A pre-requisite to transform, recreate, re-do, renovate, remodel or reconfigure is the “before.” I think part of valuing where we are is to acknowledge where we’ve been and what was involved in getting there.

To kick off the Before and After series, one of my favorite “before” images.

This room is on the first level of a single family home. It has it’s own bathroom, so it could be used as a bedroom, but the owner wanted it to be a Study. When we got involved it sported a hunting theme in red and green with a hunting dog waiting patiently for the hunt to start.

What the client requested was a comfortable place to read or take an afternoon nap. Even though we have less and less of them, most of us still have books. Here, we framed the windows with bookcases, which elongate the proportions of the room.

I’m proud to say this project was done in the late ’90’s and still looks good.

Thanks for reading. Your comments are appreciated and encouraged. Stay tuned for the next installment of “Before and After.”

Ernesto Santalla