Best Amateur-Designed Living/Dining Space: Brigitte Gfeller - Remodelista
The winner of the Remodelista Considered Design Awards Best Amateur Designed Living Dining Space is Brigitte Gfeller of Hudson... ...New York This is the third of six posts spotlighting the winners of the 2015 Remodelista Considered Design Awards Brigitte Gfeller s Design Statement This 1800s Italianate Victorian was carefully renovated with harmony tranquillity and balance in mind Old details include beautiful woodwork and a functional pocket... ...door New additions include waxed oak floors new ceilings and a Morso woodstove on an inlaid tempered glass plate New wooden windows keep the old charm and add insulation Q Where do you live A My home is the Rivertown Guest House I bought the two story two family mid 1800s home in March... ...of 2014 It took me several weeks and the encouragement of my kids to decide to buy it the house was in desperate need of restoring Q: What were your practical goals for the project? But first, the house needed a lot more than just interior design; it needed almost everything. Q: What solutions did you find to your design problems?A: One of the challenges was to keep as much of the old as possible while updating for functionality. Another challenge was that it ended up costing much more money than anticipated some things could not be foreseen... ...since it s an old house and others were additions such as a new hardwood floor for my personal apartment Q: What are your favorite features of the project?A: One of my favorite features is my Morso woodstove, sitting on a glass plate inlaid into the floor. Q What were the hardest lessons you learned along the way A It was challenging to work with a contracting managing firm Q What projects would... ...you tackle if you had an unlimited budget A My next project would be to add an art studio guest apartment in the back of my house