SPACEENHANCER

Hanging drapes

close to the

ceiling, rather

than just above

the window trim,

exaggerates

the window’s

height and makes

the ceiling

seem higher.

or at least a solid four years, Andy Philhower and Gabriel Ceballos were in a

tug-of-war with their old Dutch Colonial house in Atlanta. Every time an

inconvenience-like cramming clothes or a suitcase in a narrow closet-pushed

them toward moving, the 1930

s

charm pulled them back. “The big thing this house

had going for it was character,” Andy says. “But you always want what you don’t

have-m ore closet space, bigger bathrooms, an open layout.” The couple finally

found a way to work those wants into the 1,800-square-foot home. They dug

between studs to turn wasted dormers into usable built-ins and gave closets and

cabinets the once-over for better storage. “We tried to use every space that wasn’t

visible to our advantage,” says Gabriel, a fitness trainer who sketched many of the

designs. For Andy, a real estate agent, the bonus was no clutter. “The less we have

sitting on countertops or taking up floor space, the bigger the rooms feel,” he says.

Removing three walls also went a long way toward stretching rooms. When walls

couldn’t be removed, such as in bathrooms, Gabriel worked wonders with

ultra-shallow countertops and space-enhancing mirrors. “It feels like a different

home,” he says. “Y

ou

walk in and it’s open and airy. There’s plenty of storage. It

still has character, but now it has our personalities in it, too.”

“We wanted a clean,

almost minimalist look, so

all the walls went white,”

says homeowner Andy

Philhower. “ It makes the

house seem bigger.”

Stripped of some trim,

the living room fireplace,

above,

also lightened up.

The architectural column,

opposite,

is a trimmed-out

support post, replacing a

wall that once closed off

the living room. A cutout

in the stair wall, where dog

Bo stands, also opens up

the front of the home.

BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

JANUARY 2010

43