Designers turn cottage into showhouse

A few weeks ago, designer Monica Parsel walked through the four-bedroom house in the Westboro neighborhood designated to be featured during this year’s Designers’ Showhouse Tour.

By the time she had returned to her job at Winston Brown Construction and told the construction company’s owner, Jake Brown, about the 3,761-square-foot, cottage-like house, Parsel had already envisioned the makeover she would give to some of its rooms.

“I was immediately drawn to the space, but I was conflicted because of the time involved,” she said, explaining she has a full schedule of design and sales duties at Winston Brown. “But it’s hard not to fall in love with this cottage. It’s hard to stay away from places in Westboro.”

With the support of Winston Brown, Parsel will be among the 13 home and landscape designers who will be volunteering their time and talents to renovate the cottage for the annual tour. She will be focusing on the kitchen, dining room and sunroom.

“It’s such a compliment that they asked me to be involved,” said Parsel, who has volunteered as a designer for three previous tours.

The 38th Designers’ Showhouse Tour will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 21 through May 13, at 1551 S.W. Westover Road. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

The tour is a fundraiser for Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas, which supports the development and learning of young children by offering programs and services that improve the quality and accessibility of child care for working families. The home tour is the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year.

In the past, Child Care Aware selected a home in the community and asked the homeowners to move out while a team of designers transformed the house. This year, the Designers’ Showhouse board decided to purchase a fixer-upper and renovate it from top to bottom.

After the fundraising tours, the house will be put on the market. All money from the sale, tours and sponsorships will go to Child Care Aware.

Going with the flow

Parsel’s vision for the kitchen, dining room and sunroom was to decompartmentalize the rooms to create a more connected, casual and open family space.

The kitchen was gutted, with plaster walls removed so old electrical wiring could be replaced. The room will feature a gas range with customized rustic hood, large single sink, dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, pantries for storage and a movable wooden island, as well as bench seating and storage off the door opening to a breezeway.

The kitchen walls will be in soft colors to create a “light and airy” feel, with countertops in darker tones, Parsel said. The color of the cabinets, which will run the full height of the room, will match the trim.

“There will be some industrial things to balance off the cottage feel, to create a balance between the feminine and masculine,” she said.

The informal dining room features built-in cabinetry along its south wall, which Parsel will paint to match the kitchen cabinets.

“It would be expensive to replicate, and it adds to the charm of the house,” she said.

Sconces that match the one over the kitchen stove will be installed on the cabinetry. Its middle doors will be removed to reveal custom-built pull-out drawers.

Because of limited wall space, the dining room will be painted a darker tone, and artwork will hang from its molding.

Parsel plans to transform the sunroom into a hearth room that showcases its brick fireplace.

“This space has a lot of sweet character, so it’s important that it stays,” she said.

Parsel will “tone down” the redness of the brick with a plaster treatment and install a box-beam mantel — echoing the stove hood in the kitchen — to create a warm space with a casual, rustic feel. Carpet throughout the three rooms will be replaced with hardwood floors.

Bridging rooms

Parsel’s industrial and chic look for the kitchen, dining room and hearth room inspired, in part, the direction Jan Davis and Brandi Whisler chose to go with their redo of the home’s 17-by-18-foot sunken living room.

Davis has worked on 27 Designers’ Showhouses since 1988, while Whisler has helped with four. Both are designers at Carpet One Floor & Home.

The living room features a large fireplace and a large window that is the first thing visitors see when they walk through the home’s front door.

“Brandi had a great idea for the fireplace, because it’s off-center in the room,” Davis said.

The designers will install a hexagonal-shaped, marble-looking tile from the floor to the ceiling around the fireplace. The tile then will extend in a “free fall” on the left side the fireplace, from the mantle to the floor.

Hunter Douglas Silhouette ClearView shadings, with PowerView remote control and a separate sheer black panel to diffuse light, will be installed on the window.

The color scheme will lean heavily on grays and golds. Black furniture pieces borrowed from Home At Last and Warehouse 414 will add depth to the room, while unique handrails by Muddy Creek Iron Works will be installed to give more definition to the room’s two levels.

Whisler said the design community in Topeka is “close-knit,” and the Designers’ Showhouse is “an opportunity for two months to see your friends almost every day.” They also believe the commitment required to participate in the fundraising showhouse for Child Care Aware is well worth the effort.

“The cause is so good,” Davis said.

Contact niche editor Jan Biles at (785) 295-1292.

DESIGNERS’ SHOWHOUSE SPRING TOUR

What: A fundraiser for Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas that features a 1948 home that has been given a makeover by local designers

When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 21-May 13. Guided group tours are available on Mondays, by reservation only.

Where: 1551 S.W. Westover Road

Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

Information, tickets and group tour reservations: Call Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas at (785) 357-5171.