Project Spotlight : Belmont Kitchen

Our team loves Charleston, South Carolina. Each of us has spent time there, and since taking a team trip there last spring, we’ve been inspired by the history and the color that so vibrantly lines the streets and the stories that are woven in every detail of the charming city. We recently wrapped up a project for a sweet family who spent the last 12 years in Charleston and was ready to make Houston home. 

When we asked our clients what made this home the one, they shared  “what [we were] most drawn to was how beautifully the home was constructed and designed and filled with character. It was a custom home designed by longtime well respected Houston architect, L Barry Davidson. The home was almost 30 years old and hadn't been updated at all, which gave us the opportunity to breathe new life into it.” 

With a love for pattern and an inclination towards a more traditional style, these clients allowed us to create such a beautiful space that was subtly inspired by a city we all love. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to dive into some of the standout spaces in the home for us. Starting this week with the kitchen!

As the feature in House Beautiful states, we “leaned into the home's existing features—rounded arches, a bevy of glass display cases, and existing millwork—to create an aesthetic that honors the home as much as it revitalizes it,” which was really evident in the kitchen . The clients’ desire to update the space while keeping the original charm really pushed us to explore unique design possibilities, without neglecting the stories held within the walls. 

We kept the original cabinetry in the kitchen and painted it White Dove by Benjamin Moore and replaced a former blue and white tile backsplash with a similar, but more up to date, Mosaic House by Zellige tile. As stated in House Beautiful, we made “other swaps, like replacing exposed hinges with unlacquered brass ones and adding Carrera marble countertops, to invoke the old-world soul the clients were used to after living in their previous 100-year-old home. Katie said it best: “Everything you touch in there will age well. It feels like it's all been part of the house since the beginning.” 

While traditional elements are woven throughout the home, we wanted to add subtle modern elements and accomplished that by a plaster vent hood in the kitchen and the rich, dark green light fixture by Urban Electric.

Prior to renovation, the bar space had felt like an afterthought in the design concept. We added a fresh touch to the space by installing a glass drink fridge and painting it Farrow & Ball’s Parma Gray, which we also pulled into the hallway to make a more cohesive look in the space. 

As said before, our clients love for pattern and color combined with a true openness to explore all creative possibilities to bring this space to life again really allowed us to create a home we truly love. We couldn’t be more pleased with how this space turned out!

Katie Davis