MICHEL’S HOMES

THE HOME EDIT: PAIRING DOWN + LIVING WITH LESS STUFF

by Michel Van Devender March 29, 2022

Since the beginning of 2022, I’ve written several times here on the blog about feeling more drawn to minimal spaces right now. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day I suppose. I’ve also written about feeling the need to edit our home, beginning the process of pairing down and living with less stuff. A shedding of some sort. And I might add, a process that’s happening in more areas of my life than just our interiors. I’m not completely sure yet how far I’ll be taking this editing thing, but I’m definitely on a mission to reduce the visual chaos I’ve been experiencing in our interior spaces.

I guess you could say like most people we’ve accumulated our share of household goods over the years. And being a designer, perhaps more than most. Have I mentioned I’m a collector of home goods? There, I said it! Lamps, rugs, art, accessories (my favorite), you name it, and I have lots of it over here. And I mean lots! Admittedly, I’m not always the best purger either. In my mind, I hold onto things with the intention of using them at some point down the road. Perhaps it’s the idea I have for an Airbnb or doing an addition with a creative space. I’ll need all this extra stuff, right? Well, even IF one or both of those things actually comes to fruition, the chances of me using all these items is probably really low.

I actually enjoy the hunting and gathering part, the search, the thrill of the find and curating all the things. Back in my interior design days, I would sell many of those great finds to clients. Since I’m not currently designing for clients, I collect all the goods. It may be time to find a different creative outlet to feed this treasure hunter’s soul. Seems like a better alternative than displaying ALL the curiosities in my own home.

And then there’s the storage part of accumulating all the said stuff. When we designed our current home, we purposeful plan did not include having a lot of extra storage space. We have no attic and no garage so there aren’t many places for things we aren’t using. It’s actually good as it’s forcing us to be honest about what we have space for and want to keep. But then, as time has passed, and we’ve lived in our home for over a year, it’s occurred to me I’m storing all the stuff, not in a storage area, but in all of the living spaces of our home. Yikes! There’s a lot of over accessorizing and packed areas, less negative space, less of a visual break.

And how is it going with the edit? Well, I’m slowly making some progress which makes me happy. Below is a little visual update capturing the progress we’ve made so far. First let me say, it takes time, and this will most definitely be an ongoing process. As I’m editing and rearranging, I’m also selling much of what isn’t staying. And in fact, if you’re local to Charlotte, I’m currently selling some of these referenced homewares at a local home store, Nave. It’s all really good stuff and letting go has been an interesting process too. For those of us non-purging types, there tends to be some sort of emotional attachment to the stuff. That’s actually an entirely different blog post right there!

For now though, I’m celebrating a little progress, change and a little lighter load. I’m also loving the reduced visual chaos. You could say we’re actually enjoying this pairing down and living with less stuff! Spring seems like a good time for this to all be happening too. Sure there’s no coincidence there. Here’s to shedding, purging, editing, fresh starts, clean slates and the new! Happy Spring friends!

KITCHEN

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KITCHEN RANGE WALL

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ENTRY/DINING AREA

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LIVING ROOM

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MICHEL'S HOMES

HOME TOUR: OUR MODERN BLACK HOUSE NEW BUILD IN OAKHURST

by Michel Van Devender November 3, 2021

We recently passed the year mark of being in our modern black house new build, and we’re just getting around to writing about the journey from the rear view mirror. And, I had a little help with getting motivated. When Scoop Charlotte reached out in July about doing a feature on our home, I said YES PLEASE, but knew we’d have a thing or two (actually many things) to do in preparation for the shoot with Heather Ison Photography. So we got to work pulling things together and recounting the process, from beginning to where we are now. The Scoop Charlotte feature that ran the beginning of September can be found here. Below is our full story…

THE BACKSTORY

To say the last 19 months has been a little unusual, may be a vast understatement. Living during a worldwide pandemic has been challenging in different ways for most people. It’s been a roller coaster ride with many highs and lows. Add with a new build, a home sale, and moving and living in multiple Airbnbs, well, this was an entirely different experience, we could’ve never anticipated or prepared for.

