Meet kitchen, bath winners in remodeling contest – GoErie.com

Meet the award winners of the Lake Erie LifeStyle home remodeling contest.

Brace yourself. You're going to want to remodel. Once you see the winners and other entrants in the GoErie.com remodeling contest, you're going to get the bug to replace something. Maybe move a wall. Or maybe not, but the entries were impressive.

In all, 20 homeowners entered their impressive before and after photos of their bathrooms and kitchens, and readers voted on their favorites. The winners are:Brian and Lisa Waugaman for best bath and Christopher and Stephanie Rhodes for best kitchen.

A new century takes over master bath

Brian and Lisa Waugamandidn't really plan to gut their 1999 master bathroom. It all started innocently enough when they wanted to just update it. "We had started to tear down the wallpaper to repaint, and we were going to keep it pretty much the same," Lisa Waugaman said.

But then her husband Brian noted that they had not used the large Jacuzzi tub more than 10 times in 17 years. "We knew it needed to go, along with all the oak cabinets and large mirrors. The ongoing joke in our house was '1999 called and wanted their bathroom back,'" Lisa Waugaman said.

Gutting the space enabled them to move things around and add a double vanity with more storage, a large walk-in shower and a totally different look that provided a bit of industrial charm. This Waterford couplefound most of what they needed locally. "We were really lucky. We wanted the chalk paint look, and we found the cabinetry at Legion Plumbing. It was the last of that cabinetry; it was scheduled to be discontinued," she said.The spacious shower includesdual shower heads in the ceiling and a shower wand.

The Waugamans had hiredPrestige Services, of Harborcreek, to do the work after meeting the owner at the 2016 Home and Garden Expo. Prestige also crafted handmade barn doors to complete the look. The combination of stainless steel sinks, rustic looking flooring and distressed white cabinetry achieved what Waugaman called Industrial Farm Chic.

The Waugamans also selected Prosource for flooring and shower tiles along with some fixtures.The process started in October and wrapped up in December.

Would they change anything? Not really. The dramatic change in appearance provided a winning combination.

One wall kitchen

Stephanie Rhodes said that she and her husband, Christopher, and their families and friends, worked to completely renovate the kitchen in their Edinboro home. The former kitchen was bound by a few walls, and the couple decided to remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room and open it all to the living room as well. While trusses supported the ceiling, Stephanie Rhodes said she wanted a barn beam to add some aesthetics. "It just wasn't feasible, but we asked Hobbs Lumber to make a beam that we wrapped and stained," she said.

Stephanie Rhodes said this wasn't the first remodeling project she and her husband had tackled. As fans of Pinterest and HGTV, she shared that she is always changing up her home design. "It's a joke to friends," she said.

The former kitchen had dark cabinets and light laminate flooring, but the couple chose to install dark flooring and light cabinetry the exact opposite of what they'd had. Stephanie said she loved dark cabinets but decided the espresso floor would make a nice base and contrast for the cabinetry. "It's not a large space and we didn't want it to look too dark," she said.

The Edinboro couple found everything they wanted locally with some knickknacks from antiques shops. Cabinetry, quartz counters and appliances were from Home Depot with some other appliances from Sears. The colors were based on popular colors and trends. "The gray grabbed me, and we had worked with Home Depot before. This was by far the biggest remodel though," she said.

In crafting the spacious island, Rhodes said it was a must because she knew she had really only one wall for cabinets. The outside wall had patio doors and windows and the space was open to the living room and dining area. Rhodes said she wanted cabinetry and workspace and it all worked out with cabinets the entire way around the island. When it came to lighting, the couple added a bit of industrial charm with pendant lights over the island and a more industrial fixture over the dining area. She found everything she wanted from the Hite Company in Millcreek. "They were wonderful. They had exactly what we wanted, and we could order anything we needed," she said.

The couple followed national trends that National Kitchen and Bath Magazine noted as topping the charts. White and gray are the latest home decor colors, and the magazine says wood cabinets are the top choice and quartz countertops get the nod over granite and other surfaces.

"We wanted to mix old and new but keep it clean and simple," Rhodes said.The DIY project included a lot of help from friends and family, so the project took about three months, she said, but they saved a lot of money. "We had a tight budget, and now we can all gather in one space without being cramped," she said.

Stylish entries

While two homeowners were named winners, all of the entries showed off a flair for some fabulous design trends.Ceramic tile that looks like wood, vessel bowl sinks and a whole lot more were among the contemporary items Erie homeowners added to their kitchens and baths when remodeling. In addition, crown molding added some finishing touches and industrial lighting was a big winner.Double vanities and dual mirrors replaced single vanities and subway tile, mosaic borders and frosted glass were among the popular items.

Many of the entrants were unafraid to move walls, and it enabled them to create amazing spaces.

Winners will receive $100 gift cards. To see all the entries, visitwww.GoErie.com/remodel, but be warned, you'll want to remodel something. LEL

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Meet kitchen, bath winners in remodeling contest - GoErie.com