Monte Vista Transformation Story

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to remodel an older home from the 1930s?

Our clients were so excited when they bought their 1930's home in the soon-to-be historic district of Monte Vista back in 2010. Even though the house was dark, cramped, and dated, they could see that the home had the potential to become a quaint and charming home. Our clients had larger-than-life personalities, and they wanted their home to match their lifestyles.

They both worked in the medical field and often held social events in their home. These events ranged from a casual cocktail hour with coworkers to formal dinners with executive-ranking individuals. In addition to hosting social events, our clients often invited their close friends over for holiday gatherings, special occasions, and fun-filled barbeques. They also had an extensive collection of family heirlooms and intricate home decor pieces from various countries that they've traveled to. They wanted their home to showcase their valuable collections and be able to display them for their guests.

When our clients were ready to begin their historic renovation, they started by first remodeling their kitchen. They had used a different remodeling company for their kitchen, and while they were satisfied with the end result, they were completely dissatisfied with the service provided by the company. The project took nearly a year to complete! They knew they wanted to keep the progress going on their home, which led them to KM BUILDERS.

Their wishlist was simple. Our clients wanted to modernize their historic home while still maintaining its historical charm and architectural integrity. They were looking for a design that would allow them to display their various art paintings, antique furniture pieces, one-of-a-kind vases, and other ornate home decor pieces that they had collected from their years of travel. They wanted a design that would act as a beautiful backdrop setting for their unique collection.

In addition to creating a home that would allow them to display their beautiful art and antique collections, they also wanted to ensure that each hallway space, cased opening in between rooms, bathrooms, and the staircase was wide enough to be wheelchair accessible as they eventually had plans to replace their staircase with an elevator. This home was going to be their "death home" as they liked to say, and they wanted to be able to gracefully age in place in their home. It was important for these concerns to be addressed during the remodel to prevent having to remodel a third time.

The beginning of their remodel was unlike any other project we've ever worked on before. Our client had done all the demolition of the downstairs portion of the home herself! When our team first visited the home, she had deconstructed the walls down to the studs. This gave our team an advantage as we only had to deconstruct the upstairs portion of their home and finish removing a few studs from the downstairs part of their home.

As we started the transformation process for their home, we wanted our clients to feel as if they were stepping back in time. Whenever they walked in the front door or invited guests over, we wanted the home to feel as if you were walking into a classic home that you would have seen on the set of an old Hollywood movie. To provide our clients with an elegant and classic design, we created a beautiful floor pattern inlay using wood planks and marble tile squares to give a show-stopping first impression when you first walk into the home.

Right off the front entryway were the formal living room on the lefthand side and the main living area as you continued walking through the home. The formal dining room and main living room opened up to the kitchen and dining room, giving the home an open-concept design with plenty of entertaining space for our clients to host their guests. We installed white-painted shiplap walls throughout the whole home to give the home a soft, simple texture. We chose to use shiplap planks for the walls not only for their beauty but also to prevent any cracks in the walls as the home was susceptible to shifts.

For the ceiling, we installed sheets of beadboard and faux wood accent beams throughout the whole house, including all the upstairs bedrooms, to complement the home's historical character. We installed grasscloth wallpaper in the dining room and walls surrounding the staircase for a warm contrast against the white shiplap walls. To ensure that our clients stayed comfortable in their home, we installed two mini-splits on the downstairs level—one mini-split in the main living room and the other mini-split in the formal living room. While there are only two mini-splits, they do an outstanding job of keeping the home cool. We also removed all the windows in the home and replaced them with new double-paned windows.

We chose to keep all the finishes light and simple so our client could display her extraordinary collection of antiques, fabrics, dinnerware, and furniture. Each room in the home was filled with beautiful oriental rugs, unique art paintings, family heirlooms, and glamorous chandeliers. Our client is very proud of her art collection and chose to have art lights installed throughout the home to show off her art pieces. We also created custom shelves upstairs so that none of her artwork, books, or antiques would have to be hidden in a closet or placed in storage.

The home had two full bathrooms upstairs and one half bath downstairs. Each bathroom featured beautiful finishes and bold uses of color to enhance the home's vintage charm. The powder bathroom downstairs was the green bathroom. The powder bath featured beautiful wallpaper with a palm leaf design. We installed a stunning gold-trimmed mirror accented with a brass sink faucet and light fixture to make this small space feel luxurious. For the finishing touch, the client wanted to hang her beautiful artwork which featured real jade coins!

The theme for the guest bathroom upstairs was an updated design of classic vintage charm. Our team installed classic white subway tile from the floor to the ceiling throughout the bathroom. We enhanced the bathroom layout by installing a larger vanity and installed frameless glass walls around the new tub. We installed black glass accents for the mirror design and a glass light fixture above the mirror for the finishing touches. ⁠To give the bathroom a pop of red, we installed beautiful roman shades with a fun floral pattern.

In the home's existing layout, there was a fourth bedroom on the other side of the small master bathroom. To provide our client with a luxurious ensuite bathroom and closet, we converted the old bedroom to create a large master bathroom. The newly designed master bathroom features all-new cabinetry and new custom storage cabinetry for more closet space. For the vanity, we installed leathered granite countertops, lighted mirrors, and elegant vanity lights above the mirrors.

In the large walk-in shower, we installed three beautiful mosaic marble tile inlays, a marble penny tile for the shower floor, and marble subway tile for the shower ceiling to provide our client with a luxurious spa-like design. The bathroom has several windows decorated with beautiful blue oriental patterned roman shades and blue floor-length curtains. The bathroom also includes a beautiful window bench with a chandelier hanging right above to make this bathroom feel like a glamorous sanctuary.

Our clients could not be happier with their newly remodeled historic home. While our team did all the hard work and manual labor, it was our client who made the home come to life. Each room has her personal touch that truly made this house feel like a home. The clients are eternally grateful for the work done by our amazing KM team. They look forward to all the parties they'll host and the cozy lifestyle ahead of them as they grow old in their beautifully restored historic home.

If you need an expert remodeler for your next big project, look no further than KM BUILDERS. We guarantee you'll be satisfied with the end result. You can call our team at 210-680-5626 to get your free consultation scheduled.

----KM BUILDERS is San Antonio's premier design-build remodeler specializing in kitchens, bathrooms, room additions, and whole-house remodeling. We boast the largest in-house staff in San Antonio offering architectural design, interior design, and cabinet design for all your home remodeling needs!----