It’s a journey that began in late 2018, when I started feeling that little nudge, the itch to build and move again. My husband, Ladd, and I have been together for over 18 years so he’s rarely phased by my ideas! Although he did pose two questions – What? and Why? At the time, we were living in a black modern house, our 5th Street home, we built in 2015 in the Elizabeth neighborhood in Charlotte. The questions were fair, after all it was our dream house we created from the ground up. We loved our house and were comfortable where we were. But after living there for five years and making a career change, I felt the timing was right to create our next dream house, another black house.

In the beginning of 2019, there was a lot of change and transition happening with me both personally and professionally. I stepped away from interior design after working in the business for over ten years. It was a big step that allowed me the freedom to explore other creative ventures and focus on my family. As much as I love interior design, I really just love all things creative from design to architecture to fashion to travel to art to cooking, and really everything in between. I had a deep desire to explore and grow those passions and parts of myself. I can’t always say I know what I’ll be doing, but I do know with 100 percent certainty creating is an essential part of who I am. This is what brings me joy and makes me feel alive and fully expressed.

The career change allowed me the time and space to consider something different for our family, a new home. People always ask us why in the world would you want to build another house? I guess we are just those people who actually love building and the construction process, from beginning to end, and the interior design part too. It’s also in my blood. My grandfather was a builder so I grew up on and around construction sites. I’m one of those weird people who actually likes the smell of sawdust and fresh paint and the sound of power tools. These smells and sounds of construction trigger the fondest memories from my childhood.

There’s also something magical and rewarding about being a part of the creative process of building. It begins with something intangible, an idea, a concept or dream, and transforms into something tangible, a home. Being a part of the process from beginning to end is a gift. This appreciation grew out of my own experience with renovating and building. It started when I was 24 years old with a cottage in Dilworth. Little did I know at the time, it would be the beginning of either renovating or building another seven personal homes, with the exception of one, all in Charlotte.

OUR NEXT BLACK HOUSE

Back to our next modern black house new build… Once my husband and I decided to move forward with another construction project, the most challenging next step was securing a building site. Especially since we knew we wanted to stay close to the city. As the saying goes, they’re not making land anymore. We started searching, making a list of potential areas. On our list were some new modern homes in Oakhurst being developed by the builder of our second 5th Street house (here is our first house), Peter Vasseur, and his two business partners Bobby Sisk and Andrew Woodruff Architecture. The neighborhood was three miles south of Elizabeth. There was a soon-to-be developed lot on the end of the street. We loved the 3/4 acre size and the wooded areas.

When we stood on the lot, we didn’t feel like we were less than five miles from the center of Charlotte. The land could provide more room for our boys to roam and better opportunities to design outdoor living spaces, perhaps even incorporating a pool in our design. In addition to the size and the setting, we were sold on the quiet, quaint street and the down-to-earth, eclectic vibe of the neighborhood. We closed on the land in December of 2019. Little did we know, or anyone else for that matter, there was a worldwide pandemic on the horizon.

Once we decided on the location, our focus turned to the house design. I already had a Pinterest board loaded with inspiration. After all, going down a Pinterest rabbit hole is my jam! In addition to compiling visual inspiration, we also started our list of “musts” and “wants”. We knew this new house, of course, would be black. We also knew we wanted big, open spaces with an abundance of natural light and a layout that fostered a connection to the outdoors and nature. This translates into lots of windows and doors and fewer walls in the living spaces. There was also an existing barn on the property we hoped to repurpose and integrate into the new construction. While there are limitations when working with a fixed structure on a property, it helps shape the vision. Sometimes in the best kind of way. The positioning and orientation allowed us to capture the best views of the wooded and bamboo areas while also recessing the house back into the landscape, creating a natural privacy buffer from the street.

PANDEMIC CONSTRUCTION

In January of 2020, after weeks of rain and multiple delays, we broke ground. It was a hallelujah kind of day! I love looking back at this blog post and video, WE’RE EXPECTING AGAIN, we created in the beginning of the process. Building progressed for several months before the pandemic came into full view. In hindsight, I’m honestly not sure we would’ve moved forward with the project had we known what was ahead. Building under normal circumstances is like putting together a massive puzzle with lots of pieces and problem solving. The pandemic created a more difficult puzzle with missing and hard to find pieces.

