An “Excessive Amount of Cosmetic Work” Restored This Home’s Glory
Cullen Ormond
·6 min read
"The biggest challenge with the space was the amount of work that needed to be done in a little amount of time," explains Joel and Sarah Blumer, who took on the "bulk of the renovations" while working full-time jobs. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"I was five months pregnant when we bought the house and we wanted to have the kitchen/family room area completed before I gave birth in December. Our timeline ended up getting pushed back to February," Sarah admits. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"Luckily, I had the opportunity to take our toddler and new baby to visit family in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas for five weeks while Joel got as much of the renovation completed as he could," Sarah continues. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"Living through a kitchen gut job is hard enough as it is without throwing kids into the mix, so I was grateful that Joel was willing to take it all on and more than happy to get myself and the kids out of the way of the spectacular mess of a home renovation." Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"Right after he dropped us off at the airport, Joel demoed the entire kitchen down to the studs. He spent the next five weeks working around the clock to get as much of the big jobs finished before our return to Pittsburgh." Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
While the kitchen is certainly a favorite project, it's not their proudest. "The best thing Joel built was the coffee/wet bar in our family room," Sarah writes. "He designed it to match our kitchen, but added these beautiful butcher block open floating shelves, complete with integrated lighting." Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"We drove down to West Virginia to purchase the 10-feet long butcher block countertop which we cut into thirds and stained, then installed to float on top of the stacked subway tile." Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"Don’t be afraid of color!" advises Sarah. "Adding box trim and then color drenching a room is one of my favorite high-impact designs. We did this in our dining room as well as our primary bedroom and both rooms pack such a big punch." Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
The living room is painted in Behr's “Castilian Pink.” The sectional sofa is kardiel and the pillows are H&M. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"I love the big pops of color we added all around; from our pink front living room to the mural in our guest room, it’s all a real feast for the eyes," Sarah describes of her favorite element. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"The colorful rooms combined with all the natural light we get from the giant windows throughout the house really can’t be beat." The primary bedroom is painted in Behr's “Aqua Smoke.” Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"Our personal home style is a mix of our love of all things colorful and mid-century/modern," begins Sarah. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"I’d say both Joel and myself have been deeply inspired by all of the places we’ve traveled to together as well." Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"From the mid-century modern architecture of Palm Springs to the moody aesthetics of Parisian boutique hotels to all things kawaii in Tokyo, we’ve taken tidbits of design elements we’ve seen all around the world and sprinkled them into our own eclectic interior design style." Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
Sarah admits to utilizing design tools to design their home. "Using Pinterest is a tool I swear by when it comes to designing and decorating!" Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
"Making a board on Pinterest for specific rooms in your home and pinning everything that inspires you to it will really help you realize your own unique style," she writes. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? We turned a creepy basement room into a home movie theater. You’ve never really seen Great British Bake until you’ve seen it on an 11 feet projector screen. Credit: Laura GummermanCredit: Laura Gummerman
In 2022, Joel and Sarah Blumer were casually looking for a new place to call home. Their family was growing — Sarah was pregnant with their second child — and the couple thought that they’d benefit from more space.
The pair approached house hunting with a relaxed attitude — that is, until they toured a home in their dream neighborhood. The five-bedroom house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had a “dreamy amount of square footage,” but had been on the market for a while.
“We think that everyone else who had any interest in it was probably scared off by the excessive amount of cosmetic work it needed,” Sarah shares. “We came back to see the house with my in-laws the following week at an open house, and they confirmed its incredible potential.”
Even after receiving their family’s seal of approval, Sarah and Joel were still somewhat breezy about getting the house. “That night, Joel and I looked at each other and said, ‘We should make them an offer, and if they don’t accept it, it’s fine. We’ll just stay in our current house. We’ve got nothing to lose.’”
It wasn’t until Sarah and Joel placed an offer on the house that was “immediately rejected” that they realized they cared more about the home than they initially thought. After some negotiation, the home was theirs in August — and they jumped into renovations.
“Where others saw cheap wood paneling, dirty carpet, and ugly wallpaper covering over half of the entire home, as well as many other dated elements, we saw the opportunity to create our dream home,” Sarah, who documents the transformations on her TikTok, explains.
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