Courtesy of Houzz
After the renovation
Houzz, the renovation and design platform, recently stopped in St. Louis to document its video series “My Houzz,” which follows a public figure during the renovation of a family member's home.
For the series’ third episode, award-winning actress Jenna Fischer from NBC’s The Office joined forces with designer Jenny Rausch of St. Louis-based Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath, to transform the home of Fischer’s sister, Emily.
AH: How did you and Houzz make the connection?
Jenny Rausch: Jenna found Karr Bick on Houzz. She could see immediately from the reviews on our profile that people not only love our work but also love working with us.
AH: Tell us a little bit about the house itself.
J.R.: Emily lives in a typical St. Louis-style brick ranch built in the 1950s. The house, located in Ballwin, was designed and built by her grandfather and her dad grew up there from the time he was 10 years old. The space we re-designed was about 590 square feet and included the kitchen, the dining room, and living room.
AH: Talk to us about the scope of the remodel. Did Jenna give you direction?
J.R.: The rooms were outdated and closed off and our biggest challenge was the stairs. We wanted to open up the rooms to each other so that the family could have really good site lines from the kitchen to the eating and living spaces, but the basement stairs were in the way. I had to figure out how to open it up and make the stairs still look right because moving them was not an option. We worked with City Lights Design + Build to come up with a creative solution. They installed a beam to carry the load on one of the kitchen walls and built panel molding on the half-walls to make the remaining section of the walls appear more decorative. Jenna and Emily’s dad was there, ever vigilant, making sure we were taking care of things. He is an engineer so he liked following us with his handy pocket level. He was happy and trusted us, and for that I felt like I had won big!
Courtesy of Houzz
Before the renovation
AH: What were your design goals?
J.R.: From our first design meeting, Jenna told us that Emily loves the beach and the ocean and wanted to bring that idea into the house. I chose colors and textures that reminded me of water and sand but not so over the top that [the design] didn’t belong in St. Louis. Jenna and I collaborated via a Houzz ideabook. Each time one of us found a picture that we thought captured the right mood, we added it. Jenna was in California, and we were remodeling a home in St. Louis, so this process made the West Coast/Midwest communication much easier.
AH: What were some of your biggest challenges?
J.R.: We had a few design dilemmas. For starters, the home is full of family history and that made it difficult to approach the idea of changing it. The fireplace is a central design feature, and we used Houzz’ “Advice” section to gather feedback about designing around it. We posed the question, "To put the TV above the fireplace or not” to the Houzz community and (thankfully) they voted that the TV does not need to go above the fireplace; it can be placed in a bookcase next to it instead. That made it easier for me to get the family on board.
AH: Tell us about the renovations.
J.R.: We replaced the windows and updated the moldings around the windows and doors. There wasn’t a terrible amount of architectural detail before, and to me [adding] that really gives the space charm and comfort. We kept the original hardwood floors, but updated the color of the stain to a warm brown/gray. I switched out the exterior doors and added glass to bring in light. I also got rid of a lot of decorative frogs!
AH: What were the logistics of keeping the renovation a surprise. How difficult was it?
J.R.: It was a complete surprise. The family walked away with a house fully intact only to return 8 weeks later to a fully renovated and decorated home. I can only imagine what that must feel like. Being there for the reveal was pretty emotional. When I heard Jenna walk Emily through the front door I sat in the stairwell and sobbed. I will never forget it. Emily kept saying: “Is this really my house?”
