We are proud to be recipients of the Central Ohio NARI Contractor of the Year Award for our entire home renovation project in the neighborhood of Highland Lakes in Westerville, Ohio. Every project comes with its own set of unique challenges, but this project exceeded that due to the age of the home. Having being built in 1841, these homeowners wanted to make sure to pay homage to the home’s history yet update the living spaces for their active family of five. Opening walls, tearing down structures along with excavating the land to prepare for the addition’s foundation led to new discoveries every day, such as removing a surprise abandoned oil tank along with a septic system, dealing with multiple floor heights, straightening beams that had stacked stone footers and upgrading the home to a 600amp electrical panel. However, our team took on the daily challenges in stride to enhance this home’s luxurious features. The one-car garage was inadequate and could only store lawn equipment, so the homeowners needed garage space for their cars. Adding a 4-car garage brought the opportunity to expand the footprint of the home and create improved workspaces for the husband and wife. The husband runs his business from his home and was looking for a way to have a space away from the hub of family life, as well as create an area where he could host meetings. The wife is a yoga instructor, so she wanted the chance to host classes in her own area. While designing these spaces, they knew that improvements could also be made to some other areas of the home that could benefit the entire family. The show piece of the entire renovation was converting the existing dining room into a beautiful and spacious kitchen. A brick wall was opened up to allow more natural light from the sunroom into the kitchen and the original fireplace was kept helping blend the old with the new and keeping the character of this unique home. With the remodeled space, we were also able to create a butler’s pantry where most of the appliances are hidden to create the new “messy kitchen” trend. Now that kitchens have become the center of entertainment and more open to the rest of the home, homeowners feel compelled to keep countertops free of clutter. The trend is to hide the ovens, coffee makers, and other large appliances around the corner or in an oversized pantry where they remain ready-to-use, but out of sight. The final result is a beautiful combination of blending old with new while creating a more functional and modern space that ensures this home will continue to stand the test of time.