An Arts & Crafts Bungalow is one of my favorite styles of homes. We have quite a few of them in our Stockton Mid-Town area. And when C&L called us to help them remodel their 1923 American Bungalow, I was beyond thrilled. As per usual, when we get a new inquiry, we quickly Google the project location while we are talking to you on the phone. My excitement escalated when I saw the Google Earth Image of the sweet Sage Green bungalow in Mid-Town Stockton. "Yes, we would be interested in working with you," I said trying to keep my cool. But what made it even better was meeting C&L and touring their home, because they are the nicest young couple, eager to make their home period perfect. Unfortunately, it had been slightly molested by some bad house-flippers, and we needed to bring the bathroom back to it "roots." We knew we had to banish the hideous brown tile and cheap vanity quickly. But C&L complained about the condensation problems and the constant fight with mold. This immediately told me that improper remodeling had occurred and we needed to remedy that right away. The Before: Frustrations with a Botched Remodel The bathroom needed to be brought back to period appropriate design with all the functionality of a modern bathroom. We thought of things like marble countertop, white mosaic floor tiles, white subway tile, board and batten molding, and of course a fabulous wallpaper. This small (and only) bathroom on a tight budget required a little bit of design sleuthing to figure out how we could get the proper look and feel. Our goal was to determine where to splurge and where to economize and how to complete the remodel as quickly as possible because C&L would have to move out while construction was going on. The Process: Hard Work to Remedy Design and Function During our initial design study, (which included 2 hours in the owners’ home), we noticed framed images of William Morris Arts and Crafts textile patterns and knew this would be our design inspiration. We presented C&L with three options and they quickly selected the Pimpernel Design Concept. We had originally selected the Black and Olive colors with a black vanity, mirror, and black and white floor tile. C&L liked it but weren’t quite sure about the black, We went back to the drawing board and decided the William & Co Pimpernel Wallpaper in Bayleaf and Manilla color with a softer gray painted vanity and mirror and white floor tile was more to their liking. After the Design Concept was approved, we went to work securing the building permit, procuring all the elements, and scheduling our trusted tradesmen to perform the work. We did uncover some shoddy work by the flippers such as live electrical wires hidden behind the wall, plumbing venting cut-off and buried in the walls (hence the constant dampness), the tub barely balancing on two fence boards across the floor joist, and no insulation on the exterior wall. All of the previous blunders were fixed and the bathroom put back to its previous glory. We could feel the house thanking us for making it pretty again. The After Reveal: Cohesive Design Decisions We selected a simple white subway tile for the tub/shower. This is always classic and in keeping with the style of the house. We selected a pre-fab vanity and mirror, but they look rich with the quartz countertop. There is much more storage in this small vanity than you would think. The Transformation: A Period Perfect Refresh We began the remodel just as the pandemic reared and stay-in-place orders went into effect. As C&L were already moved out and living with relatives, we got the go-ahead from city officials to get the work done (after all, how can you shelter in place without a bathroom?). All our tradesmen were scheduled to work so that only one crew was on the job site at a time. We stayed on the original schedule with only a one week delay. The end result is the sweetest little bathroom I've ever seen (and I can't wait to start work on C&L's kitchen next). Thank you for joining me in this project transformation. I hope this inspired you to think about being creative with your design projects, determining what works best in keeping with the architecture of your space, and carefully assessing how you can have the best life in your home.

MA Peterson www.mapeterson.com This mudroom was part of an updated entry way and we re-designed it to accommodate their busy lifestyle, balanced by a sense of clean design and common order. Newly painted custom cabinetry adorns the walls, with overhead space for off-season storage, cubbies for individual items, and bench seating for comfortable and convenient quick changes. We paid extra attention to detail and added tiered space for storing shoes with custom shelves under the benches. Floor to ceiling closets add multipurpose storage for outerwear, bulkier boots and sports gear. There wall opposite of the cabinets offers up a long row of wall hooks, so no matter what the kids say, there's no reason for a single coat or scarf to be left on the floor, again. Nothing other than stone flooring would do for this transitional room, because it stands up to heavy traffic and sweeps up in just minutes. Overhead lighting simplifies the search for gear and highlights easy access to the laundry room at the end of the hall. Photo Credit: Todd Mulvihill Photography

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In this master bathroom renovation we installed a custom tile shower that included the Schluter Kerdi waterproofing system. On the shower walls Velvet Platinum 12x24” tiles were installed in a brick pattern and accented with Mosiac Silver Aspen 5/8” tile with a ¾” Durango pencil border. Velvet Oyster 2x2” mosiac tile was installed on the shower floor. A hand held shower on a slide bar with a matching 24” towel bar and a Chrome 3/8” custom frameless shower glass door with a back to back combo pull were installed to finished off the shower. Medallion Gold Series Cabinets in Cherry wood with Espresso Stain with wide cove crown molding were installed accented with Silver Aspen tile with a ¾” Durango border liner was used on the vanity backsplash. For the countertop and tub decking, we installed Cambria Quartz in Bellingham Color with 2 Kohler Devonshire Biscuit undermount sinks accented with Delta’s Cassidy Collection faucets in polished nickel. Velvet Series Platinum 16x16” tile was laid on an angle for the floor.