Normandy Remodeling Wins Houzz “Best of Remodeling” Award

We at Normandy are very flattered to learn that we received the “Best of Remodeling” 2012 Award from Houzz.com, which is one of the largest home design and inspiration websites. This prestigious designation was given because Normandy projects were among the most popular selections made by the 1.2 million members of Houzz, out of the over 350,000 professional images available on the site.  You can click here to see our Houzz profile, or browse our addition, kitchen, bathroom, and renovation photos right here on our site.  Or if you are ready to start talking about your own project, you can schedule an appointment to meet with one of our award winning designers for a free in-home consultation.

Cabinets Bring the Kitchen to Life

A kitchen remodel can be so exciting, and if you aren’t living through yours right now then we have your fix.  Normandy Designer Leslie Lee has been blogging about her kitchen renovation since it began and today we get to see one of the biggest design elements be placed…the kitchen cabinets. 

Gary, Sophie, and I were traveling for a few days, and arrived home to this unbelievable sight.  I almost shed a tear when I saw the cabinets in place.  This is coming together exactly as I envisioned it.  I can definitely understand that homeowners (who aren’t designers) have difficulty envisioning what their new space might look like.  It’s so important to rely on some who can visualize it.  Let’s just say Gary is lucky his wife is in the remodeling business – ha!

There are many piece of the puzzle yet to be completed (countertops, trim, sink and faucet, backsplash, electrical trim, floor staining, appliances), but it is really shaping up. 

A few of my favorite cabinet details:

 - The area where the microwave will be built in, and the diagonal wine cubbies were installed.  The depth of these cabinets was reduced to allow for a little larger seating area at the island. 

 - The leg details on the side of the island.  I had to do some special depths on the cabinets here too in order to get the look I wanted.  I love how the legs break up all of the paneling on the side of the island, and provide visual interest. 

 - The four little drawers next to the location where the beverage fridge will be installed are so cute – I love them!

The countertops are being fabricated now – so hopefully those will be coming next.

To read about this entire kitchen remodel, starting from the beginning, just click here and you’ll see where it all began.

 

Brown Irish Soda Bread

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I began searching for an authentic Irish Soda Bread recipe that I could create for my family.  Proving once again that it’s not what you know, but who you know, I found just what I was looking for from Normandy Designer Kathryn O’Donovan.  Kathryn was raised in Ireland and I was thrilled to find that she did indeed have a good traditional recipe she could share with me. She forwarded this along, and the only payment she required of me was a quarter of the finished loaf (which I happily provided).  I found this to be very quick and easy to make and know that it will make a great addition to our holiday.  Enjoy!

Brown Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Soda bread is best eaten on the day of baking, but it slices better if left to cool and “set” for several hours. It is delicious with good butter, farmhouse cheese and some crisp sticks of celery or a bowl of home-made soup.

Makes 1 loaf

450g/ 1lb/ 4 cups wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour
175g/ 6oz/ 1-1/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
7.5ml/ 1-1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
5ml/ 1 tsp salt
about 450ml/ 3/4 pint/ scant 2 cups of buttermilk

*Variation Cream of tartar can be added to the dry ingredients to provide the acid instead of buttermilk.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/ 400F and grease a baking sheet. Combine the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir in enough buttermilk to make a fairly soft dough. Turn onto a work surface dusted with wholemeal flour and knead lightly until smooth.

2. Form the dough into a circle, about 4cm/ 1-1/2″ thick. Lay on the baking sheet and mark a DEEP cross in the top with a floured knife

3. Bake for about 45mins, or until the bread is browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on a wire rack. If a soft crust is preferred, wrap the loaf in a clean dishtowel while cooling.

A Window to the World

What goes into a kitchen remodel?  Normandy Designer Leslie Lee is sharing her personal kitchen renovation to give us a glimpse of what you may experience as your kitchen is remodeled.  You can start reading her story from the beginning, just click here.

