Noteworthy renovations

The recent whole-home renovation pictured here is without a doubt the most extensive residential job the designers and installers at Guhde Flooring America & Design Studio have ever encountered.

“The scope was immense. We touched every room top to bottom, every door, every piece of trim in the home,” says Mike Guhde. “We moved walls to create an open concept and even moved rooms when the homeowner wanted to relocate the laundry room from the first floor to upstairs.”

Along with Kitchen and Bath Designer Jillian Brickman, the duo reports the goals throughout the renovation were to modernize decor stuck in the 1990s while creating more entertaining space, storage space and functionality.

Let There Be Light

“The center hall colonial is around 4,000 square feet, a good size, but we found ways to add more living space customized to the homeowner,” says Mike. “For instance, we took a wall down in the kitchen to ‘steal’ space from an adjacent in-law suite and create a wet bar with built-ins. We brightened the first floor by adding windows to the kitchen and family room, where removing built-in wall units opened up the space for more furniture.”

Jillian points out painting all the doors and trim a refreshing white made the perfect backdrop for adding stylish elements, like a curvaceous, pale gray, beveled arabesque backsplash from Anatolia and frosted glass cabinet doors in the wet bar. Throughout the kitchen, dinette and laundry room, they went with stunning quartz counters with delicate blue-gray veining called Calacatta River from LaVenta.

“We also injected a bit of fun with a patterned runner going up the stairs (Stanton Rapture), which provided a counterpoint to the dark wood-look luxury vinyl plank (Au Naturel in Kona from Stanton), which come in 4-inch planks for a classic look,” she says. “The homeowner was willing to create some drama in this transitional esthetic, including going with barely-there blue grass cloth wallpaper in the half bath. The owner favored a country club vibe, so we created a plaid pattern with mosaic floor tiles in this room that turned out distinctive.”

A Sweet Spot for Small Jobs

Unlike a lot of home remodelers, the Guhde family welcomes the small jobs as much as the big ones.

“Whether that means flooring or a vanity replacement in a half bathroom, a laundry room refresh or new counters or backsplashes, we love those jobs. Little changes can make a big impact,” says Mike. “We’ve seen over the years that taking great care of our clients with the small jobs leads to them coming back to us with the big ones.”

The months of January and February are busy ones for the Guhdes.

“We find people have made it through the holidays, the dust has settled, the chaos is past, and they look around their home in a different way and want a fresh design direction,” says Mike. “They evaluate living spaces and assess what their pain points are, and we help come up with inventive ways to fix them.”

Guhde Flooring America & Design Studio is backed by the buying power of a 500-store nationwide retail flooring group and offers its clients some of the lowest prices, best warranties, and widest selection in the industry. 

Guhde Flooring America & Design Studio

7200 Center Street, Suite 100, Mentor 

440-639-1990

GuhdeFlooringAmerica.com