When stay-at-home orders were put in place, and non-essential businesses were closed, most aspects of construction were impacted affecting the supply chain and the building process. On our contractor’s end, getting lumber for framing as well as windows and other materials was more difficult, while pricing was also steadily increasing. On the design end, making selections and securing materials and goods were major challenges. Our local go-to resources had closed showrooms so selection decisions were made from samples ordered online. Unfortunately, I sometimes couldn’t purchase locally. The black and white ceramic tile in our boys bathroom was from Wayfair. It was in-stock and ready to ship. Several of our other tiles were ordered online too. Appliances were also a challenge to find. Many lighting and plumbing fixtures were backordered with long lead times. This is where flexibility and creativity are helpful, although I literally held my breath when I placed orders! Since sub-contractors were already scheduled, it was crucial materials were selected, ordered and received to meet schedules and deadlines. Along the way, there was a lot of finger, leg and arm crossing!

You can find a couple of our blog updates on construction here –

NEW HOUSE UPDATE: WE HAVE DRYWALL

PANDEMIC CONSTRUCTION

SELLING A HOUSE + HOUSING LIMBO

While juggling the design and build, we were also working on getting our 5th Street house ready to sell. Oh, and everyone is now home from school, college and work so we have a full house as well as the new added challenges and responsibilities that come with remote learning. We knew our Oakhurst house wouldn’t be completed until September, but we also didn’t know what the market would be like, selling during a pandemic. Mind you, this was at the beginning of COVID-19, when there was a lot of uncertainty about the economy and jobs.

Our house hit the market the end of May 2020 and sold in the first week. We were both thankful and relieved, but also knew we were most likely looking at temporary housing. Fortunately, we were able to stay in our house through July, but this left a two month gap. We scrambled searching for rentals, finding limited options. We pieced together a couple of Airbnbs. Imagine the delight of our kids when we told them, not only are you moving to a new neighborhood and new house in September, but now we’ll be living in two different Airbnbs in two different neighborhoods before then!

THE MOVE + SETTLING IN

Remarkably though, we were able to build and move into our new house, nine months after breaking ground. We moved in the last week our second Airbnb rental expired. We definitely credit our builder and his team with keeping the train moving and on the tracks. I cannot say there wasn’t some stress, worry and restless nights, for everyone involved. Overall though, it all came together beautifully, and we made the best of the two-month in between Airnbnb adventure. It certainly was not without some unexpected drama; however, our kids actually did better with the adjustment than we anticipated. And, we also have some really interesting stories and memories.

So, finally after everything, we were back in black! Once we were in the house, we could breathe a sigh of relief. We were all together in our house where we could finally nest and settle. Everyone was still working and learning from home and there was the unpacking part, but we were thankfully no longer in between homes.

As the interiors are coming together, I’m excited to share a glimpse inside our family’s new black house. It’s our little soulful, art-filled home. It may be months before we completely finish the interior design, but I’m learning to lean more into the process, working to focus less on the incomplete. I’m sure there will be some switching and shifting of furniture and lighting now that we’ve lived in the house and can see how the spaces work for us. But quite honestly, there will always be tweaking and rearranging at our house! Ask my husband!

REFLECTION

At the end of the day, this new house is an expression of who and where we are today as a family. Reflecting on the past year and the construction process, we can see the transformation was happening with more than just the house. It was also occurring within us and around us. As you’re building a house, the house is also building and growing you in the process. And, sometimes it seems to be more about the showing up and embracing the creative process of life, no matter how unpredictable or wild and crazy it is. The hanging on and enjoying the ride. And the leaning into the journey, seeing the gifts and lessons, even in building during a pandemic!

As our house evolves, we will continue to add more images to the blog. And of course, you can check out more current shares on our IG feed. Thank you to Heather Ison Photography capturing these beautiful images of where we are today (or at least in July!).

MICHEL'S HOMES

NOTE CHANDELIER: UNIQUE LIGHTING FOR THE HOME

by Michel Van Devender August 16, 2021

Scribble a note, write a love letter, paint a picture, create a poem, compose the lyrics, save a memory...

Ahh… the note chandelier. Anyone else good at skipping the thinking-through part before making a selection and purchase? You know the step where you consider the assembly. Even after all these years of design work, yep, I’m still guilty. Of course, I’ve done this many times with Ikea purchases. And, I think this chandelier deserves to be placed in the same category as Ikea furniture!

Thanks to Pinterest inspiration (see below), the note chandelier has been calling my name for years. With our new house, I finally answered the call. I excitedly clicked the purchase button, never, not even once, giving any thought to the installation part. I never considered all of the small pieces, and there are many… the 50+ steel arms, the same number of clips that all require adjustment. Oh, and all of the pieces of paper have to be attached to all of those clips. I would say I thought it might arrive as pictured, completely put together, but honestly, I didn’t think about anything but how cool the light fixture looks… sigh.

