Posted by: Capozza Floor Covering Center
I recently got the opportunity to sit down with Designer Robin Davis and our own Diana Viles from Capozza Floor Covering Center’s Residential Division, to discuss a renovation project years in the making. When the owners purchased this summer lake residence in 2019, they knew they were going to hire Robin to remodel it, as they had worked with her before on their primary residence. Trust was the key to this project. The homeowners trust in Robin, and Robin trusts in Diana. Robin and Diana have worked together on multiple projects over the past few years. Diana can easily understand Robins vision, sometimes pushing her out of her comfort zone, and helps her navigate through products finalizing options to offer the clients.
The client’s vision for this post and beam home was contemporary and casual. They wanted it to feel light and bright. Robin’s vision for the space was to bring the beautiful landscape surrounding the home inside. Utilizing the landscape’s natural colors to enhance the beauty the home already had.
“The nice thing about this was they allowed my vision to just go. I never want to do a space that doesn’t fit the vibe of the house. I try to take the surroundings as much as possible into consideration. But I also want this to be something that’s never going to go out of style, I don’t want to date it right away.”
Robin Davis
The homes’ 3 bathrooms were on the list for remodeling. Embracing the scenic view surrounding the home, Robin went for punches of color and made each of the bathrooms unique to match the environment. With 3 college-age children in the family, she had to take into consideration who would be using the spaces.
The second-floor bathroom is not only a guest bathroom, but also adjacent to the son’s bedroom. Robin knew she didn’t want to do anything too feminine in this space, and with this young man’s love for the outdoors, Robin took the inspiration from her surroundings. “You look out the window and it’s all trees, so that was my inspiration. How can we bring that in? They don’t have a view of the water, so let’s play off the greens in the forest and the trees.” Robin first found the vanity in the British Racing Green and had an idea of the color she wanted the floors to be. When Robin came to Diana looking for ideas for the focal point shower, Diana pulled out this green subway tile. Robin was hesitant at first. The more the two discussed it, and they saw the high color variation the tile had, Robin knew that Diana had helped her select the right tile. “If it hadn’t been for Diana, I’m not sure I would have considered it.” Robin then presented the color idea and the tile selection to the homeowners, and they were a little nervous too, but Robin said, “trust me” and they did. She knew she needed to be careful with her floor selection, to find the right tone to play with the red/orange notes the hardwood flooring in the hallway had. The sandy wood look porcelain plank lends a subtle and soft transition into the room, which helps draw the eye upward toward the stunning shower. The result is a spectacular space. “There’s nothing that I would change.” Robin adds.
With the daughters’ shared bathroom, Robin got to have a little fun. She wanted to go with all blue and in this windowless bathroom and was able to give the space some visual interest by playing with the finishes. Using both matte and glossy finishes, Robin’s design choice was random and organic. “The installer was a little nervous about it(…) I said just play with it; I just want random. He was afraid to make a mistake. It’s not going to be a mistake either way, it’s going to look amazing.” She decided to keep the ceiling tile in the shower all gloss to help bounce light through the space, since no natural light was able to come in. “We had to bob and weave a little with the shower floor” Diana comments. The original selection of a blue penny round was on an extended back order, but with Diana’s help, they made a quick pivot to a blueish grey hexagon. “In hindsight, I think everything happens for a reason” Dianasays. Continuing with the random design, they chose a second color to help pull more of the blue down and popped out a tile here and there to add the darker color in. “We love it. It came out better I think than the original plan was going to.” added Robin.
Now for adults, the primary bath. An overhaul was needed to take out a very large and outdated jacuzzi tub, and to add the laundry, which was planned to be moved to expand the kitchen. “The client asked, what if we put it there? And I’m like, well, I never thought of it but yeah, let’s do that and build it out to look like a custom cabinet.” The wall next to the new laundry unit was shortened to a pony wall and glass was added. The original shower was deep and almost cave like. With the newly adjusted wall, the light was able to flood the space making it feel so much brighter.
The inspiration for the space? “The ocean, her happy place, being there by the water. When we came into the store, looking to design her bathroom, we found this tile. This floor tile looks like you’re at the beach, (…) like when the tides come in and out.” The homeowner had a little trepidation at first, and thought this porcelain tile might be too busy, as she liked things simple and clean. Robin’s response “it’s really the only color in that bathroom.” To make sure the homeowner would love it, Robin collaborated with the installer to lay out all the tiles, and make sure any darker pieces were hidden under the cabinets. They played with the tiles movement and laid the tiles out to create the feeling of the tidal flow. A simple bright white, large format ceramic was selected for the shower walls to continue bouncing the light. Diana recommended the same porcelain, but in mosaics for the shower floor and niche, and helped select trim pieces to finish it all off. The space is clean and consistent. “It’s very classic, it’s elegant, it’s really lovely.” Robin stated.
Small expansions needed to be undertaken in the Kitchen of the home. Since the clients wanted it to be light and bright, Robin worked on opening the space up. “I knew we had to expand and add to it” They started by taking a few feet from an adjacent, oversized powder room, and a once plain wall become a custom ‘hutch’ cabinet. This one-of-a-kind storage piece was making up for the space lost when they took down all the upper cabinets. This also gave an opportunity to enlarge the window over the sink to twice the original size- bringing even more of the natural light and landscape into the room.
With all the uppers removed, the stove wall became a blank canvas and needed something dramatic. “I came across a kitchen (…) on Instagram and it stopped me dead in my tracks (…) I was like, oh my god, this is what we can do there. The stone wall was my jumping off point.” The cladding on the feature wall was chosen to mimic the natural stone surrounding the massive fireplace in the family room. Diana suggested a porcelain tile. The homeowners get to enjoy easy maintenance, while still getting an eye-catching appearance. Robin’s vision didn’t stop there, she was able to find stock/semi-custom cabinets in a light sage green, that worked with natural wood tones the home had. By adding a few additional decorative elements, Robin ended up giving the homeowners even more space in their newly renovated kitchen than they had before. No upper cabinets needed! This kitchen is open, airy, and bright. The whole home was finally ready for the family to gather and enjoy.
What brings Robin back to Capozza? The relationship she’s created with Diana has been invaluable when it comes to how quickly and how well they work together. For Diana, working with Robin on a project is not only easy, but it gives her the opportunity to get creative. “I know what her taste is and her style. (…) She’s really open to my ideas and my suggestions.” For Robin, “I dream in design.” and working with someone she vibes with and can see her vision, has been not only a time saver, but a way for her to create trust with her clients. Not only does Robin trust her project manager Diana, but she also trusts the tile installers. Robin knows that she has a vast array of materials and selections at Capozza Flooring Covering Center, to always give her clients the best final product. “We’ve become a pretty seamless partnership.” Diana states.
Article by Sarah Nutt
Images courtesy of Lauren Lear Photography
Designed by Robin Davis Interiors
