June 17, 2005

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Publication Date: Friday, June 17, 2005

Hodgepodge to haven

by Katie Vaughn

When Eric and Joy Weintz began renting their home in 2000, they tolerated its idiosyncrasies. However, when they bought the house two years later, they were anxious to make some changes. Not only was the 56-year-old home in need of repair, it also wasn't the ideal environment for a young family that loves entertaining.

The house had gone through two remodels and countless home-improvement projects in its history, but the result was an inconsistent and sometimes puzzling aesthetic. Hardware and windows were not standardized, wall textures and moldings stopped randomly in the middle of rooms and doors knocked into each other when more than one was open at a time.

"There were doors opening to doors, knobs bumping into knobs," Eric says. "It was ridiculous."

The Weintzes felt the house's dark, cramped kitchen most deserved a major overhaul. Knowing it's the spot their family and guests naturally congregate to, they wanted to make it an open and pleasant place.

"We spend a lot of time here," Joy adds. "It's the hub."

The Weintzes completely transformed the room, replacing the 1960s yellow appliances with modern stainless-steel models, trading in old white-painted cupboard for rich custom-designed mahogany cabinetry and removing a wall separating the kitchen from the adjacent family room.

"We didn't add any floor space, but it feels a lot bigger now," Joy says.

In place of a small white-tiled island, the kitchen now features a large two-level island topped with rich green Indian granite. The same material is found on a counter top next to the range and as a full wall backsplash. Adding contrast are counter tops of Brazilian granite in more muted green and brown tones placed amidst the sink and a flip-down flat-screen television on the kitchen's other two walls.

"We wanted to be a little bolder, a little more vibrant," Eric says of using the two types of granite.

The Weintzes placed importance on the details of the remodel, choosing, for instance, simply designed, easy-to-clean faucets and handles and kid-friendly elements such as rounded counter corners, creative storage spaces for toys and a cozy breakfast nook with a bench seat, sleek adjustable stools and a round table. A favorite element of their two sons is a small refrigerator under a counter top for drink boxes and snacks.

"When you do custom work, you have to think of all the ways to make your life easier," Joy says.

A transitioning element from the kitchen to the family room, the eye-catching island serves an additional purpose: The far end holds a large television that can be viewed from the living room's leather sofa. The sunny room also features skylights and windows, as well as doors opening to the backyard.

As with many remodeling projects, the renovations didn't stop where the homeowners originally intended. Upon finding out mid-remodel that they would have their second child, Joy and Eric decided to split their unnecessarily large main bathroom into separate kids' and master baths.

Rearranging the floor plans, the Weintzes created a master bathroom with skylights, shallow cabinets and two pouch-out sinks to give the sense of more space. The boys' bathroom includes a sun tunnel for natural light, adjustable-height shower heads and a large tub.

And after discovering dry rot in their guest bathroom, the Weintzes also gave that space a facelift. As the couple desired a common theme yet individuality in the bathrooms, each boasts granite counter tops with swirls of soft greens, grays, blues and blacks and roughly surfaced slate, but in green in one bathroom, black in another and gray in the third.

The Weintzes made improvements to other rooms as well. They replaced the living room's brick fireplace with a black granite model, refinished a badly treated built-in cabinet in the dining room and added a door from their office to the garage for direct access to their washer and dryer. The couple also got rid of hand-me-down furniture and bought brand-new pieces.

Not to ignore the outside of their home, their final project was the backyard. The former "lawn bowling strip" of grass, as Eric referred to it, now includes a Brazilian Ipe hardwood deck with a hot tub off the master bedroom, a fire pit and slate slabs upon which sit a table and grill. Along the fence are palms and shrubs, and another corner of the lot features a rocky sitting area with a nearby custom-designed play structure for the boys.

Joy and Eric say their sons and guests have deemed the house and backyard remodels successes. So did the National Association of Remodeling Industry (NARI), San Jose chapter, which awarded the remodel a first place 2005 META award. NARI National acknowledged it with a Region VII Contractor of the Year Award.

Their home has become the new hangout for their group of friends. "When the backyard was done, we had eight substantial parties in four months," Eric says. "Everybody was just floored by the place."
@info: Year house built: 1948
Size of lot: 1/4 acre
Size of house: roughly 1,800 sq. ft.
Time to complete: One year
Budget: $600,000 ($500,000 on house, $100,000 on backyard) Resources: Architect: Harrell Remodeling, 1954 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View, (650) 230-2900, www.harrell-remodeling.com Building contractor: Neil Schultz, Harrell Remodeling Interior designer: Genie Nowicki, Harrell Remodeling Landscape designer: Jim Everett, EvLand LLC, 2131 Edgewood Road, Redwood City, (650) 363-0740, www.evlandllc.com and Steve Furner, Precision Construction, 1382 Geneva Ave., San Carlos, (650) 598-0844

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