When it comes time to downsize, choosing a smaller home doesn’t mean skimping on quality. For one homeowner, pursuing a change of scenery provided the perfect opportunity to completely overhaul her new Chickasaw Gardens property. With help from RKA Construction, architect David Anderson, and designer Selena McAdams, the twentieth-century home now has all the interior flourishes of an ultra-modern abode.
Built in 1988, the Chickasaw Gardens property was still in decent shape, and its location and existing pool were very appealing to the homeowner. However, much of the interior felt dated, and the house had never been renovated before. In the kitchen, specifically, many of the cabinets, countertops, and fixtures looked less-than-contemporary, while an L-shaped island took up more space than it needed, making the room feel small. Many of the doorways around the home had narrow openings, which made for a tight squeeze when going from one room to the next.
The homeowner was referred to RKA Construction, who began the renovation process in September 2019, led by project manager Larry Dawson. “She bought the home with the intention to downsize,” says Dawson, “and she contacted us to fully renovate the entire interior. We’re talking about gutting the kitchen, the bathrooms, refinishing the hardwood floors, repainting the entire house, and adding in new tiles. In the end, we touched every surface of this house.”
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RKA Construction
New Kitchen
The initial kitchen space was still in decent shape, but the overall layout lacked modern sensibilities. An L-shaped island jutted into the center of the room, making it feel much smaller than it actually was. RKA redid it from the ground up. The new kitchen revolves around a centralized island boasting a farmhouse concrete sink and an antique gold faucet. The renovation also includes state-of-the-art appliances, including a Viking French door oven placed in the wall.
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RKA Construction
Old Kitchen
The initial kitchen space was still in decent shape, but the overall layout lacked modern sensibilities. An L-shaped island jutted into the center of the room, making it feel much smaller than it actually was. RKA redid it from the ground up. The new kitchen revolves around a centralized island boasting a farmhouse concrete sink and an antique gold faucet. The renovation also includes state-of-the-art appliances, including a Viking French door oven placed in the wall.
For the kitchen, Dawson and his team completely gutted the old space, removing all the old cabinetry and appliances and demolishing the oddly shaped island. The new design, centered around a brand-new island placed firmly in the center of the kitchen, gave the area a much more open and spacious feel. A hanging chandelier in the center of the room helped provide plenty of light, while the overall look was spruced up via new paint and the installation of white cabinets from HS Carpentry.
He also installed a farmhouse-style concrete sink, accentuated with an antique gold-colored faucet from Ferguson Plumbing. “We also added some new appliances,” explains Dawson, “including a very nice Viking French door oven.” For the ceiling, Dawson went with tongue-and-groove planks with an off-white color scheme.
Close to the kitchen, the dual butler’s pantry and laundry room got a major overhaul. Originally, the room had a washer and dryer with cabinetry built around them. Dawson replaced the appliances and the cabinets and made a few extra additions. Now the room boasts its own dishwasher, sink, and oven for when the kitchen gets crowded.
Other big changes came to the master bedroom and bathroom. Dawson describes work on the bedroom as a “facelift,” and the first task was redoing the electrical system. The room initially had one center fan with a light, so RKA upgraded the wiring and installed several recessed cans to provide more lighting. “We also added custom paneling on the walls,” adds Dawson. “There’s a chair rail about a third of the way up the wall, and some paneling below that which has been trimmed out and repainted in.”
RKA Construction
New Bathroom
The centerpiece is now a large soaking tub, shaped almost like a concrete bowl and made out of the same materials used to produce the new kitchen sink. “I think this is the first time I’ve installed a tub like this,” says Dawson, “but it’s a very nice tub that we installed next to the new walk-in shower. We weren’t able to make it zero-entry because of the shape of the room, but it’s a nice curved design with a marble apron and curb, glass walls, and shower door.”
But tackling the master bathroom required another rework right down to the studs. The centerpiece is now a large soaking tub, shaped almost like a concrete bowl and made out of the same materials used to produce the new kitchen sink. “I think this is the first time I’ve installed a tub like this,” says Dawson, “but it’s a very nice tub that we installed next to the new walk-in shower. We weren’t able to make it zero-entry because of the shape of the room, but it’s a nice curved design with a marble apron and curb, glass walls, and shower door.”
A light mosaic floor tile sequence carries through the entire bathroom, and seamlessly extends past the curb and into the shower. Meanwhile, the shower walls are lined with calming white tiles, against which the new brushed brass faucet and fixtures pop. “It just looks really sharp in there,” says Dawson, “alongside the new cabinetry, double sinks and vanities, and new toilet.”
Even for rooms that didn’t see wholesale changes, the homeowner still came up with some personal touches that vastly improved upon the original design. In the back living room, RKA spruced up an existing fireplace and added a new mantle. But the most eye-catching feature, placed just opposite the fireplace, is the enormous bookcase that runs along one of the walls. A custom millwork project, it runs almost the entire length of the wall, providing both utility and an aesthetic boost.
While the homeowner wanted much of the work to focus on the interior, RKA did make some changes to the outdoor pool. “The original pool deck consisted of a washed concrete surface and a rear terrace area,” says Dawson. “So we demolished all that, poured a new foundation, and laid FireRock over the entire surface. Then we put new coping around the pool and freshened up the rest of the tiles around the pool surface.” RKA also updated the landscaping outside, installing new garden beds and new plants.
The Chickasaw Gardens renovation took about eight months to complete, from September 2019 to mid-April 2020. Dawson says that overall, the project was a very smooth process, with the homeowner and designers all working in sync. “We didn’t have too much trouble with anything,” he recalls. “We did have to do some creative problem-solving to redo all the electrical wiring and plumbing; since it’s a townhome that shares a wall with another property, there was some critical thinking involved, but even then it wasn’t too bad.”
Now, the homeowner is happy in her updated Chickasaw Gardens home that boasts plenty of new amenities. “There’s a really modern touch to the place now,” says Dawson. “You look at a lot of the fixtures, and the brassy and gold finishes are very popular these days. We have a lot of modern tile colors, a lot of whites and neutrals in there. It’s really just a modern freshening up of the house.”
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RKA Construction
New Pool
For the pool, RKA demolished the old tiles, poured an all-new foundation, and laid FireRock over the entire surface. The crew also installed new coping around the pool, freshened up the rest of the tiles to create that modern white aesthetic, and went to work installing brand-new garden beds and plants.
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RKA Construction
Old Pool
For the pool, RKA demolished the old tiles, poured an all-new foundation, and laid FireRock over the entire surface. The crew also installed new coping around the pool, freshened up the rest of the tiles to create that modern white aesthetic, and went to work installing brand-new garden beds and plants.
