I have found that if something has a designated place, I am far more likely to put it away. This has proven to be a practical guideline for working on homes. At the beginning of the renovation process, we ask questions like, “Where will the vacuum cleaner and the broom stay? Is there dish storage near the dishwasher? Where will the towels go? Where will people hang their coats?

The new master bathroom features a walk-in closet.

The answers to these questions, and others, drive the plans for the renovation and our big goal of making homes livable.

In this home, each of the bedrooms has a walk-in closet, plus we have added a coat closet near the front door and a linen closet near the hall bath. The kitchen has new cabinets and features a coffee station next to the refrigerator. The laundry room also has a storage area.

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

If there were ever a brick house that cried out “Paint Me,” it is this one. In reply, we stained the brick, but left the choices about how to update the entry until most of the major design decisions had been made.

Usually there is a hitch in a project. On our previous project the Faxon House, I must have put together 27 kitchen designs before we landed on the final design. On Sweet Spot, the design of the front entry has been problematic.

The original front door had been replaced with at some point with one that did not fit the style of the home. So that the property would make a great first impression, we really needed to dress the entry up in a period and style appropriate way.

First, we took off the vinyl siding on the front gable end to see if anything interesting had been covered up and could perhaps be restored. No such luck.

Next, we combed Pinterest for entry design ideas. And drove the neighborhood looking at entryways and doors. And we asked for input from friends, neighbors and subcontractors. After taking in all this information, we would settle on a design, and then realize we had missed an important consideration. I think we had four final, now-not-final designs — making us all a bit crazy and a wee bit cranky.

Because we knew the front door would need to be replaced, we began the hunt at our local architectural salvage companies for a replacement door. At Front Street Antique Mall, we found a vintage 1942 beauty that we are refinishing for use. This door choice, along with existing trim and details, locked in some elusive design element decisions. But because it is a wooden door, it needs a bit of protection from the elements. This prompted us to build out the fascia and a bit of the roof. Step by step, piece by piece, we have figured out the entry design. The gallery shows the progress.

The view from the large back deck.

One of my own personal desires was to have a bedroom with tall windows framed with gauzey white curtains that dance on a breeze. I have dreamed of stepping out from my room onto a deck or patio to enjoy the quiet of the evening.

Maybe we have been building this dream into a reality with the Sweet Spot house.

The new master bedroom suite has large windows on either side of the fireplace that look out onto a large deck. The rear door leading to the deck is only steps away from the bedroom. And from this deck you can see the nicely landscaped, fenced in back yard. Lovely. Private. Tranquil.

We had to conquer some interesting structural and design issues when designing the kitchen. The previous remodels of the home left irregularly spaced, uneven load bearing beams in view — not what you want when the end goal is an open concept design. After working through several options, we decided to think like the best computer programmers and “make a bug a feature.” We wrapped the beams in wood and then added a third beam making them equally spaced.

To create a more an open concept floor plan and clear up the traffic flow, we removed the wall separating the dining room from the living room and closed up a doorway from the dining room to a hallway.

We revised the kitchen layout so that there would be a great working triangle. By creating a laundry room out of the oddly placed bathroom, we were able to move the washer and dryer out of the kitchen and add in a refrigerator/beverage area.

Our Sweet Spot project has undergone most of its major transformations over the course of the last three months. The tile work has been finished and every single wall and ceiling surface has been painted. The hardwood floors are refinished and the kitchen completed. We are on to finishing touches and punch list items.

But before showing you more, let’s go back to tile. Whenever the existing tile in one of our project homes is good looking, we work to keep it. We faced a number of conundrums on this house. For example, what do you do when a tile now longer made? How do you keep the old tile, and make the updates look as if they were part of the original design? We presented our installer with these doozies and more this time.

