South Highlands Remodel Brightens Up Home

Who says living in an older house means you can’t have modern-day luxuries? Red River Remodelers co-owners, Angie Jackson and Sean Thomas, recently worked with local homeowners John and Katherine Kalmbach in South Highlands to create a space that remained true to the traditional elements of the home but provided unique storage, organization and functionality.

South Highlands was designed in the 1920s as a suburb of Shreveport near the then separate town of South Highlands and was annexed in 1927.

The renovation of this Old Traditional house nestled in Shreveport’s South Highlands neighborhood was planned by the family for many years before partnering with Red River Remodelers and coming up with a design plan to make the home come to life. Each member of the family, even the beloved cat, was considered in the design and remodel of the kitchen, office area, breakfast room, outdoor brick-paved patio, powder room, laundry, mudroom and master bedroom. Every element was thoughtfully planned and researched before being integrated into the updated design.

“Our goal is to take [our clients’] wishes and needs, and create their dream space,” Jackson said. By working one-onone with clients, Jackson said the team is able to go from the very beginning stages of design to the reveal of the completed space in a short amount of time.

“I do all the pre-production work where I help with design, cabinet layouts and material selection,” Jackson said. “Sean runs the project once it gets going. He works hands-on, supervises subcontractors, handles the day-to-day operations on site.”

The updated kitchen’s sleek design is bright and crisp with a fresh touch of present day.

“To keep the kitchen current, we used molding and cabinetry with simpler detail but with bolder features than seen in previous years like raised diamond shaped panels in the island and criss-cross mullions on the glass front cabinets at the wet bar,” Jackson said.

In the pantry, the contractor was able to recycle the natural slate hearth from a fireplace removed in the master bedroom to use as a small counter shelf. This is the perfect place for the homeowner to pack her daughter’s school lunches. Under this new counter space, stainless steel drawers separate pastas, cereals and spices.

The Kalmbachs said they wanted a simple timeless look but with accent pieces that sparkled. Beveled edges give an upscale look to traditional white subway tile in the kitchen. To create soft yet dramatic focal points at the cooktop and wet bar, backsplashes were designed with accent artistic tile in flapper floral and be bop white and boarded with thasos marble liners. The white back splash subway tile twinkles with glimpses of light from the new lighting fixtures under the custom cabinetry.

The beautiful, quartz kitchen countertops look similar to carrara marble. They are brightened by all of the new lighting fixtures and are accessorized with a hammered, polished nickel bar sink. A three globed hanging light spotlights the details of the buffet island in the middle of the room. Four barstools wait to seat family and friends.

A unified color palette of soft grays floods the space, kicked up by bold accent colors and shiny accessories such as chandeliers, mirrors and reflective cabinet hardware. The traditional interior was given a sharper look and modern feel, and no detail was overlooked.

Most of the time, kitchen lighting is an afterthought, but for this project, it was one of the most important parts because of the location of the kitchen. When the additions on the back of the house were added, natural light was limited to the breakfast area, but the designers came up with a solution.

“By adding two solar tubes that allowed natural light into the space and tons of overhead functional lighting, recessed lights, incabinet lighting and under cabinetry lights, this kitchen is bright and cheerful,” Jackson said.

New cabinetry seamlessly flows from the kitchen into the laundry room atop new oakwood flooring, provided by local company Southern Hardwood Flooring. Custom cabinets, selected from Unlimited Cabinets out of Longview, Texas, feature a gift wrap storage drawer, a hidden broom closet, a necessary charging station, cleaning supply storage, display cabinets for China and organized drawer space for everyday items. The cabinets and storage provide much needed storage for a busy family.

Above a new stainless steel oven is easily accessible pan storage designed without cabinet doors. “This is so much easier than digging through a cluttered cabinet. You can see every clean pan you have.”

Cabinets draw the eye in this home.

Even the family cats got their own custom cat silhouette cabinet door to the kitty litter storage area in the laundry room. “There is no reason for it to be out in plain sight when it can easily be stowed away. And our kitty friends are happy to use their special entrance,” Sarah Reuther, assistant at Red Remodelers, said.

“Tons of personal details really drove this project,” Jackson said.

To keep up with day to day activities, a home office area was designed to the left of the refrigerator complete with a file drawer and cabinet space. The desk houses a comfortable chair, in transparent polycarbonate, which is a play off the Ghost furniture popularized by designer Phillippe Starck in the 1980s. The design team paid special effort to not take away from the exquisite cabinet design and distinct lines created by the subway tiles and sleek countertops.

Next to the kitchen, the powder room’s “Porcupine Quill” mirror from Horchow sits atop vibrant koi fish wallpaper by Osborne and Little. This exciting and elegant mirror was chosen to reflect the vision of a modern space within this traditional home’s setting. The mirrored cabinetry really brightens up this room full of blues and silvers and compliments the eclectic purpose of the remodel. One would never guess it was formerly the laundry room.

Off the kitchen is a mudroom located down two wooden steps designed to catch jackets, backpacks and other odds and ends as you enter from the garage. Illuminated with a spherical Z Gallerie-Eclipse Chandelier orb light fixture, the perfectly organized mudroom is designed to accommodate life’s everyday happenings with style. Jackson said, “On this project, we took a go big or go home approach.”

After a long day’s work, homeowners can retreat into the master bedroom and private study for relaxation in style. This room was once a space on the back of a congested U-shaped house with years of additions that opened up to the backyard. The bedroom was transformed into a private getaway with a door leading to the backyard.

What once had five different doors opening up to the backyard, the new brick paved patio utilizes space adorned with traditional bricks and modern appliances set up for entertaining and relaxation. The overhang of the new roof provides perfect shade for a warm Louisiana afternoon.

– Brittney Trahan