“Unlike many of the homes we work on, this home is a historical restoration and a really unique project to be a part of.” —Eddie San Juan
E. F. San Juan is proud to have been a part of this piece of history. This Panama City residence is over 100 years old, and its owners hold a personal and special place in the heart of the E. F. San Juan family. While the home’s interior all looks like it came from a magazine, the remodeled kitchen is the focal point with a lot of wow factor. E. F. San Juan was able to keep a lot of the original accented features of the home while bringing a modern look to the space with the custom cabinetry and kitchen island, along with accompanying trim. The room now has modern accessibility and amenities for today’s needs. Our team created custom cabinetry for bathrooms and other spaces throughout the home, as well as an impact-rated solid wood front door. The home’s natural lighting is some of the best we’ve seen, and that was accomplished by adding more than 20 new windows from our partners at Weather Shield.
CHALLENGES
Working on a 100-year-old home is a challenge, but also an immense privilege. It’s a delicate balance of ensuring preservation in some areas while implementing craftsmanship that makes way for the new and modern designs. The look needed to be timeless. Every floorboard, piece of trim, and room holds countless stories and memories. The goal is to maintain the home’s overall integrity and safety while making the aesthetic updates the homeowner desires. Some challenges included incorporating the original 10-foot wooden dining table from the kitchen, bringing in more natural light, accenting and taking advantage of the bayfront views, and the incredible centuries-old oak trees surrounding the home.
SOLUTIONS
The Solution for preserving the dining table, which was too large to keep in the updated kitchen, was to ultimately cut the table in half, but keep two of the legs as focal points built into the new kitchen island, while also keeping a large portion of the original table in the laundry area as a workstation. Adding over 20 windows was a challenge on a home this age, but the extensive work required was well worth the new views, natural light, and beauty they afforded. E. F. San Juan worked carefully with ReliantSouth to integrate the new windows into the renovation. The need for impact-rated windows in a coastal environment like this bayfront home near the Gulf made Weather Shield an excellent choice, and our trusted partners there were able to manufacture windows to perfectly blend beauty and safety, accenting the exceptional location and views for this incredible historic residence.
