Welcome to the third installment of our reality home-building story, as we follow Bill and Bobbie Apelian s journey to build their own Donald A. Gardner plan. Having almost completed our plan 1048, the Hartford, the Apelians have shared the joys and challenges of their home-building experience in our previous issues. We are pleased to bring you the third phase of their story. Please join us as they integrate the final interior design elements into their home. REALITY home building the Apelians 2Bill and Bobbie Apelian Having lived with the same color scheme for several years and through several different homes, Bobbie Apelian couldn t wait to do something new. I love the color scheme in this new house. We used macadamia for the walls, which I had seen in a model house and immediately knew I wanted to use, she said. In fact, she used it in the entire downstairs except for the dining room. Depending on how the light hits it, sometimes it looks a little greenish, or golden beige, I just love it, she said. To enhance the paint color, they chose paint with a sateen finish that emits a reflective look. In the dining room, Bobbie chose a vibrant blonde color because she wanted the warmth from the yellow and gold tones. I like the color of the walls because it s warm, and I wanted the gathering areas to be a warm color versus something cool. They have a richness to them, she said. When it was time to paint the ceiling they chose the same macadamia color as the walls to unify the room and highlight the crown molding. To add interest to the two-story ceiling, they added a formal, ornate ceiling medallion. The ceiling needed something, especially since it s the same color as the walls, Bill said. The medallion is real light, almost a foam board. But it adds a decorative touch, he added. In previous issues Bobbie took on the overwhelming task of picking colors, appliances, cabinetry and placement of even the smallest things, like electrical outlets. Now that that is behind her, she is enjoying the decorating phase much more. It s funny now because I love the decorating part. I ran into a decorator friend at the rug store and she happily offered to help me, Bobbie said. Having a decorator was most helpful when it came to window treatments. Trying to coordinate with the paint and cabinet colors has been overwhelming at times for Bobbie, but thanks to a handy bag of fabric and color swatches she carries with her, her abundance of window treatments are sure to match the furniture and paint colors. We have so many window treatments in the house that I ll probably do them in stages, and just do what s necessary in the beginning, Bobbie said. She advises people to buy all of their fabric up front to ensure its availability. This way you can still work in stages but have all of the necessary colors you originally wanted. Bobbie chose to forego blinds in the new home except in the master bath and garage windows for privacy. Instead, she is using panels and top treatments. We re getting privacy treatments that roll up and down and
RealityHome Building Walnut-colored hardwood floors contrast with the blonde walls to add luxury to the existing architectural details of the Apelian s dining room. WWW.ATHOMEWITHDON.COM AT HOME WITH DONALD A. GARDNER 3
black out completely. We re doing that in the master bedroom and two bedrooms upstairs for privacy and complete darkness, she said. In the great room we re doing Roman shades on the French doors and draw drapes on the two windows on either side, so at night I can just draw the drapes closed, she added. They ve chosen draw drapes for the kitchen, and Roman shades for the sunroom. With such a mixture of window treatments, the Apelians can take advantage of light when desirable and opt for complete darkness at night. Now that they ve chosen their window treatments, Bill and Bobbie needed the right lighting fixtures to accompany their treatments and wall colors. After searching at several lighting stores, they found the perfect fixture for their dining room. However, it had one small problem. The dining room lighting fixture was originally pewter and wasn t going to look right in our dining room because we have gold colors, Bobbie said. She had to return to the store to tell the saleswoman that it just would not work. To their surprise, the store was able to work with them. After I told the woman it would not work with our furniture, she said not to worry because they had a man that could paint the pewter gold. So he did just that. He literally took his finger and painted over the pewter leaves with gold, Bobbie said. With their formal dining room fixture in place, they next had to decide on a breakfast room lamp. While neither mentioned it to the other, both Bill and Bobbie were secretly thinking that their old Tiffany lamp from the attic would be a perfect fit. We ve had this Tiffany lamp in our attic for 16 years and I knew the colors would go well with my new color scheme. So when we both said, how about that Tiffany lamp in the attic? we knew it would be perfect, Bobbie said. With the permanent fixtures in place and paint colors on the walls, the Apelians were excited to see how their floor color would match with everything else. Having chosen a beautiful dark walnut for the The granite kitchen countertops coincide with the outdoor use of granite boulders in the Apelian s yard. 4 AT HOME WITH DONALD A. GARDNER WWW.ATHOMEWITHDON.COM
