Newly Redesigned Southern Cottage Lafayette Home

The new kitchen features added windows, wooden beams and blue cabinets. J Design Interiors created custom drapery and sourced the Visual Comfort lighting.

When it came time to remodel their home to accommodate a growing family, a local Lafayette couple turned to Justine Hebert, owner and principal interior designer at J Design Interiors. “The wife grew up in this home, so [she had] personal ties to this project,” Hebert says. “The wife was pregnant [with] their third child during the project. The goal was to manipulate the home to better fit the clients’ needs, while maintaining the charm — my favorite challenge.”

Part of the four bedroom home’s existing allure included all antique interior doors, pine floors and wooden beams. “I became involved during the middle of framing for the [1,140-square-foot] addition,” Hebert says. “Demolition had not yet started on the renovation portion. The addition included a primary suite with small office space. The renovation entailed switching the kitchen with the dining space so that the kitchen could grow and also have more access to natural light.”

Hebert worked with the architect, Nic Bourque, and Mark Laborde Builders, to keep the beam placement consistent in the ceilings, and to match all trim and plaster texture for the ceilings and walls. “The original walls in the home have a heavy plaster-like paint application,” Hebert says. “The texture was matched in the renovation portion of the home.” She also chose ceiling lights without trimmed cans so the ceilings look undisturbed. Hebert and the team kept the original brick flooring and patched it where necessary. Meanwhile, the addition required antique pine flooring, which the team matched to the original flooring as best as possible.

A coffee bar is hidden in the cabinet next to the pantry. The original brick flooring was kept in place and patched where necessary.

“The biggest challenge was the timeline, since the project was under construction,” Hebert says. “This was especially hard since we were sourcing antique doors and beams to keep the architecture consistent. The clients understood the importance of decision-making in a timely manner. That helped to progress the project tremendously.”

In addition to selecting finishes, fixtures, hardware and furniture, Hebert was in charge of space planning, drafting all interior elevations and designing cabinet layouts. “All cabinetry, the front entry door, the window treatments and tile patterns were custom,” Hebert says. “The [homeowners] also had purchased an antique enfilade to be converted into a lavatory prior to me becoming involved. I designed a marble checkered floor to bring in whites as well as caramels to tie in the antique piece. The flooring also created a nice backdrop for the bathtub space.”

J Design Interiors sourced the accessories for a sitting area off the dining room.

The overall color palette in the home, which previously featured a blend of yellow-toned neutrals and tans, now has a lighter feel, thanks to colors from Benjamin Moore’s Williamsburg collection. “I wanted to modernize the colors slightly, hence why I stayed in the cream family,” Hebert says. “We brought in accent colors in cabinets: The kitchen, laundry and study have classic blues and greens.”

In the kitchen, which includes a range incorporated into an island, Hebert chose a Wolf hood without trim in order to minimize the hood dividing the kitchen and blocking window views. “It helped to keep the aesthetic of the kitchen clean, while still functioning properly,” she says.

And in the laundry room, Hebert included painted tiles that were once the countertop of the original kitchen island. “I used the tiles as the backsplash, and as my inspiration for the color palette,” she says. “I love when I get to use materials that tell a story.”