Piedra Rondo | Home Remodel
I first encountered this home when I was asked to manage its pre-sale preparations. This included decluttering, distributing the seller's remaining items, addressing deferred maintenance issues, and staging the house before listing it for sale. It sold quickly, and the new owners were excited to relocate to Santa Fe.
While they loved the location of the home, its outdated character, lack of storage, and shortage of both bedrooms and bathrooms (despite its spacious floor plan) had them puzzled. They hired a local architect, and upon reviewing the myriad complexities of the remodel task ahead, they thought back to how the home had looked when staged and contacted me to support them with all the interior design decisions necessary to adjust the house to fit their lifestyle.
The architect’s plan for the home included a complete remodel with an emphasis in maximizing the floor plan and better accessing the beautiful views surrounding the property. My role was to support all of the non-structural details throughout, from product and paint selections to designing the custom kitchen and bath cabinetry that would be critical to creating more storage space.
Kitchen and Bathrooms
The original kitchen was very small, with a U-shaped layout and small island. It was notably isolated from the other public rooms, with no opportunity to take advantage of the mountain views. We reimagined it by enlarging the footprint and removing walls, adding a large 7'x9' central island with seating for four. Within the island design we added an undermount composite sink, custom panel doors for the dishwasher and trash/recycling pull-out, additional storage for seasonal dishware, and a dedicated drawer with hidden electrical outlets to charge mobile devices.
The island, along with the rest of the kitchen, was topped with solid surface quartz countertops, which we matched with a brilliantly veined quartz backsplash wall behind the Wolf range. A custom-designed coffee station included retractable doors to hide the beloved espresso maker and all of the accompanying coffee and tea supplies. Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry with under-cabinet lighting housed a pull-out pantry for bottles and cans, spice storage, deep drawers, and hidden power banks for easy charging of devices. The kitchen also featured top-of-the-line appliances, including double ovens and Sub-Zero fridge with custom panel doors and pulls to match the cabinetry hardware.
The existing floor plan had a large laundry room off the garage which was reconfigured to include a butler’s pantry and smaller laundry room with a dedicated sink. The butler’s pantry, visible from the kitchen, was designed to receive groceries being unloaded from their vehicles. It was outfitted with the same cabinetry as in the kitchen, but with glass fronts in the upper cabinets, and included under mount lighting and electrical outlets. We installed a second refrigerator, steam oven and microwave, plus a smaller dishwasher and sink. The quartz countertop continued into this area so that the butler pantry would be visually cohesive with the kitchen.
The primary bathroom was transformed with a custom-designed walk-in shower, double vanities with a tower cabinet for additional storage, and a luxurious soaking tub with floor-mounted hardware. We also added a cabinet above the toilet for extra storage. The vanity included a pull-out accessory cabinet, and the walk-in shower featured a bench.
A large existing bathroom was converted into two bathrooms, thereby creating a secondary ensuite bathroom for a guest suite as well as a new ¾ bathroom. The ensuite bath included a tub with a deep nicho tucked into a water-proof linen cabinet. The back wall of this shower featured a large format Annie Selke tile that was also strategically installed in the nicho, while the smaller walls received a coordinating blue Zelige tile.
The ¾ bath included a full glass tile backsplash that carried through to the walk-in shower. A dramatic copper penny round pendant light was installed above the undermount sink.
Bedrooms
In the primary bedroom, we moved the original door towards the living room, to create a private in-room vestibule entry. Then we expanded the bedroom closet for more storage. The bedroom was reoriented to face a larger window and we installed a glazed sliding door to the patio where a single door had been prior. The kiva-style fireplace, nichos, and vigas were all retained to preserve the southwest style of the room, and connect it thematically with other rooms in the house.
A junior suite bedroom was created from a portion of the former library space. We retained the existing kiva-style fireplace here as well. In the original floor plan this entire space had been windowless, but we brought natural light streaming in through the addition of tall windows and a glazed patio door that accessed a private patio.
Living Room and Additional Spaces
The living room received a significant update with larger windows and doors to blend both indoors and outdoors together. The hearth's original organic shape was retained and used as a model for the new kitchen hood range, which could be seen at the other end of this expansive open-concept room. The dining room remained in the same location but was enhanced with a built-in buffet featuring a wine rack and cooler, and lighted glass fronts in the upper cabinets.
A media room was added, replacing a portion of the former library, complete with a locally-made custom sliding barn-door matching the existing front door. New built-in cabinets provided storage to hold board games, books, and the other personal family items in this room.
The flooring throughout most of the home was replaced with hand-stained hardwood planks, while Saltillo tile was retained in certain areas like the guest bedrooms, powder room, pantry, and laundry room. We replaced all the lighting throughout the home, and added solar shades for privacy and to reduce solar gain.
Overall, the remodel transformed the home into a beautiful, functional space that maximized storage, improved room layouts, and enhanced access to the stunning mountain views.
