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Gemmi Construction Located in Doylestown, John Gemmi and his wife, Elizabeth Dodson Gemmi, started the business in 1997. Gemmi Construction is a full service remodeling firm specializing in custom renovations and additions in Bucks County. An award-winning company, John Gemmi and his team are committed to the finest craftsmanship and design. “We are more about giving a client an experience as opposed to a project,” John explains. Gemmi Construction provides services from whole house renvo tions and additions to kitchen renovations, bathroom renovations, exteriors, lower levels, and aging-in-place spaces. He and his team work diligently to provide detailed construction schedules and timelines, so that their clients are informed every step of the way. “Knowing how a client intends to use the space helps us create a solution to enhance your home in an aesthetically pleasing manner,” John explains. “A good number of members of our team have been with the company for 15 or more years,” John adds, “so there is a loyalty there. We are like a family.” John has an established following in Bucks County and has great working relationships with the local architects and designers. “We help our clients make all their choices and selections,” John explains, “and my team of dedicated and skilled craftsmen will be there every step of the way, from start to finish.” Gemmi Construction is committed to exceeding customer's expectations. “If you are interested in having a high quality project executed in a timely manner, then Gemmi Construction is your answer,” John adds. For more information, call Gemmi Construction at 215-340-4600 or visit www.gemmiconstruction.com or send an email to info@gemmiconstruction.com.
by Beth S. Buxbaum
John and Amy Blakeley were living in Jamison, in a contemporary style home situated in a development, but wanted more living space and a quieter neighborhood. They wanted a home off the beaten path. The decision to start looking for a new home actually occurred eleven years ago. After finding a realtor they felt comfortable working with, they gave her a short list of what they wanted. “We spent a lot of thought and time discussing what we were looking for in our next home,” Amy adds. “We began looking in the spring,” Amy adds, “and looked at about a dozen homes.”
One of the first houses they saw was a Doylestown home, surrounded by towering trees that was situated on a private, secluded spot. “We loved the location, the street and the grounds,” says Amy. They both felt the house definitely had a homey feel. “There was a white picket fence and a deck. We liked the family feel and we loved the maturity of the property,” she adds. “We knew quickly that we liked where the house was situated,” John adds, “and could see the potential.”
The challenge was the interior. Lots of brass fixtures, dark woods, Colonial-style wall paper, and small closed-off rooms. Feeling confident about the house's potential, the put in a bid. With the decision to purchase the property, they had some very clear ideas of how they needed to change the living space.” The interior of the house was dark and the rooms were very compartmentalized,” John describes. Once they purchased the property there were many discussions and drawings to explore their options for opening up the interior living space.
When moving day came, Amy was tasked with the move. John was called away on business and could not be there. Amy and their two sons, George and John, then 6 and 10 years old, and their Airedale Terrier, Karma, moved into their new house. Once situated, Amy and John began discussing the first steps to making this house their new home. They knew immediately that there were some changes they could make right away and went through two rounds of cosmetic upgrades “We decluttered and simplified, painted walls, removed all the wall paper and de-brassed, getting rid of all the brass light fixtures,” John adds. Light and bright is more our style.” What still remained was all the dark wood trim and cabinetry, and small rooms. Moving forward with their desire to brighten and open up the rooms, two projects were next.
First, they converted a small home office into a calming Zen room. To accomplish this, they removed the floor-to-ceiling dark cabinets to lighten the space, re-painted and furnished it in a minimalistic style. Next was a second floor bathroom redo. “We gutted the bathroom, removed the Jacuzzi tub, rearranged the sink and vanity,” John continues. We replaced the tub with a steam shower, retiled and changed all the fixtures and fittings.” After completing these renovations, their thoughts turned to how they were going to handle the rest of the house. Adding to the need for more space, was Amy's parents joining them about seven years ago. “Now we have three generations living under one roof,” Amy adds, “and we definitely needed to expand.”
Reconfiguring the house, built in 1982, was a challenge. “The house was a dark wooden box and we wanted to open up the living space and bring light into the house,” John explains. How to accomplish that goal was the next step. Amy and John were confident that they could work with the existing floor plan to create their shared vision. In order to orchestrate an open, airy home with lots of light and an easy flow, some major architectural refinements needed to be done. “We had a clear vision, for years, of what we wanted,” John explains,” we lived and breathed it.” An essential factor in executing their vision was that they kept within the feel of the neighborhood and of Bucks County. John and Amy's approach was very minimalist and simple. Streamlining and opening the interior was their concept.
