TRACT TO CUSTOM
Upgrades transform couple’s cookie-cutter home
Cameron and Elsa Granato love almost everything about their three-bedroom, 2 ½-bath home in the Heights at Indian Springs on the far North Side.
It’s the right size yet it has room enough should they have children. The yard backs up to a green space, and there’s plenty of room for their two Weimaraners to romp. There was even enough space for both to have a pandemic work-from-home office.
Still, the house was what is known as builder-grade, meaning that during construction, buyers chose from a limited selection of builder-supplied options for fixtures and finishes, such as countertops and cabinets, flooring, lighting and windows. That’s why so many tract homes look so similar to one another.
Because the home’s original buyer backed out of the deal, the couple bought after it was complete, so they didn’t have the chance to make those choices.
“The floor plan was perfect, but a lot of the finishes, like the granite kitchen countertops, were not what we wanted,” said Elsa, 36, a research administrator at Joint Base San Antoniolackland.
Because builder-grade homes are also usually constructed using inexpensive materials — to keep costs down for both buyer and builder — the couple compiled a list of things they wanted to upgrade shortly after moving into the house in 2017.
Topping that list was the kitchen, although they tackled several smaller, less expensive projects first.
In the backyard, for example, they removed the patio railing to open up the space, wrapped the wood posts in brick and upgraded the light fixtures. They also installed limestone pavers and flower beds to break up and soften what had been a monotonous expanse of backyard grass.
And they added an outdoor kitchen.
“The builder had already plumbed it for a sink and installed a gas line for a grill, so that was nice,” said Cameron, 36, a vice president of business development for a document management company. “We brought in a contractor to do the work.”
Inside, they added window shutters to several rooms and purchased designer-level light fixtures, including a wood-bead chandelier for the entryway and a large, circular chandelier with electric candles that hangs above the living room seating area.
Finally, the couple turned their attention to the kitchen, which overlooks the dining and living room areas.
“We do a lot of cooking and entertaining and the kitchen is very important to us,” Elsa said. “We wanted to do it right.”
While they’d planned and managed the previous jobs themselves, for the kitchen project they reached out to interior decorator Melissa Molina, whom Else knew from when their time as students at the University of the Incarnate Word.
“I wanted Melissa’s help because there were so many decisions to be made it would be overwhelming for me to try and do it all myself,” Elsa said.
One decision she made was to keep the cream-colored kitchen cabinets, which have a hazelnut glaze and a slightly distressed look.
“I’ve seen these types of offwhite cabinets everywhere, from my grandmother’s home to new houses,” she said. “They’re classic and timeless, and they’ll never go out of style.”
With that decision made, most of the other material choices they had to make were based on how they’d complement one another. They switched out the cabinet hardware, for example, adding Champagne bronzecolored knobs and pulls.
“I like them because they’re not too brassy or too gold,” Elsa said. “They’re more muted, so they blend in with the rest of the kitchen.”
Next, they replaced the granite countertops, which were honey yellow with brown speckles, with a cool, white quartz.
“The other countertops were definitely not my style,” Elsa said. “But the white works so much better with the cabinets.”
She almost went with a dark gray, or even black stone, but Molina talked her out of it.
“That would have been so
bold, we were a little worried about how it might affect the resale value of the home,” Molina said.
As a compromise and to add a splash of boldness, they did paint the island’s cabinets black.
“We like it because you don’t see the black until you come around to the other side of the island,” Cameron said.
They also replaced the island’s original double sink with a single bowl sink made of brown composite granite. It stands out nicely from the white countertop, and it’s easy to maintain.
“It hides the dirt, and it doesn’t look like just another stainless-steel sink,” she said. “And if we ever do switch out the cabinets, it’ll go with pretty much anything.”
Also gone was the mosaic tile backsplash, replaced with white
ceramic subway tile with a subtle texture.
From initial design to completion, the kitchen renovation took about 2 ½ months. It would have been quicker, but the work was done at the height of last summer’s pandemic-related building material shortage, according to Molina.
“We had to wait to get delivery on the sink, the faucet and the (countertops),” she said.
“Thankfully there wasn’t any lumber involved in the project,” Cameron added with a laugh.
With the kitchen complete, the areas next on the upgrade list include the master closet, the guest bath and the half bath. And after that? Perhaps a backyard pool — the ultimate upgrade.
“The floor plan was perfect, but a lot of the finishes … were not what we wanted.”
Elsa Granato