via innovative intervention
Name: Juliet and Matthias
Location: Hollywood Hills, California
Size: 1400 sqft single family home
When Juliet and her husband Matthias were ready to buy a house in Los Angeles, Juliet typed up a detailed checklist in Excel and handed it to their real estate agent.
Within a week they had signed on a home in the Hollywood Hills.....
Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let me know! jill@apartmenttherapy.com
The day after closing the deal, the demo began. Because of Juliet's impeccable logistics skills, and her confident sense of style (“simple, clean, straightforward lines”), three months later, Juliet and Matthias could boast a 1400 sq. ft. home freed from termites with a new kitchen and bath.
Juliet says that when she saw the house for the first time, she was struck by the open floor plan. Now that all the work is behind them her favorite things are the act of walking in the front door and saying “I love this house”, then turning towards the kitchen and being able to say, “I love it. I love this kitchen!” “It turned out just the way I wanted it to.”
Juliet is an artist, a former computer programmer and, at the moment, lucky enough to spend her days photographing and marketing the architectural and design work of Marmol Radziner in Los Angeles. As a result, she was able to engage the assistance of the firm’s cabinet makers for custom construction of the cherry wood cabinets for the kitchen and bath; to get one of the firm’s designers to draft detailed plumbing, electrical and design drawings that would be taped to the wall and would serve as both the bible and security blanket for the duration of the renovation process; and to peruse the industry catalogs and samples housed in the firm’s interior design department. All of the other necessary elements she found on the internet.
Very concerned about the aesthetic impact of her choices, Juliet also insists on great and lasting quality within a restrained budget. One way to help achieve that balance was to buy all Jenn-Air appliances for the kitchen, and all Grohe fixtures for the bath and kitchen, but to seal all the cabinetry with clear satin Min-Wax polyurethane and to paint the entire interior of the house herself over a series of weekends. In fact, due to primary commitments elsewhere, almost all the work done on the house was completed on weekends.
Everyone who worked on the house—demo/installation crew, tiler, cork floor layer, plumber and electrician—knew their discreet tasks and were greeted by all the materials they needed when they arrived on site. As the general contractor for this whole adventure, Juliet made sure of this. Initially, Juliet tried to hire a professional general contractor, but when he arrived to give an estimate and was apprised of her system and capabilities, he told her, “You don’t need me, you can do this yourself”. And so she did. And she says she would do it again!
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Comments (15)
I'd imagine that an item on Juliet's detailed list was that the house be priced for significant rehab because potential buyers weren't liking the kitchen and bath.
Judging from the photos, the old version was more my style -- but I have to applaud her for knowing what she wanted in a rehab and managing it so efficiently. If she's still a reader, ask her to write a series of posts on doing renovations without undue pain!
I think it's a matter of taste. I like the original kitchen and bath, except for the tiled counter in the kitchen. We had that in our condo in LA. I'm not sure why it's so popular out there, I suppose because it's cheap, but it's not practical or good-looking, imo. I like the materials used in the new versions too - love that wood in the cabinets.
It's a lovely home altogether. And Juliet is to be congratulated for acting as her own g.c.!
I too liked the original kitchen and bath better. However, it is their house, not mine, so they are entitled to remodel to please themselves.
I hate to say it but I think the house had been remodeled previously and I'm guessing it's from the late 40's-50's era house to start with.
What was in there was all white to begin with and that to me it's bland, bland, bland add to that white walls it's more of the same and looked fairly new style wise too.
I loved the cabinet choices they made, very reminiscent of what would've been found in the mid 50's to early 60's, even down to the knobs used.
If there is one thing to nitpic is that it's still bland color wise. The walls are more or less white/off white with nice woodwork and white or brown counters and little other color through out the house, even the furniture didn't veer much beyond the neutral colors in many cases.
Overall a pleasing place but needs much more pop to bring pizzazz to an otherwise nice place.
Congratulations Juliet and Matthias. Your house is charming. I love the vegetation in the backyard. After living in Manhattan long enough, greenery gets me swooning. The sunshine coming in the windows is beautiful too.
As for the renovations, I'm in the (apparent) minority that prefers the kitchen after the renovation.
I miss miss miss LA...you're gorgeous backyard reminds me of the one I grew up in--all xeriscaped native california flora and fauna in the Valley.....
it has inspired me to pot some of the plants I miss and set them on my kitchen windowsill during this incoming, bloody miserable winter new york city months.
Nice joint! Any chance we could gat a peak at the budget?
When I was looking at the slideshow I honestly felt the before kitchen and bath were fine. I like the cork floor in the kitchen now but I agree with the person who said it ended up making him/her wonder about all the waste involved.
ackshully . . . and I am truly against negativity here, honest I am, but this just ain't the kind of post that seems to fit on AT. I mean, I'm not the editor, but it always seemed to me that AT was about celebrating ingenuity and creativity on the part of homeowners/ renters who imbue their homes with personality. If I want to see how lots of money can be used to make a space, um . . . "inoffensively au courant" is the phrase that comes to mind, I can always pick up Met Home.
That's just my .02 worth. sorry if I'm offending anyone.
"Inside Out: A showcase for those who transform their residences into homes via innovative intervention"
Hmm. I too seem to be missing the "innovative intervention" used by J & M. The write-up seems to indicate more use of privilege than anything else. Nor do these photos reflect much of a transformation from a "residence" to a "home". Maybe it's just the photos. Do they not reflect the painting done "over a series of weekends"?
While this particular post elicits a mere "meh" IMHO, I am always thrilled to get an inside peek into other people's spaces and thank J & M for sharing.
you know, just because they remodeled doesn't mean they are creating mass amounts of "waste". much of what they took out can be recycled and reused. and they put in materials that will wear better over time (cork floors, cherry cabinets)...
i think they took a very dated house and brought it back to life with simple, clean improvements. come on, when you buy a house, you want to make it your own and make it something that you will appreciate every day.
and for all of you complaining about how this post just glorifies people who can spend a lot of money...cork floors are actually quite affordable. and i applaud Juliet for saving lots of money by wearing the hat of General Contractor and painting the whole place herself.
I admire Juliet for managing the whole project-- not an easy job by any stretch. I also really like the choices she made-- what matters is that she is happy living there, as many have said.
The write-up seems to indicate more use of privilege than anything else.
Why? Because Juliet planned the rehab properly and got it done instead of stumbling through it haphazardly? A lot of Inside Outs involve much more substantial renovation -- that had to cost more -- and no one objects.
I prefer the "after." Just my opinion, but I don't see a lot of charm in the before spaces. It looked like someone chose bland, cheap materials and I don't blame Juliet for wanting to upgrade materials and match her style. Maybe she can provide some more info on what was done with the tear-out? When we redid our kitchen, we posted the old kitchen cabinets on Craig's List and someone picked them up, so they didn't get trashed. That's one advantage of diy... you can choose to take the time to disassemble rather than demolish.
Maybe some of the charm people feel is lacking in the new space is simply because they moved in not long ago and it takes time to get settled and put your personality into a home. Even after a redo, the "life" isn't there right away.
Oh, just realized the original post is from 2 years ago. Hm... maybe it's time for a House Tour Revisited to see the house today.