A One of a Kind Renovation for Two Deserving Educators

Sabina and Juan Rios have lived in their house for seven years. When they first bought it, every room was pink. In fact, they had to remove pink carpeting from NINE rooms! But after already putting in a substantial amount of work to their home, they called in Grace to help out with their kitchen and sunroom. With a budget of $75K and six weeks, Grace gave the Rios family a new GIANT kitchen, new outdoor space, and even surprised them with a new master bathroom!

Sabina and Juan Rios are both educators! Sabina works as an elementary school principal and Juan teaches foreign languages at a middle school. Inspired by their careers and Juan’s Mexican heritage, Grace wanted to communicate two themes throughout her design: roots and community.

The Rios’ home originally had a sunroom-type space on the second floor that family didn't really use.

The only thing Juan really wanted out of this renovation was a deck and Grace made his dreams come true! The new deck is 300 square feet and features gorgeous Mexican-inspired tile on the wall, as well as antique Mexican shutters. Grace also had a 3,500 spiral staircase brought in — creating easier access to the kitchen.

On the righthand side, you can see the blue Mexican-inspired tile Grace chose to pay tribute to Juan’s heritage. Besides a grill, the deck also offers seating, shade, and adorable bistro lighting.

Sabina and Juan’s original kitchen was closed off to the rest of the house and not great for entertaining. The Rios Family has entertained 30-40 people at a time and the original set up was not cutting it!

The new kitchen is not only way more open, but it’s also fit for the Rios’ large gatherings of friends and family. One really unique feature is the double islands. Not only does this provide more prep and storage space, but how about all of that seating!!

The original kitchen had a funky layout and was very boxed it. The island was far from functional and complicated moving through the space.

Grace was able to incorporate some great pantry space in the new open kitchen. She used yellow, green, and a bold floral wallpaper to remind Sabina and Juan of their trips to Mexico. Sabina specifically mentioned those two colors and the flora and fauna of Mexico which ultimately served as Grace's inspiration.

Another angle of the original kitchen with its funky layout.

It worked out that Sabina liked the color yellow because Grace thought it would be perfect for the island. With such a wide open space, a bold color was needed to create a focal point. AS for the green cabinetry in the back, Grace wanted it to be a nod to the fact that Juan and Sabina are teachers.

The homeowners rarely used their original dining room since it was so closed off from the rest of the house.

The new dining room features an elegant wallpaper on the ceiling and really fun light fixture. Not to mention, the dining room table can now seat even more people!

The master bathroom renovation was a surprise for Juan and Sabina! As mentioned earlier, when they originally purchased the home there was pink everywhere. They removed most of it from the house except for the master bathroom.

As educators, Juan and Sabina could definitely use a spa-like retreat in their home. Because they didn’t budget for a master bathroom renovation, Grace figured out a way to have 80% of the fixtures, tile, and labor donated!

Check out those pink marble counters on the vanity!

As you can see, there were no structural changes made to the bathroom. The layout was totally fine, but the pink had to go! She also incorporated gorgeous herringbone floors.

The original shower in the pink master bathroom.