Architects of Change

Design-Build Firms , Accessory Dwelling Units , Home Remodeling , Home Additions , Universal Design , Basement Remodeling

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Architects of Change

Tula Striffler

This 1958 home was remodeled last in the late 1960's. After several paint jobs and fix it's it was in need of a complete make over. This included removing 4 walls & 2 doorways along with restructuring 2 main support walls to accomplish an open visual to all three areas of kitchen, dining room and living room. This home was family owned for decades and had a full life raising a child and housing a long life Navy couple who lived there. Their daughter truly paid tribute to them by allowing her parents to live out their lives in comfort as they pleased and then allowing us to help create a sort of memorial to the WWII veterans with a beautifully designed home.

Country: United States

Front entry to Allied Gardens project. Door was restored instead of replacing it. New hinges handle, locks and hardware were used to update the look and function as well as a nice new coat of white paint replacing the previous yellow color.

Allied Gardens Home

Before photo: View from front entry towards back of kitchen wall & dining room area. Notice there was an existing pass through in the wood paneled wall on the left that went to the kitchen.

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After photo of kitchen wall removed for open visuals of dining room and living room space. New island added as central focul point of home.

Allied Gardens Home

Before photo: View from kitchen to front entry area. Notice the walls on the left which were removed. Also you can see the pass through in the wall that separated the kitchen and living room.

Allied Gardens Home

Walls were removed to visually open up the kitchen, living and entry. Notice the walls on the left are gone. These were all removed and restructured for proper load support of ceiling.

Allied Gardens Home

Before photo: This was the view from the living area towards the door entry of the original kitchen. These 2 walls, door wall and adjacent support wall were removed entirely enabling the design to open up the kitchen.

Allied Gardens Home

Kitchen remodeled to create a new central island and pass through from living room to kitchen. As mentioned above, the door wall and adjacent support wall were removed entirely enabling the design to open up the kitchen.

Allied Gardens Home

Before photo: View of kitchen facing west. Note the oven was originally on north wall but remodeled to fit this west facing wall. Cabinets were original knotty pine wood. Look closely and you will see the original sink on the right side of the photo. This was moved to the newly created island...

Allied Gardens Home

West view of remodeled kitchen shows the stove moved from the north wall with a newly added microwave. The old breakfast bankette was removed in favor of a desk area seen in another photo.

Allied Gardens Home

Before photo: View of kitchen & pass through wall with refrigerator and food prep area. This whole wall & adjoining area was gutted to make room for the main focus of the remodel...the newly created island.

Allied Gardens Home

View of the newly created focul point, the kitchen island. This completely opened up the area but also made the small kitchen look and feel much, much larger. This was the crowning point of the project.

Allied Gardens Home

The original wall that was built in 1958 was reduced to two pillars for structural support. This created an open area with a sink, dish washer, recycle & waste bin, food prep area and cutting board all installed on this centrally located island.

Allied Gardens Home

Before photo: This was the view from the kitchen area to the door that faced the dining room. Notice stove on the left and refrigerator on the right, both were moved.

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This is the completed work after the wall was removed which contributed to opening up the kitchen and making it much more comfortable and less confining. Notice the refrigerator was moved from south wall to north wall. Also the sink was moved south as part of the new island.

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Before photo: This is a view of the living room before the remodel. Carpet was removed for wood floor restoration and obvious color & furniture choices freshened up the area.

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Living room was remodeled including original floors redone and original wood windows re-worked to operate perfectly.

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This shows the front door which was painted yellow but later restored and painted in white.

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This view shows the magic of paint and what the right color will do to a newly remodeled home. Take note the previous wall on the right has been removed and can lights were installed throughout the living room & kitchen as well. Also take note of the front door redone but also the interior doors...

Allied Gardens Home

This is a small area shown upclose to display the craftsmanship of the hand troweled ceilings. This was done over the existing plaster popcorn ceilings which are near impossible to remove but this hand texturing finish made them more beautiful than ever.

Allied Gardens Home

This shot gives you a clear picture of what the kitchen floor tile looks like. A porcelin quality with a running bond pattern cut at the required angle to meet the restored original hardwood oak floor and new transistion. Thanks to Ian Vanderburgh @ artisanwoodflooring.com

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This is the very damaged original wood floor from 1958. We decided that if it could be saved we should do that rather than just give in to the current trend of engineered floors.

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This picture shows the floor after it was restored from the damaged condition to this restoration in a week. The final clear finish was applied after this picture was taken. Again thanks to Ian Vaderburgh @ artisanwoodflooring.com

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Before photo: This was an area that was hardly ever used for eating since it was rather small and cumbersum to eat comfortably there. So it became the table where most mail and personal items like handbags etc were placed upon coming home.

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Now this picture shows how making good use of limited space can be so important. Instead of a nook or an eating area, which was moved to the new island breakfast counter, this area was used for everyday mail sorting, bills, phone calls, writing desk etc. The focul point of the renovation was...

Allied Gardens Home

This additional view shows the practicallity of the desk and it's 2 drawer cabinet seated in front of two well sun lit windows. A well thought out and very used space.

Allied Gardens Home