This couple renovated 11 houses. You learned the following

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When most people hear the word renovationThey break into a cold sweat and imagine endless delays, budget-busing surprises and paralysis. But for serial renovators Chris Mitchell and Pilar Guzmán, the authors of Patina modern: A guide to design warm, timeless interiorYour best -selling manifesto for creating warm, contemporary rooms, the sight of crumbling plaster and weathered floorboards triggers something completely different: excitement. After you have changed 10 properties, including an apartment in Chelsea, a stately Brooklyn Brownstone in Brooklyn and seven houses in Hamptons, now immerse yourself in your 11th project on Manhattan's Upper East Side, with the same infectious enthusiasm that marked your first renovation. Your characteristic approach combines clean modern lines with proven materials such as white oak, brass and bridal leather elements that become more beautiful with age and use. The rooms are free and yet warm, layered and yet clean, up -to -date and yet timeless.

What does this couple not only tolerate, but actually hug the controlled chaos of the historical house renovation? We consist with the Dynamic Demolition Duo to get your insights into everything, from the sensitive balance of the houses of the modernized time to the creative possibilities that are hidden in structural setbacks. It became clear that your secret weapon is not just specialist knowledge, but an unshakable enthusiasm for every phase of the transformation, from the first demo to the final styling.

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Elle Decor: What triggered her passion for the renovation first? Was it a specific project? Was that something you were always interested in?

Chris Mitchell: It was mostly out of financial necessity because we wanted a larger apartment than we could afford it, and we took place on a pre -war official in Chelsea. And then we had a lot more fun with the project than expected. This gave us the courage to accept our Brooklyn Brownstone and then a first small house in East Hampton and so on.

Ed: Many people find the renovation overwhelming and stressful. You obviously love it. What makes you different?

Pilar Guzmán: In addition to the obvious inconvenience and costs for a design or renovation project, the biggest challenge for most people is the biggest challenge for fatigue. Although we carefully weigh up the options, we are both very crucial, which progresses a large contribution to relocating a project. You cannot underestimate the domino effect of paralysis on a project if you sit too long about a decision.

Ed: How do you stay calm when you face unexpected challenges?

CM: This is one of our advice for others: you have to expect that there will be unpleasant surprises. Save the drama; Just deal with it and keep going. In contrast to life, in which problems require compromises, most design challenges can be made with a really elegant solution. We have found that the restrictions (are money or a building code requirement or an existing disease such as a structural beam) actually become your creative muses. Some of our so -called setbacks have led to some of our favorite moments in a house.

ED: Which renovation phase brings you the greatest satisfaction: the initial demolition, which with the center of problem solving or finishing?

CM: There is joy in every phase. Planning where you can channel your inner architect. Demo – there is almost nothing so satisfying than a project to the crossbar and after considering the possibilities of the room. Construction, especially if the spatial volume takes shape. Design – Find how choices made of stone, wood and color come together in real life. And decorate, from shopping for a perfect sideboard to the styling of the bookshelf.

Ed: What is the lesson you learned from all your renovation projects you knew at the start of the start?

PG: Not every original detail is worth saving. The time and work it takes to restore something old could exceed its special feature. We say this as people who lovingly brought four historical houses with a combination of restoration, relaxation and reinterpretation for modern life. Sometimes a newly made door or a closet is the better choice to hold on to the original too slavish.

Ed: How do you know when a house is “the one”? What potential do you see that others may miss?

PG: For us, historical houses (the details, proportions and craftsmanship) are what moves us. We are looking for abandoned gemstones that need a lot of work, and the full potential that motivates us during the sometimes long renovation hose runs. We send and try to see what it will be like when we live there.

Ed: What was your most challenging renovation and how has it changed your approach for future projects?

PG: Tap wood, but we had no nightmare projects. They all had the first for us whether they moved a house or work through some strict restrictions on building code. But that's the funny part. It made it clear to us that something is possible and we tend to push back quite hard when someone tells us that something cannot be done.

Ed: Many renovators talk about “renovation fatigue”. How can you keep your enthusiasm project after the project?

CM: We try to mimick them so that we can feel the itching when we start a new project. We have tested this a little in recent years because we fell in love with two houses in quick succession, and so we started the second project after the first. Even in this case, every house presented so unique stimuli that it felt like very different projects, although there are some stylistic overlaps in our approach.

Ed: How can you reconcile the character of a house by using modern updates?

PG: This is always a dance. As with most things, the trick is the balance. On the one hand, we have committed to what most enthusiasts of the Victorian architecture would consider as blasphemy: In our Brooklyn Brownstone we cut original cherry bars and fall in the middle of a formal rear salon, which was originally intended as a seat or music room. We have repeatedly opposed the temptation to lose walls to create great rooms. Instead, we often keep the separation between the volumes by creating open openings – sometimes great so that they get the best of both worlds. We believe that people tend to either be a little too slavish to enable architecture, or a little too cavalier if they modernize a historical space. The trick is a balance between awe and creative license.

Ed: What is your approach to budgeting and how do you deal with cost overruns?

CM: We copy every previous project, pulling element for line element, into the table of the latest. So that gives us a lot of comparisons when we appreciate. Without exception, we are still wrong, but our costs are usually directly related to the additional scope. So we get more if we pay more. We are also quite clear about the level of finish quality or materials we want, and we are on the market value of the property we work, of course, so it is what it is.

ED: What role does sustainability play in your renovation decisions?

PG: We are not approaching our projects with a certain green lens, but due to the rescue of old houses and saving the historical materials and details as possible, recycling/upcycling in an industry in which new builds spend enormous natural resources. We are also proud to really appreciate our materials – and to turn the remaining.

Ed: How has your renovation style developed over the years?

CM: In one word, it has become more feminine. We have always loved Danish design, but in recent times we were drawn by the 40s and the Italian styles of the 40s and 50s that have more curves, more or more decoration and more delicacy.

Ed: If you could give someone advice who wants to embark on a renovation, what would it be B?E?

Pg: Be brave. It will have scary moments. But in the end, if you trust your taste and are honest how you want to live, you will love your home in a way that is more personal and durable than just going to the vision of another.

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