New Home in Lee's Summit, MO

This is a new build I worked on with a builder that needed some extra guidance for materials, product selection, and colors for a home he was building in Lee's Summit, MO.  It's not finished yet, but here is a sneak preview of some of the things I've been working on:



The entry door will be wrought iron with glass, and the walkway will be stained concrete.

Looking back at the entry door, which will have more light filtering in from the glass/iron door, and lighting fixtures hooked up.  Also a view you see to the staircase going down with what will be mirrors in the trim work to mimic the windows and reflect more light.

In the entryway, we added a small tile detail in the floor to reflect the domed ceiling detail above.  The dome will have an iridescent faux finish on it.  There will be a wrought iron chandelier hanging here and bouncing more light off of the shiny finish.

The great room has beams above and the central fireplace will be wrapped in stone.

The floors will be finished similar to this:

Ont eh other side of the great room is this open kitchen.

Here is a close-up of the tile when it was selected for the backsplash.  We tried to keep it generally light and simple in lines.

The sketch of the hood detail is below.  I carried the glass accent tile in a band around the hood and we cut 12x12" travertine tiles into 6x12" laid in a subway pattern for a clean backdrop.

In the back hallway is a space that was going to be a desk area that we changed into a "charging station" instead.  It's a counter-height cabinet with overhead storage as a place to drop your phone, keys, have your laptop plugged in, and charge your electronics at night.

Also in the back hall off of the garage is this mudroom cabinetry I designed.  The tall shelves on either side will have mirrored fronts and a place to quickly check how you look before you run out the door.  They are also storage for bins filled with scarves, gloves, hats, your purse, etc...  On the back of one of the doors I thought it would be nice to have some hooks or a bulletin board to hang your keys or tack notes and reminders on.  The center bench is also a place to sit and put on your shoes.  There will be sconces and coat hooks installed.

Below is the photo of tile samples when chosen for the master bathroom.  Also trying to keep that room relatively light and airy since it has stained cabinetry.

The cabinets are darker, with framed woodwork on the wall that will surround a mirror and the vanity light will be installed on top of the mirror.  The countertops are travertine and the splash tile is a wavy glass that has neutrals that add a bit of grey to the space.

The tub is surrounded by simple columns, wavy backsplash, and will have a wall sconce on either side.  The shower is walk-in with a bench and wall niche for shampoo and soap.  

Another nice thing about the layout of this house is that the master closet is connected to the laundry room on one side so you can easily put away clothes without carrying them up or down stairs!



Below is a photo of the materials when we were picking them out for the basement bar.  We used a similar glass tile as the kitchen but it is slightly darker with more black and bronze.

Here is the sketch for the cabinetry behind the bar.  There will be a large mirror in the center of the wood frame, the tile needs to be grouted still, and the side cabinets will have glass shelves, lights, and seeded glass doors.

Once it's all cleaned up and finished I'll show updated photos and hope it sells fast!

NURSERY

I've finally got the photos of the finished nursery all together!

Here is the revealing of Greta Mae Kersten's future space! 

[photo: Betsy Kersten]

This room used to be my studio and was already painted white with one orange accent wall.  We moved the Flor carpet squares from our living room into the nursery and got a new cushier rug for the living room.  The crib is from Amazon.com (Baby Letto Hudson 3 in 1 convertible crib in white), Curtains are fabric from IKEA that I hemmed, and the Chevron Bedding & sheep rocker are from Pottery Barn Kids.  The quilt was a gift made by my friend Kristen!  I decided since the colors were all gender neutral, the girl needed something girlie!  So I made her the silver branch mobile with crystals hanging from it for some sparkle & bling.

 [photo: Betsy Kersten]

We hung baskets that I got from cb2 a while back on the wall as book holders at a lower level for her to reach.  The side table was a plywood project I built in college, the teal lamp is from Crate & Barrel, and the dachshund night light is from 2modern.com (OFFI pet lamp in white).

 [photo: Betsy Kersten]

The banner of her name was made by a friend, Victoria Luhrs, for a baby shower my best friend threw me.  Victoria sells all kinds of printed party items on her etsy shop.

 [photo: Betsy Kersten]

This is an old dresser my parents had in their storage room forever.  It used to be brown wood that was very worn down and scratched up.  I painted it flat grey and sanded around the edges and over the burly wood detail in the center of the top drawer.  I put the original knobs back on and lined the drawers with wrapping paper that I liked.

The closet was already painted orange and we added the chunky white floating shelves ourselves a while back.  They were designed with the plan of hanging clothes beneath the lower one for this very purpose.  The dresser is my husband's childhood dresser with new knobs for a facelift.

[photo: Betsy Kersten]

The tall white bookshelf is from West Elm, the bright-colored animal cube boxes in it are from Amazon.com (3 Sprouts Storage Boxes), and the changing pad cover is from BuyBuyBaby (Skip Hop Treetop).

[photo: Betsy Kersten]

My friend Megan hand-made this crocheted wiener dog for me!  The mason jar is decorated by my mom for a baby shower and is filled with advice and notes friends wrote to me.

[photo: Betsy Kersten]

This necklace was also hand-made by a neighbor who makes awesome jewelry.  She put Greta's name on it with a decorated pearl and even made a tiny pearl bracelet for Greta!

 [photo: Betsy Kersten]

Manhattan Modern

If you remember about a year ago, I posted pictures of my brother and sister-in-law's Manhattan, KS Midcentury home they bought...

They've worked very hard on it for quite a while and still have more they'd like to do.  Here are some updates they've made so far:

They laid new white oak floors themselves, knocked down "jail cell" walls to the kitchen, and opened up the interior staircase to the basement.  Painted cement boards surround the central "shaft."  The floating wood shelf is also custom built by the two of them.

They are great at creating small, creative, architectural details such as this walnut-wrapped shelf:

The hallway to the kitchen from the entry way:

[It also houses a creative closet on the left you can't see the details of, new lighting solutions, and no doors or headers in the way of the view]

The dining area [without a table at the moment]:

The bedroom:

There are also other great things they've done to the home that I don't yet have photos of, including the bathroom, and the studio/office with a bright yellow sliding barn door!

Neutral Backsplash

Mom and I recently finished a modern backsplash in Lee's Summit, MO.  The tile was chosen to blend with the granite and be a shiny neutral between the dark stained cabinetry.

before:

after:

Here we are working hard, me big and pregnant, and us matching with our hats and ponytails!

Got the tile glued on and level, next step is to grout a few days later, then seal the stone/grout, and caulk the seams

Close-up of the shiny tile:

We chose a linear mixture of glazed porcelain and light marble that had a "blingy" quality to it with a neutral grout to make it & the granite more seamless.

FINISHED!

[more pictures of the entire project and remodel to come later!]