More homeowners want to keep the homes they love by adding refreshing modern touches

By Patricia Nugent

With the goal of transforming her 1960s ranch home from a truncated floor plan to a wide-open entertainer’s dream space, Michelle M. of Willoughby tasked Jack Dever, of Dever Design & Build, with the undertaking.

“We’ve lived in the house for 10 years and throw lots of large family get-togethers that start at about 20 people then go upwards from there,” says Michelle. “Whenever we had parties, it felt cramped.”

She’d met Jack several times over the years and was familiar with his reputation for being detail-oriented and responsive.

Jack says Michelle is like many of his whole-house renovation clients, who are choosing to invest in their homes for the long haul, with an eye on aging in place.

Challenge Accepted
What turned out to be the biggest challenge of opening the floor plan was a load-bearing wall that bisected the center of the space, cutting off the kitchen from the family room, dining room and living room.

While most contractors would’ve told the homeowner they could not take it down, Jack had two words: Challenge accepted. He collaborated with a local architect and they were able to re-engineer beams, reworking them into the basement and attic.

To meet Michelle’s goals of increasing room for entertaining, workspace, storage space and functionality, Jack and his team took out the soffits, added two ovens on the facing wall for a total of three, and added a built-in microwave to free up counter space.

White-on-White
Once the nuts and bolts of reimagining the floor plan were in place, the homeowner worked with Jack to select the materials to transform her home.

“Since the new design would be filled with more natural light, I wanted to get rid of the existing dark woods and floors and go with white-on-white cabinetry, backsplash and countertops, and lighter LVT flooring,” she says. “The flecks of gold in the counters and black hardware on the cabinets broke up the colors.”

Jack points out that the choices she made are in perfect alignment with the home design trends he’s seeing in Northeast Ohio.

“Though I often see national design magazines predict that dark wood cabinets are coming back, I think, Not in Ohio,” he says. “My clients are asking for white or very light cabinets and a natural, more organic feeling in lighter wood flooring.”

Michelle notes that at the beginning of the project, Jack gave her a sheet that explained what would happen, when. “Every item on his list was incredibly detailed,” she explains. “Nothing was left to chance.”

The Flow
Acting as the centerpiece of the new floor plan, a large L-shaped island connects the kitchen, family room and dining room to create a gathering area that’s also loaded with additional storage. Michelle says there’s ample space for up to six people to sit around the island, but mostly they gather standing.

To further extend the entertaining space, they rethought the adjacent laundry room and combined it with a stunning wet bar with ornate wine-storage sunk within the cabinets and a wine refrigerator.

“When it came to retaining some of the character of the ranch, Jack was thoughtful and intentional,” she said. “We kept the earthy tile work and crystal and brass chandelier in the foyer and natural stonework surrounding the fireplace. I think it all blends seamlessly.”

How has the renovation changed her life when not throwing parties?

“Every night when I come home from work, I think to myself how happy and lucky I am to live here,” she says.

A Little Backstory
A native of Euclid, Jack has lived with his wife and now-grown children in Kirtland for the past 20 years.

Although after college Jack had initially ventured into the corporate world, the pull of construction was real. His father was in the field and Jack felt he wanted to follow his true passion.

“Starting out in home rehabbing as a side job slowly transitioned to a full-time job as a home designer and builder,” he says, noting that was more than 30 years ago and he hasn’t looked back since.

Dever Design & Build is headquartered in Willoughby. Call 440-477-2338 or visit DeverDesignAndBuild.com to see more photos and details on this before-and-after.

Patio Metamorphosis

When Michelle M. of Willoughby dreamed of opening up the space in her home, the screened-in back patio wasn’t part of her vision. But when Jack Dever took a peek out back, all he saw was possibilities.

“The existing ceiling on the 15-x-20-foot space was unsightly plywood,” he says. “Since there was an attic above it, we were able to vault the ceiling with deep-stained tongue-and-groove woodwork, add lighting and a ceiling fan, new glass doors, insulation and a split heating unit to create a true four-season family room. The flooring was relatively new, so we protected it and left it in place during construction.”

Since the room faces southwest, after dinner Michelle can chill out savoring the sunsets when not watching the large, mounted television.