Challenge 1, the existing full bath. The existing shower walls and flooring were from a pre-fab kit. While they looked fine at first glance, upon closer inspection we found that they were awful and had to go. However, the black and white mosaic tile floor, featuring a pattern we had not seen before, was in great shape. A standard white 4” x 4” tile wainscoting covered the walls and complemented the floor.
When we pulled out the old shower floor pan and accompanying vinyl shower surround we were left with a big gap in the flooring. Because the floor pattern was unique, we could not find a matching or complementary tile.
What to do, what to do?
We solved the problem by using oversized, black porcelain tile planks on the shower walls and adding white tile as an accent that picks up the pattern from the floor. Using so much dark tile in a small area is the opposite of my normal design tendencies, but in this case we decided to go bold. The installer cut pieces of the black planks to size to fill in the empty spots in the floor and to create a band at the top of the tile wainscoting. I held my breath during the installation, and breathed a big sigh of relief one the job was done.

Challenge 2, the former full bath turned laundry room. There was an oddly-placed full bath located at the back of the home away from the bedrooms. Really, who wants to run through the house to get to a shower? So we repurposed the space, and it is now a half bath and laundry area. In doing, so we pulled out a tub and once again were left with areas of the tile floor that needed to be patched. We found five pieces of the existing tile, but needed more to complete the patching.
The solution this time was to pop out some of the tiles and add back in a complementary tile to make a checkerboard pattern in the floor. Again, I held my breath until the installation was complete, and we are thrilled with the results.

Challenge 3, the new master bath. We created a new master suite in the back of the home, complete with a walk-in closet and full bath. Early on, I picked a floor tile with a really pretty pattern that would complement the stormy blue vanity we had chosen, but waited to purchase the tile until I could see the vanity in place and confirm the color. Well, everyone else must have thought this tile was pretty too as it was out of stock when we went back to buy it. So, the day before the installers were to begin their work, I was rethinking the bathroom flooring and shower surround.
In the end, we put together a really lovely combination of oversize planks and small hex tiles. By running the shower accent band and the planks vertically, the ceiling appears higher and the shower appears larger.

These low maintenance floors are looking super, even before cleanup.

Challenge 4, the kitchen and back hallway floor. Years ago, a former owner added on to the back of the home, and the floor took a strange and pronounced dip from the kitchen area into the addition. Because of this, before we began working on the home John and an inspector crawled all under the house to make sure that there were no structural issues. There were none; the floor was just wonky.
Our floor plan rework included creating a hallway to the back door so we had to level out the floors before laying the new tile floor. The tile crew added two inches of leveling cement to the floor before laying the tile. Saggy floor solved.
We chose to lay the tile on the diagonal and worked with the crew to make sure the pattern was centered on the doorways. And yes, I held my breath. And yes, once again our installer came through with great looking result.

I am glad we are finished with these installations so that I can get back to regular breathing.

We are back on it with a new project. In this crazy housing market, it took us a bit to find a property that would fit our model—right location, right size, right price.

After taking a little time for ourselves, we started working in earnest on our new project in July. This home is very near the Pink Palace so it is close to shopping and services (you can walk to Vibe Foods), the University of Memphis and East High School. It has a wonderful, shaded back deck along with a nicely landscaped back yard. We love the very quiet, tree-lined street and have gotten to know many of the neighbors.

Before stain

As always, our designs are guided by practical considerations — improving the traffic flow, upgrading or adding baths as needed, reworking the kitchen and creating storage all while making sure the renovations are pleasing to the eye.

Curb appeal is also key. One of our first decisions was to stain the exterior brick to match the existing siding — unifying the look of the exterior materials. Through a bit of research, we learned that staining the brick is a better choice than painting as it allows the brick to breathe, thereby holding the finish better. After John and Evan pulled off the very sad metal awning, the paint contractor got to work, first pressure washing the entire exterior then applying the stain. Now we have to figure out a welcoming front entry.

After stain

The floor plan is in the process of being overhauled so that the living spaces are more accessible and usable. Yes, it now has an open concept. Yes, it will have a great kitchen.

The house formerly had three bedrooms and two baths in a really funky configuration. When complete, it will have a master bedroom suite with full bath, walk in closet and working fireplace, along with a second bedroom with a walk-in closet. There is a laundry room with a half bath that has easy access to the very large back deck. And it has the new Covid-era necessity — a separate area just right for a home office.

If all goes well, we hope to have the home ready by mid-October.