The property you see on these pages looks gorgeous now. But about a decade ago, it was in need of a remodel. “This was home was very boxy. It was dated. It was something you wouldn’t really be proud of. It was kind of a mess,” says homeowner, Tim Puchley, in a YouTube video posted on Steg Custom Homes’ channel. “We were able to turn this dark and dungeon-ey home into a wonderful, spacious, bright, comfortable, flowing home that we’re so proud to own.”
The home’s great room, which opens to the outdoor patio.
“We just took what we had inside the home and made it more usable, made it more functional,” says Jim Steg, owner of Steg Custom Homes. “It was really dysfunctional inside the house.” When we asked what he meant by that, he explained that the home felt disjointed. “Every room was kind of broken apart,” he says. “What we did was we expanded.” The best example of that was the home’s primary living area that’s just a few steps past the front door. Before, the home featured a few rooms in front of you. Those were taken down and made into one large living area. “Nothing flowed in the home,” says Jim. The home was remodeled extensively to give it more of a contemporary feel. Many of the interior finishes were from the early 1980s. The kitchen cabinets were also dated. The home was transformed from a three-bedroom and a threeand-a-half bath home to a five-bedroom and four-bathroom home sometime in 2015. The remodel was completed in about seven months. “We basically tore up the whole home,” says Jim. “It was a total transformation. It was crazy the way it turned out.” Architect Nick Tsontakis had clients named Tim and Terry Puchley, who were looking to remodel. The pair sent plans to a few different builders, and Nick asked Jim if he wanted to do an extensive remodel on the property. Jim said, “yes,” and the results are what you see in the photos.
The living room of the home.
The Home’s Great Room
The home’s main room – which houses what is now the dining room, kitchen and living area – was essentially entirely gutted. The team tore down a bunch of walls and replaced the wood front door with an impressive four-foot-wide and eight-foot-tall pivot door. Hemlock was installed on the ceiling to give the home a contemporary look. You might recognize this wood; hemlock is typically used to build saunas. The kitchen, with its gleaming appliances like the double ovens and a massive island, is another standout. The team installed an impressive steel vent hood too. Old wood cabinets were replaced with modern white ones.
Another view of the space.
“The kitchen was very small in the beginning. We took the kitchen and completely gutted it and restructured just like we did with every other room in the house. We restructured it so it would be more inviting, and it had more space,” says Jim. See the island? Notice the carefully placed down lighting that illuminates the floor underneath. “Right next to the island, to the right, is a row of cabinets, there was a secret door that we put in there. It looked like a cabinet face from the floor to eight feet, but if you touch that panel, the door would open up, and there was a hidden pantry behind it. So there wasn’t a door to the pantry. There was just a cabinet face. That was pretty cool.”
The home’s dining room that was outfitted with a glass wine cellar.
The pantry behind the “hidden” door made to look like a regular row of cabinets was spacious and measured in at 15 feet long by 10 feet wide. The dining room was surrounded by columns to give it an enclosed yet open feel. The team installed different windows and a new floor. The space was also enlarged too. The dining room’s crown jewel was a glass wine cellar. “That wine cellar, that’s the whole theme of that dining room,” he says.
The Powder Room
A pantry in the kitchen was converted into a powder room to add to the home’s resale value. The bathroom featured blue tiles on the walls and dark blue cabinets to complement them. A large mirror outfitted with vertical lighting strips was installed above the bathroom sink. Blue is the accent color not just in the powder room, but in the main living area too. The owners “just wanted to have something that would pop and stand out. They did in a couple of the bathrooms, and they did it on the island, and it definitely stood out,” he says. “Not a whole lot of people will like that blue. But I tell you what, it looked absolutely amazing in there.”
The home’s pool and outdoor patio, which was part of the renovation and built by Steg Custom Homes.
The Pool & Backyard
Jim put the home’s pool in and also did the backyard’s landscaping. Jim installed a 30-foot-wide by 10-foot-long sliding glass door to really show off the impressive views of Camelback Mountain. Synthetic grass and shrubs were also installed. A fire pit was also added to the backyard. Stucco columns were removed. Custom steel columns were also added. According to Jim, those steel columns are one of the architect’s signature products.
The home’s pool and great room.
The home featured an existing pool that was what Jim described as a free form style from the ‘80s. That pool was replaced with a modern looking pool with no decking around it. The new pool is also level with the grass. “They wanted something low and sleek and in a rectangle,” says Jim. “We put in some different colored lights out there and positioned the pool so when you walked in again, you’re looking at Camelback Mountain. It’s beautiful.”
The home’s main bedroom. New sliders were installed in the space, making it brighter and more open than before.
The Main Bedroom
The home’s main bedroom and bathroom were both also rearranged. A different entry was added to the bedroom. A wall was closed off, too. New sliders that opened to the outside were installed. The sliders face Camelback Mountain. The massive doors were installed to give the area an indoor/outdoor feel. The new bedroom features the aforementioned hemlock wood on the ceiling and is much brighter than the older bedroom.
The home’s main bedroom. Hemlock wood was also used on the ceiling.
The home’s primary bathroom was also transformed. “We restructured the whole bathroom,” says Jim. “They just wanted to upgrade something a little bit nicer than what they had. They just took it to the next level.” Jim and his team put in an expansive three-person steam shower that the owner wanted. A massive standalone soaking tub was also installed. If you look closely, you’ll see the spout came up out of the ground – a detail the team had to get creative with to make it work within the space. A larger closet was also added to the bathroom. The team also added new windows featuring views of Camelback Mountain. The wood on the ceiling of the bathroom is also the same wood used in the great room to give the home some continuity. “We wanted to bring a little character to the ceiling,” says Jim. “We lifted up the ceiling fairly high, and then when you walk in, you see all that wood through the front door.”
Just how happy was homeowner Tim Puchley with the remodel? After seeing how fast and efficiently Jim worked on the property, he ultimately went into business with him. Jim was buying and flipping houses, and Tim wanted to learn that business. The pair went into business together flipping homes. “That rarely happens in the construction world. He was so impressed with what we did and how we transformed his house,” says Jim.
The business shut down after Tim moved to New York, but the pair still keep in touch. The owner’s wife was out of town on business while the home was being remodeled and didn’t see the property until the remodel was finished. “She didn’t see it until we were finished. I still have a video of her walking in. She was absolutely floored. She was crying because it looked so beautiful compared to what it was,” he says. “It is a beautiful house. I must say, it’s quite gorgeous.”
Seeing a project that starts out as an idea brought to life is always rewarding, and it certainly was for Jim. “It was really cool to see the initial project and to see where it actually finished up,” says Jim. “I felt very proud of it. Even still today, I feel very proud of it, because it just went so great.” The project was unique in so many ways. “Just from where it started to where it ended up, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that attractive of a transformation ever in any home that I’ve ever done,” he says. “Just the team, the architect, the interior designer, and then my team, working together. It was a total success.”
