Rejuvenating Retirement Life

The homeowners are a recently retired couple, who wanted to renovate their antiquated building. Although with a limited budget, they hoped for a significant change of style, something so fresh and far beyond their imagination. The outdated residence presented major challenges: what must remain, what could be adapted, and what should be completely changed? The designer replaced all of the equipment that could no longer be used. The majority of walls, doors, wooden flooring, and cabinets were maintained for budget control, but upgraded through renovation and enhanced for environmental protection. The makeover design created a dramatic change of style yet stays suited to the retired couple’s lifestyle. The living space carries a classy black-and-white motif with sharp linear flow, both straight and slanted, for a futuristic, avant-garde style. The old-fashioned glass cabinets in the kitchen and dining room have been replaced with metal-framed cabinets containing fluted glass. The semi-transparent, patterned glass converts dull and traditional to smart and modern. Its hazy beauty visually expands the sense of space while preserving the sweeping line of sight. The visual perception of the dining room is widened and flows freely through the sliding glass doors to the study area. Wood tones and light strips emit warmth. The ample space is more than sufficient for the entire family to congregate together. From the living space, the avant-garde design theme carries over to each bedroom yet adds ingenuity and color for its individually distinctive charm. Through careful contemplation, the designer selected which existing parts could be maintained or simply renovated in order to conserve the homeowners’ budget. In addition to reducing the amount of costs, this also minimized the amount of waste to lessen any environmental impact. While doing so, nothing was spared in dramatically transforming the design style. Instead of being behind the times, the once antiquated appearance has been brought light years ahead to the future. The blend and bridging of still usable parts with new materials and design successfully achieves the homeowners’ wishes for a smooth, new step into the next phase of life.