hardwood floors, the contrast with the macadamia walls created an impressive interior. Complementing the Tiffany lamp is an oak kitchen table that Bobbie had stained to match the floors. We got the idea from a magazine s Idea House and it had really dark floors. I love the contrast except for when it shows the dust, Bill said. To complete the breakfast room and kitchen, the Apelians found espresso-colored wicker chairs that are darker than the table and floors. I don t necessarily like everything matching, like chairs and tables. I love wicker and these chairs are really comfortable. Along with the four wicker chairs for the kitchen, we ve also chosen a woven rattan/wicker-bladed fan for the sunroom. I love things with texture, Bobbie said. Calling her decorating style, eclectic Bobbie has chosen a variety of new and old furniture pieces to move into the home once it s finished. Our furniture style is eclectic in that we like things that have meaning to us. We like family pieces and we put stuff together and make it work, she said. A fan of estate sales and auctions, Bill and Bobbie found a mahogany sideboard for 85 dollars and after refinishing it, put it in their dining room. We like to mix different styles, new pieces with estate pieces to add personality to the room, Bobbie said. In order to create that look, they purchased both new and old furniture, including a new sofa for the sunroom and a sectional couch for the great room. They are keeping their current love seat and sofa to be used in the bonus room. All of the dining room furniture is staying the same, as is the bedroom furniture. It s a dark cherry. The sunroom sofa is a shade of green and we have a white rug with texture to it so that ll go in there, Bobbie described. One of their favorite pieces is an antique chest they bought for their downstairs bathroom. They had the antique store worker carve a hole for a sink and faucet and now display modern design within an antique piece of furniture. They are also bringing a chair from We like to mix different styles, new pieces with estate pieces to add personality to the room. Bobbie Apelian on their their current bonus room to the new great room. Low to the ground, this club chair is going to face the backyard so they can take in the yard s park-like ambiance. With furniture, paint colors, lighting fixtures and window treatments chosen, the Apelian s hard work is almost over and it s now on to the fun part: decorating. Having framed a five-by-five crazy quilt, Bobbie chose the perfect place to display it. With an eyeball light in the hallway overlooking the great room, Bobbie created an instant gallery for the quilt to be viewed, both from the hallway and the great room below. Bobbie s eclectic style came into play once again for wall decorations with a mix of old and new. For the walls I ve picked out a bunch of things. One picture is of flowers, kind of impressionistic and full of color. I ve also got some old family photos in simple black frames, she said. We have a fairy eclectic decorating style. RealityHome Building Choosing a shade of olive green for their master bedroom walls, the Apelian s used a lighter shade above to accent the tray ceiling.
tale table runner that we d like to display, and I framed my dad s old romper suit and a small baby quilt that I d like to hang too, Bobbie said. With the inside finished and decorated, it was Bill s turn to lend his creativity to the outside with the landscaping. Their landscaper was able to create a computergenerated image of what the yard would look like after spending some time with Bill and Bobbie and discussing their vision for the yard. I met him out at the house and we just walked around and talked. He took my ideas, then suggested a few things and did a color drawing, a landscape plan. From the computer image he said, this tree would go here, etc. With the blueprint they can go back and fill in the gaps a year from now. Trying to keep lawn maintenance to a minimum, Bill took the popular concept of the one-hour lawn and reduced it to what he figures is a 30-minute yard. With a fountain in the backyard, flowers, evergreens, azaleas, magnolias, cut-leaf Japanese maples and a wall of espaliered Jem magnolias, their yard is a botanical oasis that requires very little mowing. One other exciting feature of the backyard is the use of the Earth s natural elements. When the builder was grading the lot he found several very large, decomposed granite boulders. I told him not to get rid of those, so we started a pile and they are now all over the yard. They tie in nicely with the kitchen s granite counter tops. I like that it s from the Earth and under the ground our house is built on, so it s nice to use it for the yard and in our own personal landscaping, Bill said. With all of these landscaping, decorating and design decisions in place, the time for the Apelians to sit back and enjoy their hard work approaches with every day. A family that can t wait to move into their Donald Gardner home, the Apelians tell us in our next edition what it s like to live inside the home of their dreams. Join us in our Winter Issue for the conclusion to this exciting story. AHDG08-1048 Hartford Bedrooms: 4 Bath: 4 Width: 63'9'' Depth: 63'11'' First Floor: 2395 s.f. Second Floor: 760 s.f. Total Living: 3155 s.f. Bonus Room: 454 s.f. Crawlspace Foundation PRICE CODE E Having begun the landscaping, this brick traditional home has finally come together as the Apelian s prepare to move in. 1-888-870-1368 www.athomewithdon.com 6 AT HOME WITH DONALD A. GARDNER WWW.ATHOMEWITHDON.COM
The screened porch is beginning to take shape in the rear of the home. RealityHome Building SECOND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR Photographed home may have been modified from the original construction documents. WWW.ATHOMEWITHDON.COM AT HOME WITH DONALD A. GARDNER 7