As I’m putting this sucker together, I’m also now wondering how I will change the light bulb and dust the fixture. Hmmmm… the light bulb is now blocked by all of the steel arms. I’m sure dust will collect on all of these notes too. Oh well! Let this be problem solving and trouble shooting for another day. First, I have to complete the tedious process of getting this fixture together! If and when I finish, I’m sure I’m going to love it! And, I’m definitely looking forward to checking this one off of my to-do list!

P.S.

If you’re interested in other projects we’ve been working on lately in our new house, check out DIY: HOW TO PAINT LEATHER + VINYL WITH STUNNING RESULTS.

How It's Going

My Note Chandelier Inspiration

MICHEL'S HOMES

HOME TOUR: 5TH STREET

by Michel Van Devender April 28, 2021

Hello and welcome to our modern black home! Thank you for stopping by… I feel so honored you’re here! I frequently have people inquire about our house, curious about how it came to be and interested in a tour of the interior spaces. I’m thrilled and excited to share the story and to give you a tour here on the blog!

Location

Our house is located in a historic, urban neighborhood called Elizabeth in Charlotte, North Carolina. Elizabeth is our city’s second oldest street car neighborhood. It features an eclectic mix of house styles, including Colonial Revival, Tutor Revival and Craftsman, with a strong representation of the Bungalow style. In Elizabeth, there have been scarce examples of modern architecture up until recent years. As you might imagine, our modern black house is a bit of a juxtaposition to the more traditional, historic surroundings; however, by architectural design, it intentionally relates to the neighborhood through scale and some of its design features.

Our Old Old House

Prior to designing and building our modern house, we lived on the same street, five houses down, in a 1920s Colonial Revival that we spent nearly six years meticulously renovating. If you’re a person who loves home projects, you know what happens when a renovation is complete… that’s right, it is time for new adventure! AND, just as much as I love design, I love change and a new project!

When we started considering what our next move would be, we knew we desired a house more modern than the ones we’d lived in previously. I absolutely love the character and stories of historic homes, having lived in and renovated several before… the old creaking wood floors, the perfect patina of the burnished brass door hardware, the beautiful, single pane wavy glass windows and the multiple layers of paint that add a certain depth and texture to the walls. On the other hand, we were equally as well versed in the old house challenges – the small, segmented, sometimes dark rooms, the tiny closets and lack of storage and the old house energy consumption (yikes, we had paid those bills for many years!). We dreamed of a more open floor plan with lots of natural light. We wanted a house where you couldn’t stand at the windows in the winter and feel the cold air rushing into the house. And, we wanted closets and storage!

For The Love Of Modern

My husband and I have always loved modern architecture with its signature clean lines, open floor plans and large windows that bathe the interior in natural light (give me all of the natural light please!). For several years, we had toured many of these architectural stunners in our city through a local modern home tour called the Mad About Modern Home Tour. It is a rare opportunity to step beyond the front door of some of Charlotte’s coolest modern homes and see how people live in these spaces. Some are original, some are renovated, and they are all uniquely different and equally as interesting. We fell head over heels in love with the midcentury modern style! We were starry eyed and full of hopes of purchasing our very own midcentury house to renovate. Over the course of a year, we spent much of our free time searching the MLS for new listings. We were obsessed! There were nearly a half-dozen that came onto the real estate market in our area during this time that we had the chance to view. We quickly learned we’re not the only ones who adore these modern gems! It was a competitive market as the mid-century modern house had become a popular and highly sought after style of home in Charlotte. We made offers on at least three of these houses, but at the end of the day, we came up empty handed.

Change of Plans

Clearly the stars and timing weren’t aligning for a midcentury modern move so we were back to the drawing board. We decided to take a much needed break from looking at houses when an opportunity to purchase a house on our current street unfolded. It wasn’t exactly what we had in mind. The small brick cottage was badly rundown and had sat empty for several years after the owner, a sweet and adorable lady in her 90s, Ms. Harriet, had passed away. She was a well-known and beloved Elizabeth resident who had grown up as a child in the very same house she lived in up until a couple of months before her death. It was most certainly not the modern house we were dreaming of, but it was cute, and we loved the story of the house.

