The sale of "Horizon West" on San Carlos & 11th in Carmel-by-the-Sea was especially memorable for me as both buyer and seller were repeat clients!  The house was a perfect match for the buyers.  The sellers had purchased the home in 1997 initially as a vacation home and gave it the name "Horizon West".  It turned into their primary home when they moved to Carmel from Chicago and ultimately it became a rental for them. I had just helped my buyers sell their vacation home in Pebble Beach and was now on the hunt for another one in Carmel-by-the-Sea. They wanted to be close to town and the home needed to be single level with limited stairs so their mother could visit and get around easily.

In 2013, the transaction was complete and the buyers embarked on a remodel covering every detail of this 1293sf home. Originally built in 1974, the new owners wanted to transform the dated beach cottage with a northern European flair. They were particularly inspired by Swedish and Dutch style cottages. And within a year's time, they did just that.

Since the owners lived abroad, they wanted to hire reliable and good quality contractors and vendors that would require little or no supervision. A local friend recommended John Seltzer of Seltzer Flooring in Salinas, and through him they met contractor Marty Swanston of Medalist Construction, also in Salinas. The owners had a clear idea of what they wanted, including the tiles for the fireplace and the bathroom, the custom wood floors, the kitchen's overall design and the stone pavement outside. Marty was instrumental in carrying out the owners wishes, improving upon them and solving problems as they came along.

On the exterior, they took down the old leaning fence and replaced it with a new brick wall, although due to city restrictions they weren't able to build the wall to the same height. They removed the wooden decking, which was badly damaged with dry rot and replaced it with a sandstone patio and matching pathway. The owners were particularly happy with their stonemasons, Vultaggio and Sons of Salinas, who were also in charge of the brick wall.

They replaced the front gate and put in all new landscaping with the help of Doris Mitchell of Better Gardens Landscaping in Salinas. They removed a couple of old Mayten trees and replaced them with a ginkgo and a small maple tree; camellias, hydrangeas, euonymus, privets, boxwoods and hollies were placed next to the brick wall to provide screening and structure to the garden.

On the interior, they replaced all of the aluminum windows and installed new wood windows through Coast Counties Glass of Monterey. A centerpiece of the remodeled interior is the dark stained custom hickory wood floor from Seltzer Flooring of Salinas; it was installed everywhere, except in the bathrooms and the laundry room.

The owners also ordered custom-made tiles from The Tile Studio in Seaside for the fireplace and the kitchen that imitate 18^th century Dutch tiles. These pieces are handmade at a factory in Southern California, and give the house its Northern European feel. They complemented the detail and color of these tiles with new sky blue custom cabinetry in the kitchen, white quartz countertops and new stainless appliances.

As in all remodels, there are good and bad surprises. The house has good bones, and very little was done on the outside, except for paint and some new windows. However, large portions of the house lacked insulation, and this had to be installed in most floors and walls, and in some ceilings as well. All communication with the contractor concerning these and other matters was via phone or e-mail, and all situations and decisions were swiftly dealt with.

Their contractor Marty installed new doors throughout the house and custom white shutters in the two bedrooms. The dated bathrooms are now crisp and clean with white Spanish subway tile from Adex and new white quartz countertops. For the finishing touch, they purchased, English cottage style furniture, mostly from Southern California's Bradshaw Kirchofer.

The remodel was complete in February of 2014, in less than six months. The owners were very happy with the results and few adjustments and changes had to be made afterwards. At that time, they also decided to make the home available as a vacation rental through Carmel Realty. It's been quite popular given its proximity to town and appealingly fresh finishes. Having a beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea pied-a-terre to visit throughout the year, but generating some income at the same time, is an ideal situation for the new owners.