Ahh… A sigh of relief in the Lee household.  The hideous garden windows have been replaced with four nice double hung windows.  The ginormous patio door that was caulked shut is finally gone, and three big double hung windows are in its place.  I don’t know why there was ever a patio door in the dining room to begin with – weird design.  The new sliding patio door with shades has now replaced the horrible swing patio door that was in the kitchen.  I think the dogs are going to love looking out that door at all the squirrels in the back yard.

 It feels like a real house now.  I can’t wait to find some cool funky window treatments for the four double hung windows that just went into the family room.  We will end up keeping these closed most of the time because you can see the neighbors from these windows.  Maybe we will be able to find shades that open from the top down, so we can still get some nice light coming in.

 Stay tuned – cabinets are coming soon – this will be a big day!!!

Countertop Selection Time

Take a journey through a kitchen remodel as it happens.  Normandy Designer Leslie Lee is renovating her personal kitchen and is sharing the renovation experience with us in real time.  You can start at the beginning of Leslie’s kitchen remodeling project by clicking here, or you can jump her second, third or fourth posts.

A day I have been really looking forward to – selecting the countertop slabs.  I have my heart set on Super White, but I have a few alternates just in case.  It’s amazing how natural stone colors change from year to year.

Well, the journey to find our slabs wasn’t even really a journey.  We found what we were looking for at the first warehouse.  It’s slightly darker than I had imagined, but I love it!  The blues are grays in the stone are so subtle and beautiful (exactly the feel I want for the whole kitchen).   

I can’t really get a straight answer on whether Super White is considered a granite, quartzite, or marble – which makes me nervous a bit.  Carrara marble, and Statuary White marble were also stone countertop options I considered, but putting marble in the main working area of a kitchen is a risk.  It can stain and scratch more easily than other materials.  I know with Super White, as with any natural stone, it will need to be sealed and maintained with care.  So everybody – don’t be spillin’ red wine on my new countertops – ok!

A Kitchen with a View

Normandy Designer Leslie Lee is chronicling her personal kitchen transformation through regular blog and photo updates.  Today we have the 4th update from Leslie, but you can read the entire story of her kitchen in her first, second and third posts.

It just looks like a giant hole in the wall now, but soon it will be my very own beautiful Pella Designer Series sliding glass door with shades between the glass. It is so difficult to find window treatments that work well with sliding doors, so why not get a door with the shades built in – it’s genius. When they cut out this new door opening, they saved the leftover bricks to reuse on other areas of the house that I am making window changes to. This way – it looks totally seamless, and all of the brick work matches. It may just look like a pile of bricks now, but it will come in very handy soon. These hideous box windows are officially my least favorite part of this house. If I could take a sledge hammer to them myself, believe me, I would. I just don’t trust myself with that kind of equipment! These gems will be going bye-bye soon too. Adios.

Next up in the kitchen remodeling chronicles is countertop selection.  Click to read about Leslie’s choice.

Let there be light

Normandy Designer Leslie Lee is sharing her journey as her very own kitchen undergoes renovation.  The third installment of this series, you can click here to find the first and second posts to see Leslie’s kitchen transformation from the beginning.

It doesn’t look like much right now – but I am so psyched they framed out the niche that will go behind the cooktop.  I can envision it already.  The drawing shows it nicely.  It will be the perfect place for my two favorite ingredients – olive oil and balsalmic vinegar.

The can lights are going in – YEAH!  I went with 4″ cans (instead of 6″), as I think the light is a little softer with a smaller can.  I have this awesome huge light fixture planned for over the island that puts off tons of light.  I can’t wait to see what this looks like in place.  Between the cans, the fixtures, the under cabinet lights, and the decorative halogen puck lights – we’ve definitely got that department covered.  Everything will definitely be on a dimmer though. I love soft lighting.

 Here’s the light fixture for the island.  I saw it and instantly new it was the one.

More progress on Leslie’s kitchen remodel can be found by clicking here.

Out with the old

Normandy Designer Leslie Lee shares a designer’s perspective as her own home undergoes a much needed renovation.  This is Leslie’s second posting in this series, you can also click here to read the initial project introduction.

 

Well, demo is in full swing and now we know why the floor has been so squeaky all these years.  Three layers of laminate flooring (check out the second layer which has a unique mushroom pattern – which I’m sure was all the rage in the 70′s).  The laminate was laid on a sub floor that is way too thin.  So everything comes out, and a whole new subfloor goes in.  This should hopefully eliminate the squeaks.

