and try a hand at it! She explains it as “exhilarating and kind of terrifying at the same time.” Typically, when people hear “spec home” they think of identical cookie cutter homes all in a row, but in this situation we have more creative freedom, which as a designer is awesome! The other thing that’s nice about them is that the process moves fairly quickly. When you’re selling a home it’s important to pick selections that are going to translate to a wide audience, but we also want it to feel unique and special! The home was likely going to be purchased by an established couple, so Northstar wanted it to feel traditional, as if the home had been there for a while and that it wasn’t just a brand new build. The plan was for Northstar to design the home, and then we’d stage it with McGee & Co. furniture, but the home was so beautiful they sold the home before it was finished!  The homeowners were nice enough to let us come back in after they had moved in!!

The exterior has a cedar shingle with a grade stain. It’s a more traditional material, but it’s balanced by the clean lines of the home. The door is extra wide and we used this dark gray color that’s accented by copper gutters, which is a very classic choice. They’ve already aged beautifully within months of being in the home.

The way home is laid out has you walk directly into the side of the staircase, so that entry needed to be stunning. We chose a custom iron staircase and a really beautiful paneling detail that stretches two stories high.

The space is narrow, but we still wanted to have some sort of furniture. We chose a pretty long console, and incorporated a long landscape instead of a big piece of artwork. We didn’t want to cover up the stairs! It’s a beautiful way to greet all who enter. We chose a great neutral runner for the hallway.

The focal wall in the great room is the fireplace flanked by two beautiful built-ins. They may be white, but we painted into the details so they don’t just look like every other white built-in out there. We have this great curve detailed the top  and a library light shines down all of the things that will be displayed. There are also tiny little drawers that just adds charm and character. To show you this wall and all of its glory we styled it with really great accessories from the shop, and this new chair that we just launched. We’re obsessed with the details on this floor lamp, and pairing it with a side table makes for a really great place to read.

When you first walk into the master bath you’re greeted with a stunning blue paint color. Paired with the marble mosaic on the floors, and the clawed legs on the freestanding tub, there’s richness and color balanced out with natural materials.

To make a master space feel grand we’ll mix metals. There’s a polished nickel on the faucets, mirror and lighting, but then we did a little gold detail on the drawers. Often when people think of marble mosaics, they’re thinking small scale, but we did a really large scale one on the floor in the main part of the bathroom. But in the shower we used marbles of different shapes and sizes.

The mudroom is long and narrow which is really nice because it has windows to let natural light in, but it also restricted us on the cabinetry design a little bit. We did hooks below the windows and added a bench seat. As the home progressed, we realized we could fit a cabinet for closet storage across the way! The more storage better, in our book. The floor is a a porcelain with a nice worn look to it. It’s really durable for all the muddy boots tracking in through that space.