Midcentury modern what? It didn’t take long for us to pivot and dream a new vision, seeing great design potential in the house. Loving our urban neighborhood, we jumped at the chance to purchase the house. I spent time developing these grand plans of keeping some part of the original house, updating it with something new out the back. I was warned by our architects and builder this might not be possible, but I ran with my idea and envisioned how we could take some part of the original cottage and pair it with a modern addition… the perfect marriage of the old and the new, contrasting styles. I love a great juxtaposition. It would be a cool, eclectic mix! I even had a vision board and Pinterest examples of how this had been successfully done with other houses. I was feeling stoked, inspired and raring to get started on this new project.

The Reality

Unfortunately, the nay-sayers were right! Our excitement was quickly and disappointingly deflated. I’m often reminded – there’s the dream, and then there’s the reality! As we moved forward in the design process, we learned that there were several, rather large, obstacles in moving forward in this conceived direction with our newly purchased cottage. The first being that the original house was in substandard condition, having sat for years in need of major repairs. The brick on one side as well as on the back of the house was mostly gone, remnants of brick strewn all over the ground. The ceiling in the house was caving in due to a water leak that started in the attic and went undetected for several weeks while the house sat empty. The second, and most difficult obstacle to overcome, was the house was sitting on the current property line. Long story short, there are rules around how much you can add onto a house when this is the case without having to adhere to the property setbacks (i.e. move the house). The original footprint of 1200 sq. ft. would not accommodate our family of five, including three growing boys. Even if it did, renovating the original house would not make sense and would be cost prohibitive. We went back and forth. Ultimately though, after meeting with our architects, talking to our builder and looking at our options, including the financial implications, we came to the unfortunate conclusion that the house would have to be torn down. There was no part we could save. A bit of neighborhood history would disappear. Sadly, this is not unheard of in older neighborhoods. After years of disrepair, houses can reach the point where they simply cannot be salvaged.

Modern Construction

Since using part of the original house was no longer an option, we knew we would be building a new house. For us, this meant revisiting our dream of a modern house for our family. We quickly got excited about the idea of a clean slate and a new construction project. Yay, a new project! And, I was even more excited about the design/build process. From the architectural phase to the construction phase to the interior design phase, I loved every, single, last part of building our modern house! Even the crazy, things never go as planned, the problem solving, the collaboration, the quick and endless decision-making. Even the sh#* show part of it as construction is messy… that too! I loved dreaming a vision, the infinite planning, weighing the selections, and making the design decisions, each and every one of them. Routine visits to the construction site, watching the vision unfold, seeing the end product and moving into the house to make it into our family home. This is my kind of creative fun! And, NO, I’m certainly not going to lie to you and say that it was all rainbows and sunshine either, because it was not. However, I liken building a house to birthing a child in that you forget about the unpleasant parts of it, and the end result makes it so worth any temporary discomfort or pain!

Our Modern House

It took nearly ten months from start to finish to design and build our current home. Designing and creating this modern black house was a dream come true for our family! It was rewarding and inspiring to collaborate with such a talented and creative group of people who tirelessly and passionately worked together to see a vision to fruition. We couldn’t be happier with the end result and have so much gratitude for our family home and the memories we are making here. As we move forward on the construction of our next black house, there will be many parts and pieces of this house we’ll be carrying with us to our new home. I hope you enjoy the tour!

P.S.

The images below are staged! Camera angles are planned and are forgiving. Our house does NOT look like this on a daily basis! Please know if you walked into our home right now you would find our beds unmade, clothes randomly scattered on the floor, clean laundry folded on our sofa (it sometimes sits there for several days), dirty dishes in the sink, toys and art supplies strewn all over the house, a weeks worth of mail and papers stacked on our kitchen island, etc., etc. On this very day, our front and back yards look like an explosion of outdoor kids’ stuff. Such is living a real, beautiful life!

MICHEL'S HOMES

OUR MODERN BUILD: STYLE

by Michel Van Devender September 16, 2020

Let’s talk design! I mean honestly, when are we NOT talking design? As our new Black House Blue Sky home is coming together, we’ve had people ask how we would describe the style. After all, it is an observable departure from our previous 5th Street house.

