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RTR-HOMES BEFORE AND AFTER - SPANISH RENOVATION IN LOS FELIZ

Before, the house teeters like a Dr. Seuss house atop an untenable hillside. But after cleverly terracing the bottom of the hillside up and digging out the basement, new rooms were discovered both inside and out.

BEFORE AND AFTER

By opening the back of the house with balconies, private outdoor areas looking out over the newly created flat pad and pool the house communes with the newly created gardens. Now the owners can enjoy that coveted California indoor-outdoor lifestyle with new private outdoor spaces to live, stroll, play, swim and dream.

RTR-HOMES RENOVATION IN TOPANGA

#Before and After #rtr-homes #rtr homes #ruth black #remodel homes #Renovation #california lifestyle #California home and lifestyle #topanga #Topanga remodel #Santa Monica Bungalow landscape design #Kitchen Remodel #kitchen design

BEFORE DURING

AFTER

The client gets everything she wants, an open airy house with great design and an ease of living, all of her structural issues solved in a low maintenance fashion, tons of storage, and breath taking views of the Santa Monica mountains as well as the new gardens. It is clean and modern with all the convinces and top quality, but it still pays homage to the humble Topanga cabin of its origins, making it a warm and cozy place to raise a family and open the house to a constant flow of friends and relatives.

DINING ROOM BEFORE KITCHEN BEFORE DURING

The dining room was originally stuffed into the entry way of the house. To the left of the entry was the strangely shaped, untenable galley kitchen where pretty much nothing worked, and everything was falling apart. Taking down the walls of various poorly added-on adjacent rooms, opening up walls for windows and doors, fixing the foundation, and leveling the varying floor heights, created a big open dining and cooking area for fun, food and relaxation.

AFTER

The new dining room, no longer stuffed into the entry way, is now open to the kitchen where everyone, young and old, big and small is invited to share in the fun of cooking and eating together. With its new windows and doors not only does every vantage point have a view of the lush new natural landscaping, but it opens to the new lovely dining area shaded by the fragrant laurel trees.

RTR-HOMES - KITCHEN REMODEL

This kitchen remodel was a real brain twizzler. The old kitchen was a strangely shaped galley kitchen that did not meet the needs of the client, a real "foodie" who cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner. All completely home made, super healthy and, I might add, incredibly tasty. She wanted a life change. A new kitchen - where family, friends and the more children the merrier, could come to cook and enjoy. And in the end, clean up would be easy and there would be a place for everything to be put away.

On top of that, all the structural problems needed to be solved as well. In the kitchen area we had a cracking and leaking slab on grade foundation, four little hodgepodge Topanga style add-on rooms that weren't actually connected, each had a differing floor height, there were leaking windows and skylights, leaky roof, walls not connected to foundation, no working heat so you had to wear a winter coat inside during the winter, etc. etc. etc. It was a mess. For 12 years, no one could figure out how to solve the problems on a budget that was actually do-able. It was a big challenge.

Just what we like! The fun of design-building is creatively solving problems using beautiful design. Doubly fun - In turn that beautiful design, isn't design for design's sake, but it serves the clients needs beyond anything they could have imagined!

#rt #rtr-homes #ruth black #Renovation #remodel homes #Before and After #Beverly Hills Design Build #Beverly Hills Build #california lifestyle #California home and lifestyle #design build #lifestyle #los angeles lifestyle #los angeles home #luxury kitchen remodel #Los Angeles Design Build #Kitchen Remodel #kitchen design

DURING DEMOLITION

I risked the client's confidence by recommending moving the kitchen. After demolition, she still wasn't convinced. Its hard for a client to re-imagine their lives. Nothing like a little kitchen "graffiti" to ignite a client's imagination.

#Kitchen Remodel #kitchen design #rtr homes #rtr-homes #Renovation #ruth black #remodel homes #Ruth Black Homes #lifestyle #los angeles home #luxury kitchen remodel #Los Angeles Design Build #design build #california lifestyle #Before and After

AFTER

#Kitchen Remodel #kitchen design #rtr homes #rtr-homes #ruth black #Renovation #remodel homes #california lifestyle #design build #lifestyle #los angeles lifestyle #los angeles home #luxury kitchen remodel #Los Angeles Design Build

BEFORE & DURING

Even when a space doesn't work for the client and they know they need to change, its hard to let go of what you are used to. Demolition is emotional. But well worth it in the end. In order to get the most out of a space, its so important to fearlessly let go of what was and imagine what could be. Clearing the space is the second most awesome part of the process, finishing obviously being the prize.

AFTER

We had to replace all the windows in the house anyway, so why not make one beauty for the sink, with a great view of the new courtyard? It's so important for every window to have something lovely for the eye to see. It brings a certain special pleasure to living, being and cooking in the room.

BEFORE & AFTER

Removing a wall and completely moving the kitchen? Sounds crazy, but when you are already demoing an old kitchen and making the investment in a new one - its better to get it right. Once we realized where the kitchen "needed" to go, the rest of the house came together easily. When remodeling, you have to listen to the house. And then, be brave enough to listen. It makes all the difference in the world. You'll be glad you did.

AFTER

RTR-Homes Restoration of a 1927 Spanish Gem

ENTRY HALL- BEFORE AND AFTER

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