Gainey Ranch · Scottsdale
A great room with
room for the view.
A transitional interior remodel gives this Gainey Ranch home a carved stone fireplace, more expansive glass, and architectural details that connect the entry, living, and dining spaces.
Residential Interior Remodel · Over $150,000
A corner home overlooking the golf course
Dining area, windows, doors, and stairs
stained glass, and a patterned stair runner
The setting was already special. The interior needed a clearer connection to it.
The homeowners loved their corner-lot home and the golf-course landscape along its back and side yards. After working with Homework Remodels on an earlier bathroom and stair-railing project, they returned to update the great room.
The design brings a Midwest-inspired transitional style to the main living spaces. New windows and doors frame the views, while a carved stone fireplace, substantial trim, and decorative lighting give the tall room a more defined composition.
The great room · Before and after
Giving a tall room a stronger architectural frame
The original great room had height and light, but its builder-grade finishes offered little definition around the windows, fireplace, and entry transitions. The new design treats those features as parts of the same room.
Painted wood casing gives the windows a stronger outline. A small half-round opening above the sitting area became rectangular so it could accept a window covering and relate to the other upper windows.
Soft wall colors allow the stonework and fixtures to stand out. The 24-light chandelier is scaled to the high ceiling, with a coordinating smaller fixture over the dining table.
Dining and outdoor views · Before and after
A wider opening toward the golf course
The dining area’s existing window and sliding door were replaced by a three-panel sliding glass door measuring 12 feet wide and 8 feet tall. The new system includes a concealed roll screen.
To accommodate the opening and its trim, the dropped soffit was raised to create a full nine-foot ceiling in this area. The change gives the glass a more generous setting and brings more of the landscape into view.
A 12-light chandelier relates to the larger great-room fixture. Together with the new door casing and colors, it makes the dining area feel connected to the living space.
Windows, doors, and trim
The view becomes part of the room
New Pella windows and exterior doors replace the original units throughout the remodeled area. Painted wood trim gives the openings a consistent finish, rather than leaving each one as a separate detail.
The selected window system includes fabric coverings behind the glass. Those coverings help manage daylight while keeping the window treatments integrated with the openings.
In the dining area, the larger sliding door makes the pool and golf-course setting visible across a broader opening. Its trim follows the same design as the great-room windows.
The entry
Craftsmanship begins at the front door
The custom entry doors combine walnut-colored stain, an oiled wood finish, Flemish decorative glass, and flowing iron scrollwork. The designer developed the iron pattern, including a discreet personal initial within the design.
The homeowners liked the pattern enough to repeat it at the front gate. Inside, the foyer’s floor medallion, porcelain tile, and granite accents establish a more detailed arrival sequence.
The fireplace
Carved stone that suits the ceiling height
A carved stone mantel and overmantel replace the earlier fireplace surround. Their vertical scale makes better use of the room’s height and gives the seating area a more substantial focal point.
The manufacturer’s drawings helped the designer and homeowners review the size and proportions of the stone pieces before installation. That planning mattered because the fireplace needed to relate to the upper windows and chandelier.
A piano sits in the corner beside the fireplace. The updated surround gives that end of the room a more complete arrangement without changing its role as a place to gather.
Stairs and circulation
A more connected route through the house
The stairwell gained wood treads, a two-tone patterned runner, and updated sconces and stair lights. The designer, project manager, and installers coordinated the wood exposure and carpet placement around uneven tread widths and landing proportions.
New doors help the existing dumbwaiter enclosure read more like cabinetry, while retaining its function behind the doors. Paint connects it to the surrounding trim.
During construction, the homeowners also asked to widen a confined archway between the entry hall and main living area. Opening that transition improved circulation through the main floor.
A personal detail
Stained glass drawn from another room
A triangular foyer window presented a different opportunity. Rather than treating it as an overlooked opening, the designer developed a stained-glass pattern inspired by a decorative tile medallion in the homeowners’ primary bathroom.
The design was integrated into the window, with a related treatment for a half-round window in the bedroom. These details connect the interior work to choices the homeowners had already made elsewhere in the home.
Planning and construction
Coordinating the work across the main living spaces
The remodel brought several trades into the same areas. New openings, window and door trim, stonework, electrical changes, stairs, and painting needed to follow a coordinated sequence.
The existing engineered wood floors remained and were protected during construction. The homeowners temporarily relocated, with professional packing and storage arranged for their belongings while the interior work proceeded.
Gainey Ranch interior renovation
A more complete setting for the home’s best features
The finished remodel gives the great room a clearer architectural structure. Carved stone, painted trim, and coordinated fixtures define the interior, while the larger dining-room opening keeps the golf-course view central to the experience.
The foyer and stairs carry that attention to detail through the home’s main circulation spaces. The project received the 2016 NARI Contractor of the Year award in the Residential Interior Remodel Over $150,000 category.
Planning an interior remodel in Gainey Ranch or Scottsdale?
Consider how the rooms connect, where you want to direct attention, and which existing features you want to keep. Windows, doors, lighting, and trim can influence the result as much as a change to the floor plan.
Explore our whole-home remodeling services and design-build remodeling process. The Path to Remodeling Clarity™ helps organize your priorities before design and construction move forward.
Award-Winning Home Remodeling Services
Tell us what you love about your home and what you would like the interior to do better. We’ll begin with a conversation about your priorities and the possibilities for your remodel.