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OCTOBER 5 Fine Home Builders
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Pro Spotlight: Design and Build With Precision for Your Remodel
A Long Beach builder shares tips for designing homes that offer flow and serenity
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Who: Jim Brophy of October 5 Fine Home Builders
Where: Long Beach, California
In his own words: “If you design it right and build it right, your home will last a lifetime.”
When starting a remodel, it’s easy to pick out your favorite materials and fixtures without giving much thought to how your home design team will put them all together. Long Beach-based builder Jim Brophy encourages homeowners to put plenty of time into the critical design phase. “You want to work on your house from the inside out because the inside is where you’re going to live, day in and day out,” says Brophy, a partner at design-build firm October 5 Fine Home Builders.
Where: Long Beach, California
In his own words: “If you design it right and build it right, your home will last a lifetime.”
When starting a remodel, it’s easy to pick out your favorite materials and fixtures without giving much thought to how your home design team will put them all together. Long Beach-based builder Jim Brophy encourages homeowners to put plenty of time into the critical design phase. “You want to work on your house from the inside out because the inside is where you’re going to live, day in and day out,” says Brophy, a partner at design-build firm October 5 Fine Home Builders.
Livable spaces. Brophy earned a chemistry degree from Cal State Long Beach but realized almost immediately after graduation that he wanted to do residential construction. He bought and remodeled houses, designed community housing projects and then started his company. Leaving exteriors to his team’s architects, Brophy focuses on interior design and construction. “I’ve discovered that the key to making a quiet, livable space is in the design,” he says. “It all starts on paper.”
Details, details. You know the feeling you get when you walk into a room and get the sense that everything is just perfect? Brophy says that requires a lot of work up front, refining the design for how every tile, cabinet door and handle will line up or be distributed across a surface. Ideally, your design will minimize visual clutter like outlets, switches and even ceiling fixtures. “It’s such a joy to experience a home that has that level of detail,” he says.
Below, Brophy offers tips for designing harmonious living spaces.
Below, Brophy offers tips for designing harmonious living spaces.
1. Design From the Inside Out
To plan what your room will look like when it’s finished, you’ll need to take into account every element in the design and focus on line, symmetry and balance. “You’ll notice it subliminally,” Brophy says. “The house will just feel right.”
When remodeling this vacation home in Seal Beach, Brophy positioned the kitchen cabinets so the vertical grain of the Oregon pine doors lines up from top to bottom. The grout lines also match up with the lines between the cabinet doors.
See more of this project
To plan what your room will look like when it’s finished, you’ll need to take into account every element in the design and focus on line, symmetry and balance. “You’ll notice it subliminally,” Brophy says. “The house will just feel right.”
When remodeling this vacation home in Seal Beach, Brophy positioned the kitchen cabinets so the vertical grain of the Oregon pine doors lines up from top to bottom. The grout lines also match up with the lines between the cabinet doors.
See more of this project
2. Smooth the Transitions
Standardize the architectural elements to further bring a sense of harmony to your home. This might mean adopting a new color palette or installing a particular style of door throughout. If previous remodels and additions have left your home with floors or ceilings at different levels, Brophy suggests aligning the heights to make moving from room to room more visually pleasing.
He used this strategy for an older Long Beach home, seen here, going to great lengths to maintain its historic charm while opening it up for modern living. He brought all the floors in the house to the same finished level and raised the living room ceiling while decreasing the number of exposed beams. “The result was a much calmer feeling throughout [the house],” he says.
See more of this project
Standardize the architectural elements to further bring a sense of harmony to your home. This might mean adopting a new color palette or installing a particular style of door throughout. If previous remodels and additions have left your home with floors or ceilings at different levels, Brophy suggests aligning the heights to make moving from room to room more visually pleasing.
He used this strategy for an older Long Beach home, seen here, going to great lengths to maintain its historic charm while opening it up for modern living. He brought all the floors in the house to the same finished level and raised the living room ceiling while decreasing the number of exposed beams. “The result was a much calmer feeling throughout [the house],” he says.
See more of this project
3. Open Up to Simplicity
If your older home is a series of small rooms joined by hallways, you’re likely to be remodeling to get greater space, light and flow. “People are asking for more openness, especially in living areas and kitchens,” Brophy says.
For this Belmont Heights remodel, Brophy’s team razed the entire home to reinforce the foundation, making it possible to rearrange interior walls and open up the entryway, dining room, living room and kitchen. “You now have uninterrupted flow of ceiling and flooring, from the front of the house to the back,” he says.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Jim Brophy and examples of his work, visit October 5 Fine Home Builders’ Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
If your older home is a series of small rooms joined by hallways, you’re likely to be remodeling to get greater space, light and flow. “People are asking for more openness, especially in living areas and kitchens,” Brophy says.
For this Belmont Heights remodel, Brophy’s team razed the entire home to reinforce the foundation, making it possible to rearrange interior walls and open up the entryway, dining room, living room and kitchen. “You now have uninterrupted flow of ceiling and flooring, from the front of the house to the back,” he says.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Jim Brophy and examples of his work, visit October 5 Fine Home Builders’ Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
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