Draper Home Renovation by LeeAnn Baker

Patience pays off for homeowners Mark and Amy Hiatt as they enlist designer LeeAnn Baker to help transform their Draper home’s decor from heavy to heavenly.

“Patience is the best remedy for every trouble,” wrote the ancient playwright Plautus. Mark and Amy Hiatt, owners of a charming bungalow in Draper, put this claim to the test as they endured their home’s dark decor, awkward floor plan and makeshift furnishings. They were waiting for the right moment for a full remodel instead of taking a piecemeal approach. When the time finally came, they reached out to designer LeeAnn Baker and embarked on the remodel of their family home.

“They wanted to make the house their own and make it lighter and brighter,” Baker says. The home had its challenges: A flawed floorplan made the living and dining rooms accessible only through the entry, isolating them from the great room’s kitchen and family room areas. To remedy this, the team pulled the kitchen’s back wall five feet into the room, making space behind for a pass-through butler’s pantry connecting to the dining room. The change also formed a new closet and storage pantry. “This made the kitchen smaller, but we were smart about how we made everything fit,” Baker explains. That ingenuity meant ditching a cumbersome corner pantry and bulky U-shaped island. “Amy is very good at keeping only what she uses in her kitchen, eliminating a need to have cabinetry for things they don’t really use,” Baker explains. 

In the adjoining family room, Baker worked with the existing built-ins and fireplace as she transformed the family’s favorite gathering space. The original mantle was too high to accommodate a wall-hung TV above it, so Baker shortened the newly refinished feature to make room for a new Samsung Frame TV above. The designer also reworked the built-in glass cabinet doors to better complement those in the nearby kitchen. 

A fresh new color palette banished any sense of dark or heavy, giving the weighty craftsman-style decor a light-filled transitional style. That meant out with the dark wood floors and cherry cabinetry. In their place, Baker introduced light-toned oak floors and white-painted cabinets. She also repositioned some windows to better capture natural light and golf-course views. 

To ensure that the updated decor feels unified, Baker wove a thread of details and design elements that carry throughout, using fresh furnishings, finishes and materials to create comforting cohesion. New transitional light fixtures illuminate the interior, replacing old vintage versions throughout. In the living and dining rooms, classic white-painted wainscotting and lux wallcoverings elevate the decors. Shots of lively color—primarily blue— are captured with art, furnishings, fabrics and wallpapers, rousing the home throughout. “The changes we made feel true to the original style of the home, while giving a lighter, more energetic feel to the spaces,” Baker says. 

Each room now exudes charm and character that speaks to the personal style and patience the owners exercised. Their home, once a collection of challenges, has become a testament to the belief that all good things come to those who wait.