"We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us." - Winston Churchill. 

At The Black Goose Design, we believe our homes are a part of our identity. Home is a place where we escape, celebrate and find solace. We believe each home should reflect the unique inhabitants within its walls. We are delighted to show the remarkable renovation of this historic home. Built in 1899, it is located in the charming Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah.  It is a pleasure to share extraordinary design projects, especially one as unique as this home. We are also ecstatic to announce this home belongs to our wonderful manager and buyer, Randi Smith, at The Black Goose Design.

We are thrilled to share some of Randi's personal expert tips to help you plan for any design project. Randi's renovation project that has been a work in progress since October 2017. Over the next few blog posts, we will share insight of the design process and photos of the journey. We hope that it will be a helpful and encouraging guide to your personal design projects. 

Deciding to Renovate

Making the decision to renovate and restore a home can be a daunting task. Questions like, Where to begin? What do I want to invest? What do I want to accomplish with this project?, are all valid. Having lived through this process, Randi is excited to give some helpful designer advice. Randi explains, "We started looking casually at homes in 2016. We knew we loved our current home and neighborhood, but there were some things that were missing. We love to entertain and needed a bigger kitchen and dining space. We also longed for a space where our clothes did not have to be in every closet in the house." 

Ask Questions and Evaluate

One of the first steps to a remodel is to ask, "Could our current home ever become what we need?" In Randi's exisiting home, she hired a structural engineer to see if adding a second story to the home would be an option. It wasn't. To increase the size of her home, it would have to be torn down and rebuilt, a task that she did not want to undertake. So began the journey of finding a home that had the space she needed. If you are deciding whether to remodel or to build a new home, the following questions could be helpful to you when making this choice. 

• What is the amount of living space I desire? Do I need to scale up or down?
• Is my existing structure sound?
• Does the layout of my home work for my present lifestyle and for the future?
• Is the styling of your home what you would like it to be? 

With starting a renovation in this home, there were many design issues that needed to be addressed. One of the biggest differences made in the home was the paint color! Dark, worn walls were refreshed with a light and bright fresh coat of a creamy white, custom-mixed paint. 

 

Be Specific

Searching for the ideal home can be time consuming but is worth the wait when you finally find the perfect home with potential. Randi felt a bit like Goldilocks in this phase. It was an adventure walking through dozens of homes that needed minimal work to complete overhauls. This took a while but in the end, she found her perfect home and started her design journey. 

 

Updating a home is always a good idea and will increase the value of the home so you cannot go wrong with remodeling. The added bonus of comfort and ease of livability will make a huge improvement in your lifestyle making a remodel a win-win.

Define your Style

Throughout the process of looking for a new home, several people had suggested to build a new home. Both Randi, and her partner Dave, prefer old, established neighborhoods and a brand new home just was not for them. Being firm in your design style and knowing exactly what you want, will help with the type of home you will be happy with in the future.

Writing down a list of changes you need in your home, or collecting images of interior styles that you like can be helpful. Visual photographs with functional design goals are key to help kickstart a plan into action. Design done well will give you the pleasure of being surrounded in a beautifully-designed home that is tailored to how you actually live in it.

 

Envision Potential

Both Randi and Dave felt like they had won the lottery when the home they purchased came on the market! It had the exact space and details they were hoping for. A 120-year-old home, original mouldings and fireplaces, 10-ft. ceilings and a large porch. The character of the home was exactly their design style and had the potential to become the home they were imagining. 

When starting a renovation, having a professional designer by your side can be a tremendous help and is a great investment. As expert interior designers, we have the ability to help you see the potential of spaces and will create a master design plan to suit your design style and needs.  

As interior designers, our experience of assisting with many homes over the years has given us elite experience and ensures that what we create with our clients remain true and timeless to their design preference and lifestyle. Randi adored this home and every detail in it. Throughout her renovation, she included modern features while still keeping true to this home's historic Avenue roots. 

Be sure to check out the original blog post here when Randi and Dave first purchased this charming home. With a creative design plan in mind, this gorgeous Salt Lake City Avenues home has been an incredible (and continues) to be a memorable one. Next week we will take a closer look at the specific projects throughout the home in detail, with more exclusive photos and design tips from Randi as she shares her personal design story.