By Christina Wallace, Metro Boston Senior Reporter | November 2, 2005
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As professional architects who both have a love for tackling new projects, married couple Cara Piscitello and Jason Williard spent the last three years playing rock, paper, scissors when deciding on how to renovate their Brighton condo.
"I always lost," said Jason.
The newly married couple knew they had a long road ahead of them when they purchased their worn two-bedroom condo, especially since they were committed to do the work themselves so they wouldn't break the bank.
The secret to their success was IKEA.
"Our taste changes so fast… with IKEA we were able to do everything," said Cara.
Now, after renovating the entire 625 sq. ft. space with their own two hands, including demolishing the old kitchen, laying down new tile in the bathroom and constructing built-in bookshelves, Cara and Jason are basking in the glory of an arduous three-year process.
"To be able to design something for yourself when you pick out stuff for clients everyday is pretty rewarding and addicting," said Cara.
When first beginning their renovations, the couple decided they wanted to create an illusion the condo was bigger and wanted to maximize the space in order to avoid clutter.
They did away with much of what was already there, including installing new windows, ripping out the flooring and covering up the exposed brick.
"Everyone thinks exposed brick is an asset but this really wasn't anything nice to look at," said Jason. "There was brick dust in our sheets."
In the living area and kitchen they laid down elongated, gray Italian tiles which made the space look larger. They painted the walls a taupe color and carried those shades throughout the living area and avoided bright colors which break up the flow of a room. They constructed built-in shelves above the couch for books and special items so they wouldn't clutter up tables. And they ripped out the "ugly" popcorn ceilings and installed tons of recessed lights with dimmers to brighten up the once dark apartment.
"The room can go from sexy to interrogation in seconds," said Jason.
In the kitchen they installed IKEA cabinets made of Eucalyptus and countertops made of grey quartz to coordinate with the flooring. The cabinets are dark, sleek wood with stainless steel accessories to coordinate with the new stainless steel appliances. They constructed a wall of built-in shelves for Cara's cookbooks and kitchen accessories and an island for her to prepare her gourmet meals.
In the back of the apartment, they converted one room into an office and in the master bedroom ripped out the closet and constructed a large built-in closet unit to maximize space. Drawing on their architectural training, they decided to create a geometric mural with three shades of grey rectangles to match a patchwork quilt Jason's mother made them for their wedding present. They spent days mapping out the mural and painting the rectangles on the bedroom wall. They were so pleased with the finished product that they painted a smaller mural on the office wall in shades of blue.
After three years of weekends at their workbench, Cara and Jason are now pretty confident about the quality of their workmanship and their relationship.
Christina Wallace