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The renovations to the foyer opened up the space and allowed each room to become many small parts of a larger whole. Previously, the rooms were separate and removed from one another, and the entryways were cramped and closed the home off.
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The detailing in the kitchen backsplash was also important, and Nicholson did not want to mar the tiling’s aesthetic with outlets. “There are no switches or outlets in the backsplash, so it accentuates the beauty of the tile,” says Nicholson.
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The colors used in the home – primarily white, cream and browns – were key in the renovation. Prior to Nicholson Builders, the home featured a lot of green that was outdated. Nicholson Builders freshened up the home. The cabinets aren’t technically white, however, and have an understated glazing, which adds a different layer to the cabinetry. “It adds a subtle warmth and depth to what could be a more stark and institutional white,” says architect John Nicholson. “The glaze is really important.”
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In order to maintain design cohesiveness, Nicholson Builders used elements such as those seen in the cabinetry throughout the home. “We carried the color tones and details of the cabinetry into the other places – living room, family room, entry – so that by replicating color and detail, you thereby link the spaces together,” says Nicholson. “With the additional width of all the openings, visually and physically, by the nature of wider openings, the spaces become connected.”
Photos courtesy of Nicholson Builders
Prior to renovation, the house that sits at 2252 Abington Rd. was cramped. Brian Miller and Patricia Teach’s guests would enter a closed foyer, both walls almost entirely closed off from the dining room and living room on either side.
The staircase was only open on one side of the foyer and the only way to enter the living and dining rooms was through two narrow, 42-inch entryways. The kitchen was much smaller, its entryway tight.
The goal, says architect John Nicholson, was to open up the home. However, the owners were somewhat resistant to the idea.
“Every design is truly a unique result of problem solving,” says Nicholson of Nicholson Builders. Nicholson Builders uses three-dimensional modeling and rendering in order to display what exactly the home will look like after renovation; this technology is what convinced the homeowners.
“It takes away the anxiety of it not having been their idea, and allows them to kind of embrace others’ ideas more easily,” Nicholson says.
Although the home was renovated in its entirety, the kitchen posed a special challenge, what with its walls being used for wiring and mechanical components. Nicholson Builders demolished walls and changed entry points to the kitchen in order to open up the kitchen to the rest of the home, and rewired the electrical to the second floor that previously resided in the kitchen walls.
“The major challenges were the mechanical systems,” says Nicholson. “Every primary mechanical system serving the second floor had to be relocated: plumbing, hot water lines, heating, cooling and then structural modifications.”
Additionally, Nicholson Builders bumped out the kitchen to make it more spacious and added a window seat. It replaced the tile floors with hardwood and brought in new cabinetry. Everything was catered to the homeowner, down to the interiors of the cabinets, which were made to function with the way the homeowners utilize the kitchen.
What makes the home really special is the “seamless integration of all the design details and the colors, the furniture, the fabrics, the wall coverings; all of the interior,” Nicholson says. “Everything just flows so perfectly together. And that is a little bit different.”
Amanda DePerro is assistant editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
