Featured Project: Coast Restaurant Renovation
Featured Project: Why We Chose DaVinci Multi-Width Slate
Imagine taking off the second floor of your home. And then rebuilding it. For fun. That’s what we decided to do during the pandemic. During the past seven years, we’ve renovated every square inch of our 1930 English Cottage. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the project is almost done. A final step is adding a stately DaVinci Multi-Width Slate roof overhead in a Weathered Green color blend.
Why the Change?
“We wanted to add more space on the second floor while making period correct design choices,” says homeowner Christine Bridger. “Our vision is simple. We want to update the English Cottage with modern features and create a space that works for our family’s needs.
“We understand that our surroundings impact the way we feel, connect and host others in our home. We are very passionate about creating a cozy, inviting space.”
Why a Composite Slate Roof?
As the Bridgers considered options for their brick home’s roof, they discovered DaVinci products.
“We have a corner lot,” says Bridger, author of Company + Cottage website. “Many people recognize our home’s turret, gas light and red door. We wanted to add another level of charm by adding a beautiful slate roof that felt authentic to the English Cottage.
“The realistic detail of the DaVinci product, plus its lightweight nature, met our needs. It’s an affordable option to real slate and looks charming on the English Cottage. We get tons of compliments everyday on our faux slate roof from neighbors and friends.”
Why the Weathered Green Color?
Built more than 90 years ago, the English Cottage exterior boasts brick, stucco and trim. The blend of colors and products adds realism to the home. So, it makes sense to have a spectacular blend of colors --- Light and Dark Green, Green Stone, Dark Tan and Dark Stone --- topping the roof.
“We wanted a color for the roof that felt connected to the aged brick and stucco,” says Bridger. “Still, we need it to provide a unique stand-alone detail to this charming cottage. The deep tones of the Weathered Green blend to provide an understated punch of color to the house!”
Installed by Etruscan Guttering and Roofing, the composite slate product was also installed above the detached garage/office to complement the cottage.
Why DaVinci?
The “labor of love” renovation project will be fully complete for the Bridgers within just a few short months. Then they plan to relax. That includes forgetting maintenance work. After all, they’ve already put in seven years of “hard love labor” on the English Cottage.
“We’re ready to enjoy this special place,” says Bridger. “Many of the products we selected, like the DaVinci roofing, were chosen because they need little maintenance. The roof, in particular, is very durable. And, with a Lifetime Limited Materials Warranty, we don’t anticipate having any maintenance concerns in the future!”
Featured Project: Little White Barn Kitchen Appliance Tour
Monogram 48” Stove
We’ve only experienced cooking on a 36” stove and had no idea what we’ve been missing. Monogram’s 48” stove is not only beautifully designed, but the functionality and details are very thoughtful. We end up hosting a lot at The Little White Barn so it’s very nice to have a regular sized oven on the right and a smaller one on the left (that also serves as a warming area). We also take breakfast seriously around the Bridger house and at times end up using all six burners and the center skillet to serve up pancakes, bacon, veggies and eggs. You might think we’re opening a restaurant, but I assure you we are not. The feature I didn’t expect to use so often is the top shelf heat lamp. Perfect for all the times we can’t seem to wrangle the kids for meals.
With the help of our 48” Monogram stove equipped with a top shelf heat lamp and double oven feature, we can keep everything warm and tasting fresh.
Monogram Hearth Oven
We never thought we'd need so many cooking options in one kitchen until we experienced everything first-hand. We will be simultaneously baking homemade pizzas for the kids in the hearth oven while grilling up steak on the griddle. Then once the pizza is done, we throw in veggies into the hearth oven since it's already fired up to give them a wood-fire crisp. It's pretty addicting – we've even stopped using our microwave just to see how it handles less gourmet food like hot pockets and smores. To our surprise the hearth oven seems to make everything better.
Each Monogram hearth oven is handcrafted to capture the performance of a wood-fired brick oven and perfectly prepare Neapolitan-style pizzas, soft artisanal bread or a whole roasted branzino.
Monogram French-Door Refrigerator + Beverage Center
With all of the wonderful wineries and breweries around, our beverage center really comes in handy, especially given that our french-door refrigerator is always stocked full with fresh fruit and veggies from all the local farms in the area. We appreciate having the flexibility to arrange our fridge in different ways with the drop-down tray and quick space shelf.
The TwinChill™ evaporators separate climates in the fresh food and freezer sections help keep foods fresh and the LED lighting positioned throughout the interior and under fresh food doors spotlight foods inside the refrigerator and in the freezer