When we were dreaming and creating our mood/vision boards early last year, we weren’t even thinking in words, only in images. This is usually how it unfolds for most designers. We found ourselves drawing inspiration Scandinavian farmhouses and European barns with their more traditional shapes juxtaposed with modern, expansive windows and black industrial materials. And in this same vein, we knew we wanted a home that tells a more worn, rustic, lived in story… a black modern haven, tucked within the lush green surroundings, capable of withstanding the test of time with the wear and tear of family life. Maybe this imagined place becomes even more beautiful over time with its patina.

Speaking from experience, building a new house with the worn warmth of an old house while simultaneously maintaining a modern design aesthetic can be a little tricky. In most cases, it’s more expensive to make the new look old, especially if it’s done well. The materials and labor typically cost more. Balancing the old and the modern is also super important. A defined budget helps guide decisions for sure. From the beginning, we knew the importance of being purposeful and selective in our approach, making design decisions and spending where we believed it would be the most impactful, and where we’d get the most design bang for our buck. For this reason, we relied heavily on organic finishes, textures and selections to achieve our style goals. From the raw concrete floors to the use of reclaimed wood to the marble kitchen wall to the understated, industrial lighting to the mosaic and terrazzo bathroom tile floors, these combined design elements create surfaces and interiors that are both rustic and modern. And, most of our selections, I might add, were in budget!

Even with its rustic vibe, our new project is still modern, albeit decidedly different than anything we’ve done to date. The BHBS aesthetic continues to be defined, shaped and honed by our experiences. We’re always most inspired by travel, art, photography, nature and well-loved treasures sourced from antique and vintage stores. In more recent years, we’ve become increasingly more obsessed with European design. Generally speaking, in the past we’ve described our interior design aesthetic as modern eclectic as we love more classic modern finishes paired with an eclectic mix of collected and curated interiors. Our new abode will reflect this collective inspiration, no doubt, but will be expressed in a different way based on our evolving design aesthetic and lifestyle goals.

Perhaps our new home style can be described as rustic Scandinavian modern or industrial farmhouse or industrial chic. Or at least, that’s the best phrasing we’ve come up with so far! We’re visually preoccupied over here and rely more heavily on images to convey a style and mood, but we’re always up for help with the descriptive words! Here are some of our favorite images we’ve drawn major inspiration from throughout the design build process. How would you describe the style? Please drop us a comment below!

From Top: klh-homes.com, via gardenista.com, via remoldelista.com, via clemaroundthecorner.com, via sfgirlbybay.com, via roselandgreene.blogspot.com, via thedesignchaser.com, via leanneford.com, via frenchbydesignblog.com, via vosgesparis.com, via thedesignchaser.com, via homebreng.com.

MICHEL'S HOMES

NEW HOUSE UPDATE: WE HAVE DRYWALL

by Michel Van Devender April 29, 2020

Woohoo… man, do we love drywall! It feels like Christmas over here!!! Framing helps you imagine rooms and get a sense of space, but when the drywall goes up, suddenly it actually feels like a home and a place where you could live. We’re celebrating this milestone construction phase with happy dances and cheers to the drywall team who made this magic happen almost overnight. And, that’s saying a like since we are onsite checking in many times a week. Our next Black House Blue Sky home is really starting to feel like a reality!

MICHEL'S HOMES

PANDEMIC CONSTRUCTION

by Michel Van Devender April 18, 2020

We didn’t exactly plan to build a house during the COVID-19 outbreak, but here we are, still moving forward on a project that has been in the works since last summer. And, the train had already left the station so to speak.

It’s difficult to ignore the uncertainty of these times. I’m finding if I focus on the “what ifs” and what might go wrong right now, it does nothing but create anxiety. If we had a crystal ball, we might’ve put the construction phase on hold. Then again, who really knows. Right?!

So, here we are moving forward, somewhat blindly, with hope and optimism for the future. We’re thankful we have the option to continue. We’re also thankful for our bada#$, creative builder, Vasseur Home Design, who has gracefully kept the wheels on the bus and the project moving, while also creating a safe working environment for the many tradespeople who work their magic. We feel good about having a project that keeps people safely employed. So, we’ve decided to take it day by day and focus on the good. What else can you do?

