Seven years…that’s all it seems to take in order for a home to be “out of date.”  The things that you really loved about your home when it was brand new aren’t as captivating as they once were.  The newer homes that you’ve recently seen, seem to have “one upped” all of the design features that were once so hot.  The love for your home has faded, and you are now in the place were you need to decide if you want to stay the course, or find a new home.

That’s exactly where our Eagle Mountain clients found themselves.  The home that once graced the very top of this executive development was now seven years old.  No longer the latest and the greatest, no longer at the top of the development.  The home had lost the sparkle that had captivated the homeowner’s when they had purchased it.

Faced with selling their home to buy something newer, or staying put and redecorating there was much to consider.  With real estate, timing is everything, and when this “seven year ich” popped up, the market was in a “down time”  Not only that, but the homeowner’s liked their location:  the view, the neighbors, and the proximity to the park.  After crunching the numbers, and weighing the pro’s and con’s, they decided to keep the home and opted to update it instead.

Having gone through many of the newer display homes on the mountain, they quickly noticed some obvious design details which had evolved since their home was new.  The kitchens cabinets were taller, more detailed and had stone countertops.  The crown mouldings had increased in size, as had the fridges!  The powder room vanities looked more like furniture, and the mouldings and millwork were much larger in scale and detail than what was in their home.

Although the style and colour of their kitchen was still current, it lacked the “presense” that the newer kitchens seemed to have.  Though the homeowners had determined that the laminate countertops would have to go, they really hoped to save the backsplash.  It appeared that not all of the love was lost, and there were a few items that they did not want to see go!

So, we embarked on a plan to add to the exisiting cabinets, making them go right to the 9 foot ceiling, with a heavier crown moulding at the top.  We incorporated glass feature and remodelled the fridge wall so that it could accomodate a larger fridge.  Another item that proved to have a big impact was changing out the knobs on all of the doors to handles (easily done, using the knob hole as the bottom hole for the handles)  To avoid an unsightly filled hole, we opted to keep the knobs on the drawers.

Removing the countertops, while sparing the backsplash did pose a challenge, but luck was with us and it went without a hitch!  We even managed to update the existing backsplash by having an installer add accent pieces to the exisiting splash, using remnant pieces of tile from the original construction of the home (so everything matched)

The extra height gives this kitchen it’s new founded presence.  The glass and long handles add a modern touch that keeps it current.   By adding one expensive element (the granite) the entire kitchen is brought back up to the level is was when the home was brand new.  These home owners are loving their home again, and will continue to enjoy it for years….well…at least until that next “seven year itch!”