They embarked on this project about two years ago. Enlisting the professional assistance of local architect, Ralph Fey, and local interior designer, Celeste Callaghan, of Callaghan Interior Designs, the first draft of plans were drawn up. After meeting with several contractors, they were most impressed with Gemmi Construction. John Gemmi and his team came on-board. Together this team of Fey, Callaghan and Gemmi began finessing the plans, with input from Amy and John. With this collaborative approach the initial set of plans were put into place. “We were certain we were going to knock down some walls,” John adds, “but did not realize how many walls.” Working within an already existing structure is a challenge. Not only did they knock down walls, they basically changed the footprint of the first floor living space. Their initial focus was enlarging and opening up the kitchen, which snowballed into redefining a little more of the original house, mostly to achieve the look and feel they envisioned.
“Initially, we had a difficult time explaining how open we wanted the house to be,” John remarks, “and the team was continuously qualifying that we wanted the degree of openness we described.” The first year of this two-year project was spent drawing and re-drawing the plans. “It was all concept and planning,” says John, “we had to make sure we had all the pieces in place.” John explains. “Once they all agreed on the vision, working together was easy and they made decisions quickly. “With our shared vision, and the expertise and creativity of our team, we brought the project to life,” John continues.
Balancing the traditional elements of the existing floor plan with the more contemporary and opened concept was the goal. “For this major residential renovation, it was important to integrate contemporary materials, with the original traditional elements, so that the two styles complement one another,” explains John Gemmi. Amy and John wanted a contemporary feel, with lots of glass and flowing space. As they began this project to create a larger, more functional kitchen space, the plans continued to expand. Structurally, the challenge was to integrate the old and new spaces. John Gemmi explains, “We needed to create a seamless transition while opening walls and not disturbing the infrastructure of the existing rooms. We worked on a steel infrastructure inside the walls so that we did not compromise the other rooms and disturb the spaces above.”
John describes the original kitchen as square with one window. “The existing kitchen was cramped, so one of our first goals was to open up the floor plan into one continuous space,” adds Gemmi. “The kitchen renovation was the heart of the transformation,” John remarks. We were looking for clean, open modern space,” he adds, “we didn't want our kitchen to look like a kitchen.” To expand the kitchen, additional space was incorporated into the floor plan from space that was a deck. This section of the renovation was an addition to create a new eating area. A “glass” wall was designed with a Nano door, one that is all glass and folds into one corner. Now the eating area opens out to the back patio, bringing the outside in, one feature that was at the top of their list. Continuing with the theme of lightening, wide plank white oak floors were installed. “Once this flooring was in place, we realized that we wanted to change the floors in the rest of the first floor rooms,” John adds. A continuity of materials and color tones added to the flow.
With the establishment of this addition and the expansion and creation of the kitchen, the flow of the rooms shifted significantly. Additionally, a wall was removed from the existing family room to continue to establish the airy movement. Now, the newly created eating area and kitchen space flowed naturally into the family room. The existing family room had high ceilings, skylights and tall Palladium windows. All these original structural elements blended well to continue that the open feel. “We wanted to achieve the goal of allowing communication with adjacent areas,” Gemmi continues. Amy came up with an ingenious design element to separate the spaces and add privacy. A custom sliding barn door was designed and finished in a paint color close to the tones of the white oak floors and wall color. “Using this color tone allowed the doors to blend in and disappear and not be overbearing in the space,” John explains. Gemmi explains that these large barn doors allow for adaptability, as they can be closed off when desired or remain open to allow for open spaces when entertaining.
Transforming the kitchen space also involved a series of structural changes to the original area, to expand the footprint. A huge center island, custom designed in grey quartz and walnut, fills the kitchen. Simple white counters and low cabinets, all customized to fit the space, were added. John and Amy agreed they did not want any wall cabinets. “We didn't want any disruption of lines or space,” John adds. All storage of pots, pans, utensils, glassware, plates and spices is accommodated with large drawers in the lower cabinets. A point of interest was created with the addition of a reclaimed wood beam around the stove. As Gemmi explains, “Two hundred year-old barn beams, quartz countertops and European inspired cabinetry brought everything together for a creative blend of old meets new.”
It was that blending of old and new that masterfully redefined this home. In line with the structural blending was the choice of textures, color palettes and fine details that added the finishing touches to the renovation.
From dark and closed in to light and airy, they transformed the feel of their interior living space. Clean lines, neutral tones and lots of windows accent Amy and John Blakeley's home. One vision became their reality and enhanced their lifestyle. With their huge family and lots of entertaining, this renovation added a new dimension to their lives.
Beth S. Buxbaum is a freelance writer from the Philadelphia area.