Some homes need to be completely reinvented. Others already have something special and just need someone to figure out how to make all the pieces work.
This Gainesville, Florida home was definitely the latter.
The house was full of interesting architecture, unexpected spaces, and character, but the way several of those spaces functioned no longer made sense for the family living there. And this is a family that really lives in their home. They cook, entertain, gather, have friends over, and have a busy household that needs to work just as well on an ordinary Tuesday as it does with a house full of people.
So, while this was a major renovation, our goal was never to make the house feel brand new. We wanted to keep everything that made it interesting, rethink everything that wasn’t working, and layer in materials and details that felt as though they could have been collected over time.
The result is what we call The Collected Home.
The Kitchen That Changed the House
The kitchen was the starting point and ultimately the space that transformed the entire home.
We completely reworked the layout to improve the way the family cooks, gathers, entertains, and moves through the space. Soft blue cabinetry is mixed with warm natural wood rather than using one finish throughout, while natural stone, tile, warm metals, and carefully selected lighting add layers without making the room feel overly designed.
That mix was important to us. We didn’t want anything to feel like it came as a set. We wanted the kitchen to feel like it had evolved naturally over time.
And because this family entertains, the kitchen couldn’t just photograph beautifully. It needed to work. Storage, circulation, prep space, gathering, and the way multiple people use the room at once were considered throughout the design.
But one of our favorite decisions happened just beyond the kitchen.
The Pantry With a View
The house had a sunroom overlooking the pool, and we borrowed a portion of it to create what may be one of our favorite pantries we’ve ever designed.
Instead of hiding the pantry in a dark back room, we embraced the existing architecture and created a hardworking space surrounded by floor to ceiling windows. Soapstone countertops bring another natural, living material into the home, while an entire wall of cabinetry provides the storage a busy kitchen needs.
Then there is the coffee station.
We designed a built in coffee maker with a custom retractable mug shelf directly beneath it. Pull the shelf out, make your coffee, grab milk or creamer from the refrigerated drawer immediately beside you, and you literally do not have to take a step. When you’re finished, the mug shelf disappears back into the cabinetry.
Sometimes good design is a dramatic architectural gesture. Sometimes it is realizing you shouldn’t have to walk across the kitchen for the creamer.
We love both.
Moving the Laundry Room Where It Actually Belonged
This might be the best example of why renovation is about much more than finishes.
The original laundry room was accessed through the primary bedroom.
For a family with three teenagers.
We’ll just leave that there for a moment.
An unused storage closet near the front of the house gave us an opportunity to rethink the entire arrangement. We converted that space into the new laundry room, giving the whole family convenient access without walking through the parents’ bedroom.
The former laundry room didn’t go to waste either. Because it was located directly behind the primary suite, we transformed it into a new closet for him.
One change solved two problems and made the floor plan work much better for the way the family actually lives.
A Primary Bath Reworked From the Inside Out
The primary bathroom already had some wonderful architectural elements, including its vaulted ceiling and wood beams. Those were exactly the things we wanted to preserve.
What wasn’t working was the layout.
We completely reconfigured the bath and borrowed space from an adjoining closet to create a separate toilet room. With the floor plan working properly, we could focus on making the room feel open, calm, and luxurious without losing the warmth that runs throughout the house.
The freestanding tub overlooks a private courtyard, while soft blue tile, marble, warm brass, tailored cabinetry, and the existing beams create the mix of old and new we wanted throughout the renovation.
We also kept an antique door original to the house and gave it a new purpose as wall storage. Those are the details we love most: pieces that bring some history into a newly renovated space instead of making everything feel too perfect.
The Little Bath With a Big Personality
And then there is the hall bath.
We could have played it safe here. We did not.
Rich chocolate walls and deep brown handmade tile wrap the room in color, while warm brass, marble, handcrafted zellige flooring, and a true antique cabinet give it an old world feeling that is completely different from the primary bath.
The antique cabinet is one of our favorite pieces in the room. Its aged exterior opens to reveal an unexpected deep green interior, and it provides real storage rather than simply being decorative.
It’s a relatively small space, which made it the perfect place to take a few chances. Not every room in a house needs to whisper.
A Home That Works Better and Still Feels Like Home
The best part of this Gainesville whole home renovation is that the house still feels like itself.
We didn’t erase its quirks or try to turn it into something it wasn’t. We kept the architecture worth keeping, completely changed the spaces that weren’t working, found better uses for overlooked square footage, and layered old and new throughout.
The kitchen became the heart of the home. A piece of the sunroom became an incredible pantry. A storage closet became the laundry room the family actually needed. The former laundry became useful primary closet space. Both bathrooms were rethought around how they needed to function.
And through all of it, the goal stayed the same: make it beautiful, make it work, and make it feel like it belongs.
That, to us, is a collected home.
