The Vision:
We are thrilled to announce the start of our fourth collaboration with these wonderful clients, embarking on a comprehensive kitchen and bath remodel that honors the soul of their historic Ann Arbor residence. While the current kitchen has served them well, its dated finishes have long felt at odds with the home’s storied architectural character. Our goal is to bridge that gap with a luxurious, highly articulated design—featuring sweeping full-wall paneling and ornamental details that feel as though they were always meant to be there. Alongside this centerpiece kitchen, we’ll be reimagining two bathrooms to bring a cohesive sense of refined elegance to every corner of the house.

Key Project Elements:
• Historic Integration: Aligning new luxury finishes with original architectural details.
• The Grand Kitchen: A highly ornamental design featuring full-wall paneling.
• Dual Bath Remodel: Reimagining two bathrooms to match the home's refined aesthetic.
• The Relationship: Marking our fourth major project for our awesome clients.

This project is a marathon of meticulous details. We invite you to follow along with our Current Work Updates as we cross each major construction milestone on the way to a gorgeous finish.

Pre-Demolition Phase - The Vision at a Glance 

Our project blog starts with a glance at the future kitchen. Notice the beautiful detail of the curved pot filler faucet in the backsplash of the stove. There will be so many details such as this, so come back for demolition😉.

Demolition Phase - The Clean State

Demolition is well underway at Ferdon Road. Now that we’ve opened the walls, we can see exactly what we’re working with. Historic homes always have a story to tell, and this one gave us a bit of a surprise once the cabinets came down. We discovered the original exterior walls were built with two layers of common brick that are the structural supports of the house plus a layer of ceramic brick for the exterior of the house, but with no insulation and the plaster applied directly to the masonry…. YIKES! 

Sam has started demolition in the 2nd floor bathroom. With old houses, there are often surprises that need to be worked out. For example, when an old cast iron drain stack was discovered and will have to worked around or moved.

Framing Phase: The Art of the Space

Demolition is complete, and we have moved fully into the framing phase. This is where we define the architectural volume of the new kitchen, ensuring the "bones" of this historic home are ready to support the luxurious finishes to come.

Working with three-course brick always requires extra attention to the hidden infrastructure. Our team repaired the original masonry where the old range exhaust exited the house, and we are currently furring out the brick walls to create space for modern electrical and proper insulation. We’ve also reinforced and framed the area under the windows to allow for new electrical placement, ensuring everything is perfectly prepped for the upcoming precision of the custom cabinetry.

A wide view showing demolition is complete and the site is prepped for framing,
and a shot of the brick repair where the old exhaust vent was located.

Rough framing in progress, including the reinforced area under the window for new electrical and Furring strips being attached to the masonry wall behind the range to create a plumbing and electrical chase.

Off site, the gorgeous custom frame for the stunning hood is being crafted by our metal fabricator.
Once it is ready, Zack and our metal fabricator is on site test fitting for the hood.

The stunning copper hood is evolving off site. Up ahead, we move into The Infrastructure, where our plumbers and electricians will finalize the rough-ins to ensure modern performance behind the new luxury finishes.

Rough Ins Phase: Peace of Mind

Focusing on the "hidden structures" that ensure modern performance and convenience like heat and electricity 😉

With every project, it takes a village and we are so grateful to work with such awesome trades people.
Trust. High Standards. Craftsmanship.

Drywall & Priming Phase: the Transition to Finish

In this phase, we see the design-build vision take physical form as the rooms are defined by clean, primed surfaces.

Cabinetry Phase: Bespoke Craftsmanship

The cabinets are being unpacked and placed according to their layout.
The prep ahead (writing on the floors what goes where), goes a long way in saving work later.

Once the lower cabinets are installed, they are wrapped and protected as the rest of the cabinetry and tile work continues.