Tux House Design Plans

Sharing the modern classic design plans for our 1945 charmer we’re turning into an AirBnB in Calgary Alberta. These mood boards are for the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and living room.

We’ve been working hard on the Tux House makeover and today I’m so excited to share the design plans with you! If you caught my last post- I shared the before photos of our charming 1945 home we’re calling ‘Tux House’ in Calgary that we’re turning into an AirBnB and shared a bit about our plans.

Since we were on such a tight timeline, we just put our heads down and did the work… and didn’t share along the way like I’d hoped to. I worked on the content but just didn’t have the capacity to post while we were working such long days on the spaces… 8 hours away from home! So now that we’ve wrapped up most of the major work I’m excited to start sharing that all with you. The first step in any remodel for us? Coming up with a design!

Today I’m sharing the design boards I created for the room makeovers over at the Tux House as we’ve dug in and spent some time in the spaces and sourcing products. These will be used to communicate my vision to our team (Shane, my dad, his wife and me! plus any contractors) and they will be used to help me make quicker decisions for the spaces since I don’t need to spend so much time trying to imagine what pieces will look like together.

UPDATE! TUX HOUSE IS DONE!

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I shared a YouTube Video last week sharing the whole process of planning this remodel along with these modern classic design plans so if you’re interested in the process and how I plan remodels- you can pop over and check out ‘how to plan a remodel’ on youtube. If you’re specifically interested in creating design boards, I also have a full video just about that- how to create design boards for your home makeover in Canva for free.

Let’s get started… I’m going to go room by room and share a before photo and then the design board I’ve created for the space. Hopefully as I chat about our plans that will give a bit more context! If you’d like to see more photos of each space in it’s ‘before’ state, click through to this post here.

*Some of the products featured in these boards were either provided for a future partnership (keep your eyes out on social!) or I’ve purchased and am linking with affiliate links which would give me a small commission if you purchase (at no cost to you). See all my policies here.

CLASSIC kitchen DESIGN PLANS

This room was totally overwhelming with all the red and orange and those cabinets were really yellowed. I actually think they probably started out cream but you really can’t tell from these listing photos. Those windows are almond, not white as the picture would have you believe! Above the stove and sink were the worst yellowed.

All the character was stripped out of this space in a remodel- no wood trim or doors and even the wood windows were removed. The goal here is to add some of that charm back in without replacing the cabinets ($$!).

To say that I’m obsessed with the checkerboard floors I’ve dreamed up for this space is an understatement. I’m so excited. The challenge here is that the floors don’t have a straight line transition to the flooring in the rest of the house. We needed to coordinate with the light oak flooring and the dark redish wood trim in the hallway so wood look was out of the question for me.

I love the look of tile but our budget for this space was really tight. I brought my dream for tile to my favourite flooring store and suggested that I’d be open to vinyl tile. Apparently they don’t make many vinyl tiles anymore- most vinyl has gone to wood look as that’s what’s most popular.

They suggested VCT tiles to me which I’d never heard of but it’s a very affordable, very durable flooring option and what is used in many commercial or retail buildings. I was skeptical but they brought out some samples and guys, they’re so pretty. I think they’re going to look amazing in the space! Plus, it’s glue down so I don’t need to worry about the multi day process of laying tile/grouting. This is great for our super compressed timeline.

I chose a simple black countertop from IKEA. It’s laminate and so affordable and the black fleck is really beautiful for the price point. I think it will balance the floor paired with a white wall. I’d love to do a white tile backsplash as well- keeping simple square shapes to avoid tooo much going on in this space (the checkerboard is already a bold pattern!).

I wanted to bring some colour back into the space, but with the windows, doors and cabinets I thought painting the walls would be very choppy so am going to paint the cabinets this beautiful blue! When we chose a subtle green for our own home kitchen cabinets I thought that was a huge risk, but it’s been 4 years and we’re still in love with it and I’ve realized painted cabinets are totally timeless too. The colour in the design board is a Benjamin Moore colour called Province Blue. It even sounds timeless ;)

We are going with basic stainless appliances for in here for cost but will make it a bit more fun with some brass hardware, lighting, and fixtures. Those pretty satin brass pulls are from Emtek and the light fixtures are both from Amazon (sconce / chandelier)- we’re mixing high and low for a budget friendly luxe look in here. The art is from Poster Store. I want to bring some wood tones in with some shelving and the table. I’m going to modernize the eating area with some black chairs- I haven’t found any I love second hand so was looking at these chairs from Wayfair.

Next up is the living room! This room has the original wood floors and window trim. We love that and the ceiling detail- there’s also arches into the hallway and entryway so we’d love to highlight that, you can see more of this space in the before photos.

Although I’m normally such a fan of painting main living areas white to keep things bright and welcoming, I have picked a warmer taupe colour- it’s called Collingwood from Benjamin Moore. It reminds me of the custom colour we mixed for our basement playroom makeover last year.