MICHEL'S HOMES

PULLING TOGETHER OUR NEW KITCHEN DESIGN: LAYING IT ALL OUT

by Michel Van Devender March 26, 2020

From top left counter clockwise: via sfgirlbybay.com, schoolhouseelectric.com, planete-deco.fr, megjolie.piyof.com, nicety.livejournal.com, architectureartdesigns.com

*Please note I’m posting this after the COVID-19 outbreak and the writing was done pre-COVID-19. So much has changed in the past several weeks. The world seems different and uncertain. I’m hoping to write more later, but am currently in the midst of homeschooling two of my boys, one of which is a second grader with learning differences. In between this most important job, I continue to plug away on our house as the progress continues to unfold. It’s become my therapy and my creative escape/distraction. Prayers of safety and wellness to you and your family. Prayers of hope and awakening for our country and the world.*

February was a blur, already in the past, and now we’re moved into March! It was a crazy month where we had missed school for tornado warnings and unseasonable stormy weather as well as several snow days thrown into the mix (we had a light dusting of snow here in NC… an entirely different story). In between the interruptions to our normal schedule (and who am I fooling,… I’m not sure we even have a “normal” schedule!), I’ve been steadily plugging away on our new house… all the decisions and all of the details are beginning to come due – plumbing fixtures, a lighting plan, roofing selection, etc. etc.! I’ve fallen a little behind on posting, but such is real life. I’m hoping to get more posts up soon and appreciate those of you who are patiently following along!

I did want to break down a little bit of what the build process looks like and how I try to approach and organize the design part. With the final architectural plans in hand (we spent the better part of the summer and fall working closely with an architect on these), we closed the bank loan and waited for site preparation and building permits. Once we got the green light and ground was broken, a schedule of events began to unfold, requiring a whole host of selections. This is where the decisions begin and really do not end until the project completion! I start by creating inspiration boards for each room. I use Canva for these boards. I have a collection of boards and images on my Pinterest account that I pull from for inspiration (so if you’re looking for inspiration, please check out our Pinterest account linked on our page here). Many of these images I’ve been compiling in folders since we started the architectural phase. This visual exercise helps me frame and define my design direction. Once I have of a good idea of where I’m heading, then I create boards pulling together specific products including lighting, plumbing, accessories, etc. I then use these as guides for making my purchasing decisions. Sounds easy, right?!

For our new kitchen, I’m leaning towards black cabinets with black countertops. Oh so sultry, dramatic and sexy. And from a practical standpoint, they will be much easier to keep clean than white. Black is still a neutral, but it will be a departure from my current house with its clean, crisp, white cabinets. When I think about trying something different, I’m most certain there’s a little dopamine release in my brain. I’m also fairly sure there will be many other kitchen designs in my future so this will not be my final cooking place :). That said, why wouldn’t I experiment and just go for it, knowing I get energized by the change and the opportunity to live in a different space. So, here we come black kitchen cabinets! We cannot wait to meet you!!!

MICHEL'S HOMES

THE WAITING GAME OF CONSTRUCTION…

by Michel Van Devender February 17, 2020

February 17, 2020

Oh hi there, I’m over here at our construction site doing a little weather watching and a “no rain please” dance (if there’s such a thing). We’re beginning the third week in February. I think I can count on one hand the number of days we have not had rain in Charlotte this month. In the beginning stages of construction, this stalls the progress. You’re at the mercy of good ole Mother Nature, and it’s a praying and waiting game. So, I’m all pretzeled up crossing my fingers, toes, arms and legs for a stretch of dry weather so we can get this concrete foundation poured! I’m also ready for that red barn back there to go black! Both will be days for celebration!!!

MICHEL'S HOMES

WE’RE EXPECTING AGAIN… FOLLOW OUR NEW PROJECT

by Michel Van Devender February 3, 2020

And NO, it’s not another child!!!

It’s official… we’re building our dream house AGAIN! (Insert excited squeal here!) After living in the same neighborhood and on the same street, in two different houses, for over 14 years, we’re all signed up, literally with the bank and a contractor, for a new house, a new neighborhood and a new adventure. We’ve always been open to new, creative opportunities. Even when the fear of change creeps in (and there has definitely been some fear), we ultimately move forward, trusting that there’s a bigger plan at work and a new chapter to be written. So, a little over five years after completing our current black modern home, our new project is under construction! In six to eight months, what’s started as an almost blank slate with a red barn will soon be our home sweet home… fingers crossed. Hope you’ll follow along as the process unfolds… start to finish, beginning to end! YES, here we go again!!!

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