Before and After: A Dark and Dated House Is Totally Transformed
After a tiresome year of home searching, Wes—an Alabama native and graphic designer who relocated to Detroit—and his fiancé Ben weren’t very optimistic about seeing this house. It wasn’t the one-and-a-half-story colonial style that they were interested in… and the exterior struck them as being more formal than they liked. Additionally, while it had been maintained by out-of-town family, it had been unoccupied for nearly a decade.
However, upon seeing it, what they discovered was a solidly built 1940s colonial style home. And, even though its last update had been 30 years ago, they saw beyond the pastel wallpaper, purple trim, and dated, dark kitchen. As they toured each room Ben and Wes looked at each other as if to say, “Can this be real? Have we found ‘the one’?”
After many years of working for a national home and lifestyle magazine, Wes’ interest for interiors and home renovations grew deeper. This was not his first renovation, but it certainly was his most hands-on!
A lot of white on the furniture and walls adds a soothing overlay to the classically-designed space, but the use of black in certain accented areas adds drama and keeps the house from feeling boring. The built-ins in the kitchen, the French doors, the cabinets in the kitchen—all are painted black and provide a strong statement.
“Unlike past home renovations that I had to execute myself, we were able to use contractors for this project,” Wes shares about the renovation.
“The entire experience taught me a valuable lesson. No matter how simplistic or difficult a project may be—whether it be demolition, running an HVAC conduit, measuring for recessed lighting, or painting an island—ask your contractor to talk you through his/her process before any work begins.”
“How you expect to have a project carried out and how a contractor executes it are often two different things. A thorough, upfront conversation beforehand will prevent unwanted surprises and costly corrections,” recommends Wes.
See more photos of this house and find a resource list in the house tour → Black Brings the Drama in This Renovated 1940s Michigan House