North Star completely remodeled our 1973 Mediterranean-style house a few years ago. It wasn’t an enlargement, really, but a transformation. They eliminated the more formal, rectilinear grid of the house by taking out walls and arches, and they lightened and softened the colors of wood trim, walls, and ceilings. Now, rather than many separate rooms, we have a couple of large living spaces defined by the furniture we use in them, including a kitchen / family room and a living room.

We looked at one or two other builders besides North Star. But we knew them because they sell the Dura Supreme cabinets that our company manufactures, and we went with them because they had a good grasp of what we were trying to achieve and they were really personable. We already had an architect’s plans when North Star came in, but Reed Okerstrom at North Star drew up the kitchen, which we wanted to be the focal point of the house; Reed reconfigured the space, added an island, and achieved a drop-dead, timeless look.

Upstairs, North Star reconfigured the bedrooms so we had a master bedroom and bath, and a great dressing area. On the outside, they re-stuccoed the walls and took out the swirling kind of seventies trim.

The project came together quite fast, in five to six months, even though we had to move back into the house in the middle of the project. There were no problems with the work crew at all. They were fantastic — very professional and helpful, especially considering how we had to live here while they were working. They were really good to be around, and didn’t inconvenience us much or disrupt our privacy even though we were living where they were working.