Pine Lake Neighborhood Home Remodel | West Bloomfield, MI

Family is forever, but the same can’t be said of homes. Case in point: When designer Barbi Stalburg Kasoff’s empty nester clients left their home of four decades to move to a lakefront house in a gated community for a fresh start in a new place, they didn’t look back. However, their focus remained on creating a new home that would be family friendly for their visiting children and grandchildren.

To ensure their new home was the perfect fit, they decided to enlist Stalburg Design, with locations in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. and Washington, D.C., to remodel the whole house. The clients’ design priorities included a sleeker, more contemporary design, materials durable enough to stand up to visiting grandchildren and a serene, clutter-free space.

Stalburg Kasoff, who worked with Perspectives Custom Cabinetry, notes, “With 10 grandkids, every single thing needed to be family friendly, durable, easy to clean and easy to maintain, and REHAU’s products offered the perfect combo of really high-end, soft contemporary design and durability.”

With the downstairs providing access to the pool and lake – key sources of entertainment for the grandchildren – clean-up was an essential element of the remodel. As such, Stalburg Kasoff designed a durable and upscale full downstairs bathroom with a tub, ideal for the kids’ use, as well as a simpler “changing bath” with a shower.

The main lake and pool bathroom “is designed to be very clean looking, like a dressing vanity look,” she maintains, but at the same time “it had to be very functional for the kids.” However, the homeowners still wanted “a nice, elevated look,” so she sought out products that would be functional without compromising on style.

RAUVISIO terra Craft Elm was originally suggested for this bathroom, but it was ultimately decided that it looked a bit too rustic. Instead, the couple selected RAUVISIO ingrain Seaside Pine, “which provided the more refined look they wanted,” she says. Combining natural wood fibers with synchronized etching, the material lends textural interest and light to the space, while still holding up to heavy use from the water-loving family.

The home also features a pool bath that she notes was designed primarily to be a changing area, with a spacious, curbless, ADA-compliant shower for post-swim clean-up. She chose RAUVISIO terra Craft Elm for this bathroom and selected tile in the same tone as the cabinetry “so the whole bathroom is tone on tone.” She adds that, “A horizontal grain pattern on the tile plays off the cabinetry,” explaining, “I like to run these products horizontally because they show really nicely on a bathroom vanity. It accentuates the look of the vanity and the floor tile.”

One interesting aspect of this space is the closet treatment. She points out, “We had really large panels of the REHAU product made to cover the closet [which] effectively transformed the closet into cabinetry.” Black Top Knobs hardware plays off the creamy tones of the cabinetry and tile, while Modern Forms light fixtures further brighten up the space.

The home also features two kitchens: an upstairs kitchen with an open floor plan, and a lower-level secondary kitchen, which includes indoor and outdoor seating and walkways to the pool and lake.

The upstairs kitchen offers “a very finished look,” Stalburg Kasoff, says, with closed cabinetry everywhere. She notes, “The sense was to create a finished look as if it were custom cabinetry,” adding, “There are no upper cabinets, but still plenty of storage to minimize clutter. The lowers are big double drawers, and the island is very functional with three drawers, plus refrigerator and microwave drawers.”

The downstairs kitchen is similar to the upstairs one, with a “nice and clean look that gives the clients a place to put everything.” A wall of floor-to-ceiling windows showcases views of the lake, while the quartzite countertop offers plenty of prep space plus seating for five.

As a busy, active space, the kitchen required durable materials that would stand up to frequent use by the grandchildren, so Stalburg Kasoff went with RAUVISIO terra Riverfront Elm for its durability and style. The Sub-Zero refrigerator, KitchenAid convection microwave oven and Bosch dishwasher pack plenty of cooking functionality into the space.

She believes the overall vibe of the house is serene and sophisticated, yet perfect for entertaining the extended family.

The whole-home remodel took two years to complete, but the homeowners feel it was worth the wait!