I would like to put down a neutral rug to add warmth to the space and found this one I’d been eying on Rugs USA on FB marketplace for a steal- I snapped it up so fast. We’ll replace the old, damaged blinds with some curtains on the large window and I’m thinking about adding privacy sticker to the smaller windows to allow light through without losing privacy.

Speaking of deals- we scored this Article sofa for a steal as well when we were in Vancouver in April. It was worth hauling it home then all the way to Calgary. I’ve had a blue wingback chair since… 2009? And we don’t have a great spot for it in our current home. It’s been in storage so we’re excited to give it a home in this living room. I really love it, I even sat in it for my maternity photos with the twins, haha!

The side tables are from IKEA, they’re a classic design and just such a great price for a set of two. We’ll add some plants of course and then some art above the fireplace. As much as I’d love to makeover the fireplace, it’s just not in our budget this year. Maybe next! The art is again from Poster Store. The brass lighting will help tie together the space with the kitchen. The star flush mount light and the classic reading lamp are both from Amazon.

I’ll be thrifting the rest of the furniture for the space. I’d love a hutch for under the TV and a rectangle coffee table. I’d also love a bench for the entry.

The bathroom is the biggest project… it’s almost a gut job! The shower currently leaks and the flooring around it (see the vent) is damaged. Once we pull that out, it makes sense to do the floor, shower and wall tile… but then it would be a shame to leave that vanity in too so pull it all out! We will of course keep that gorgeous clawfoot tub although I’d love to paint the discoloured bottom of the tub black.

I’m calling this home and these boards ‘modern classic design boards’ because I want to respect the classic design and feel of this home but modernize it with some new details and fixtures. This bathroom is definitely a blend of the two!

Since we’re on such a budget, a vanity was almost out of the question. We are going to find a craigslist dresser and turn it into a vanity instead! We’ve found the perfect tallboy dresser we will be cutting down for this. I can’t wait to show you how it turns out!

To keep with the classic feel in this home, we’re going with small hexagon tiles on the floor (just like the ones in our bathroom, except shiny since those were more budget friendly) and square tiles on the walls. I love square tiles in an offset brick pattern. They’re like subway tiles but with a more classic nod thanks to the square shape. We’ll use any extra tiles for the backsplash in the kitchen.

The black and white was feeling a little cold, so we will paint the top half of the room (above the tile) a muddy green colour, this one is called Creekside Green from Benjamin Moore.

We’ll carry the brass finishes from the kitchen into the bathroom with this simple vanity light and rain shower head. I’d love to do an open concept shower but without ripping out the subfloor, we need to have curb around the shower. I am excited to try incorporating this into the design.

I’m waiting to find some vintage art for this space. Even a cool wooden vintage frame would help add some of the charm back into here.

I always like to plan the permanent remodel pieces before planning the superficial. For this remodel that meant the kitchen and bathroom. The bedrooms and living room then played off of those. This is the bedroom that fits a king bed. The headboard wall is totally suited for a moulding wall, don’t you think?

Like most bedrooms I make over… I’d love to make this a cozy retreat by painting the walls dark. You can see my black bedroom, this green bedroom, and our old navy bedroom as examples of how inviting a dark walled bedroom is!

In this room we do need to keep a fan, but we’d like to update it to a more modern one.

For this room, I chose this brownish gray called Taos Taupe from Benjamin Moore. I think it will compliment both the wood tones in here nicely. I’d love to add a classic looking moulding wall in here just on the headboard wall to add some interest.

Some long white curtains and light bright bedding will help balance the dark walls. I’m wanting to stay away from even more wood tones in here so I found this affordable but beautiful bed from Walmart. I’ve added in a hanging planter and textured pillow for a bit of decor but I’ll also need to figure out some art. I’m thinking these watercolour pieces I have from my old bedroom in those pretty brass frames.

The second bedroom is a bit smaller and has two windows so we will probably flip the bed to have the windows unobstructed. Again, it has all the wood tones so we will steer clear of those as much as possible in furnishing it to give the space a bit more of a modern feel.

In this room we do need to keep a fan as well, but we’d like to update it to a more modern one.

I’ve chosen the most cozy looking deep green for this space. It’s called Forest Floor from Benjamin Moore and it’s perfect against all those wood tones! Again, we will brighten it up with some floor length white curtains and white bedding.

In here, we’re looking for a second hand black bed frame (queens are so much easier to find!) and will add some interest to the space with some fun art (from Poster Store) and of course… plants! I would also love to find a rug that works in this space but will have to see how far budget stretches… making over a full home on a set budget is definitely a game of math!

So… that’s the all of the modern classic design boards and our plans! What do you think? Is there one room you’re most excited about? I’m most excited about the kitchen… it’s full of bold choices and I’m looking forward to seeing it come together.

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