Old yucky galvanized plumbing will be replaced with PVC, and the messy electrical will get cleaned up too.  Gary changed a light fixture in the kitchen a few years ago, and there were literally 14 wires hanging out of the outlet.  Now we realize that the “electrician” who set up the house years ago must have been blindfolded while working.  What a mess!

If you would like to see additional progress on Leslie’s remodel, click here for the next article.

Remodeling a Remodeler’s Home

Remodeling your home can be a daunting prospect for anyone.  Between determining the right design, making all the product selections and of course, living through the construction, it’s easy to see how the decision to embark on a home remodel is fraught with uncertainty.  So when Normandy Designer Leslie Lee decided to remodel her own home, she had some advantages over a typical homeowner, as well as some unique disadvantages.

Leslie has agreed to share her journey from her old kitchen, bathroom and family room to her new spaces in real time as she is experiencing it.  We’ll be able to see first hand what kinds of things a designer chooses for her own home (a notable challenge when you are fully aware of the vastness of the options), and how she and her family cope with some of the challenges of renovation.  Best of all, we’ll be witnessing her home’s transformation right before our eyes.

So before we jump in to her renovation, I’d like to introduce you to Leslie and give you a little background.  Leslie has been designing beautiful award winning projects at Normandy for almost a decade, but has been around the family business all her life. Her father, Reg Marzec, co-founded Normandy in 1979, and Leslie continues building the Normandy legacy with each beautiful renovation or addition that she completes.  Leslie and her husband Gary live in a 50 year old brick ranch home in Chicago’s Western Suburbs with their 1 year old daughter and 2 pugs.  Now that you know a little about Leslie, let’s take a look at her project:

“Bye bye kitchen, powder room and family room!  You have served us well over the last four years (and the last 50 years for our homes previous owners).  Things I probably won’t miss – the electric cook top in the island (it just doesn’t work in a small island), the vinyl floors, the gigantic soffits, the leaky windows, the bright red fireplace, and last but not least – the dogs sleeping in the kitchen.  But I will miss spilling just about anything in the kitchen and never worrying about it.”

To read the next article in the series, click here.

The Couple That Works Together…

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but what do they say about the couple that lives and works together?  Well, Normandy Designers Tony and Terry Tondelli do just that, sharing their lives and their work. 

As Husband and Wife who both work as Designers for Normandy Remodeling, Tony and Terry Tondelli have found that being colleagues has made their relationship stronger in some ways, while also providing a great many benefits to their professional lives.

“So many of our similarities and differences that have made our marriage strong, also add strength to our work,” says Tony.  Terry and Tony have both found great success designing and building additions, kitchens, and other renovations.  When working on a particularly challenging solution for a client, they frequently brainstorm solutions or ideas together to take advantage of a fresh perspective or capitalize on their spouse’s expertise.

“I have always admired his vast knowledge of this business,” says Terry.  “Tony started out swinging a hammer and has hands on experience in virtually every aspect of construction.  I would be crazy not to take advantage of his expertise, and I do seek his advice on all complicated structural and construction issues.”

Tony has extensive experience with additions and major remodels, with a particular strength in solving structural challenges.  Terry finds excitement and fulfillment when working through detailed interior selections and helping her client find the products that are just right for their homes.  Their skills and personalities compliment each other, and they use each other’s strengths to help them create stunning renovations for their clients.

For as often as their lives at the office intersect, they keep their projects and large portions of their workday separate.  Terry enjoys the bustle of the main office for her design and research while Tony prefers to work in the quiet of his home office.  “By having regular time in our own worlds, it creates a sense of balance in the relationship and keeps work from taking over our entire day,” says Terry.

Having been married for nearly 30 years, the Tondelli’s have learned how to weave some couple time into their workdays, which can frequently extend well into the evening.  Whether it is stopping for an ice cream after completing a site visit together or chatting about upcoming projects while unwinding in the hot tub, their personal and professional lives have blended together with an enviable balance.