About Your Home Design Challenge

Talk about inspiration.

The three winning rooms in the first About Your Home Design Challenge provide plenty of it.

This summer, About magazine invited amateur and professional interior designers to show off their best room redesign — complete with before and after photos.

The entries were scored by a panel of judges on functionality (30%), originality (30%) and visual appeal (40%).

Tim and Denise McDannold of Plain Township took top honors in the Challenge, and will take home a $250 cash prize.

The McDannold’s stripped their Plain Township home down to the studs and rebuilt their dream Tuscan kitchen from scratch, spending countless hours driving to Cleveland and Amish Country to find exactly what they wanted.

The couple’s newly-renovated powder room received an honorable mention in the contest.

Also receiving an honorable mention is a kitchen remodel orchestrated by Vicki Flickinger of Flickinger Interiors. Using the fixtures already present in the home, Flickinger created a more functional — and beautiful — space for her North Canton client.

A small home improvement project that escalated into a two-year major renovation is the winner of About magazine’s first Design Challenge.

When Tim and Denise McDannold of Plain Township decided they needed a bigger home for their family of five, they investigated all avenues — from finding that perfect new home to building one from scratch.

A year after their search began, they ended up right down the street in their Wellington Hills allotment with a house they really liked, but didn’t quite love.

“We loved the allotment, the area and the concept of the house,” Tim explained, noting the larger lots than what is typical.

Built in 1994, the home was tastefully decorated in what was pretty typical ’90s tradition — deep colors, wallpaper border, and an average-size kitchen with an island.

While every room in the home got a face-lift, the kitchen was the McDannolds’ biggest project.

The couple thought, initially, a “little bump-out” would be all that was needed to get the extra space in the soon-to-be Tuscan kitchen.

“Remodeling is harder than building new,” Tim said. “You’re confined by the space.”

After many plans and much research, they decided their family would be better served by a full addition rather than the little bump-out.

Tim, vice president and treasurer at Diebold, did a lot of research for the addition and spent countless hours with Denise picking out each detail.

The new kitchen is a baker’s paradise and entertainer’s dream, a combined effort of several professional craftsmen, including Mullet Cabinet in Millersburg, Stoneworks in Cleveland, and Greg Kauth Custom Builders in North Canton.

The couple remained in their old house during the entire renovation project, which added nearly 400 square feet to the rear of the house, expanding the kitchen and adding a hearth room with a huge picture window and a vaulted ceiling.

Two center islands — both with storage, seating and sinks — feature custom cabinetry, new Delta magnetic faucets and granite counters. The large wooden columns on the main island actually hide the home’s support beams.

The double drawer dishwasher, also inside one of the islands, is a relatively new item that allows the family to run small loads in one drawer when necessary.

Denise, who works at the Eagle’s Nest Cafe as a barrista, said she bakes about 1,500 cookies at Christmas. Her two KitchenAid ovens will make that endeavor a bit easier this year. Another benefit of the second island, she said, is more space for icing those cookies.

Her favorite detail, however, is a white hutch she had built by Mullet Cabinets. It contains precious pieces once owned by her mother who passed away last year.

The kitchen and hearth floor is made of pure stone and took three months to install. It is as perfect as it gets.

The couple chose a lovely muted grey-blue for the walls. Their interior decorator, Diane Uebel with Andreas Furniture, found striped furniture, draperies and artwork to match.

Tim said the kitchen project became their hobby, as it snowballed into more and more changes inspired by the initial remodel.

“For example, once we did the addition we realized we could not purchase the same siding and shingles, as they were discontinued. So, we replaced them both for the entire house,” Tim said. “It was so much work beyond what you would think.

“As the kitchen started to evolve, the rest of the house looked a little shabby, as it also need updated,” he continued. “So we decided to remodel the adjoining rooms, including the powder room.”

That small guest bathroom just past the foyer received honorable mention in the Design Challenge (see next page).

The family was able to finally move into their home last summer, just in time to have 150 people come for a graduation party.

They are now enjoying their new home with a sense of satisfaction at having added their own touch to every space.

Runner-Up: The McDannold's half-bath:

Tim and Denise McDannold’s foyer powder room in their Wellington Hills home received an honorable mention in the About Your Home Design Challenge.

The before picture shows a pretty basic half bathroom in a color of green the couple did not prefer.

Their goal, they said, was to transform the space into a Tuscan-style one.

When they saw the stone sink displayed on a metal stand at Stoneworks in Cleveland, Tim said, “It inspired us. We never saw a sink like this.”

They had a stand built for it at Mullet Cabinets.

The wall, countertop and floor are all stone from Stoneworks as well.

The unique chandelier was found on the Internet.

Now, the smallest room in their home is one of their favorites.

Runner-up: Vicki Flickinger

Vicki Flickinger of Flickinger Interiors had her work cut out for her with this North Canton project, a dated kitchen with limited storage.

“The owners called me in because they were having issues with how the kitchen was functioning,” Flickinger said. “We organized it better so it functions better.”

Flickinger said the homeowners loved a black and white scheme for the room, and she pulled in red and gold toile fabric accents to balance out the color.

She also removed the former desk area to create additional counterspace and storage, as well as removed a beam from the ceiling and a gallery rail.

“Color really pulled the space together,” Flickinger said, estimating they spent about 10 weeks on the project. “Crystal hardware bring in a nice shine.”

Before

After