Lizzie Cox’s clients knew they wanted to revitalize their comfortable river place … but not too much.
“The key theme throughout was to maintain the integrity of the old charm of the cottage,” says Cox, principal of Lizzie Cox Interiors in Richmond. “We wanted to update and refresh it without losing character.”
A fireplace naturally commands attention, whether it’s in use or not.
Often situated in the center of a room, a hearth conveys warmth and invites gathering. Most homeowners think carefully about what they place on and around the fireplace, hoping to set a tone or create atmosphere. Few consider how what surrounds the fireplace also matters.
Every time we make a paint selection for our homes, we have to select a paint sheen. So how do you know which one to choose?
Flip through current home design magazines, and you’ll likely see spaces that feature bright and glossy surface finishes. A front door, ceiling, or bookcase topped with a high gloss paint attracts attention and becomes the best kind of talking point, one that leaves visitors impressed and you happy with your investment.
Frank Cava, founder and principal of Cava Companies, a comprehensive real estate and property management firm, knew he needed H.J. Holtz & Son as the finishing touches were being added to his firm’s new headquarters.
“I didn’t want to pay to do it multiple times; I wanted to pay to do it once,” Cava says.
H.J. Holtz & Son paper hangers Shane Legano and James Draine went to the annual Wallcovering Installers Association convention in September knowing they would come away with helpful information.
“I asked questions for jobs I knew were coming up,” Draine says. “We usually know in advance when we have a big, specialty job coming. That [convention] is a good place to ask questions, because there are a lot of people there who are doing the same kind of work we do.”
H.J. Holtz & Son master painter Kenny Ebright approaches each job the same way: hearing from homeowners what they want, assessing the situation, and getting to work.
When the firm was called in by a repeat Holtz customer to help finish the transformation of a 12-foot-by-15-foot bedroom into a high gloss library, complete with floor-to-ceiling built-ins, Ebright knew he had his work cut out for him.
When Nick and Lee Ann bought their home in Richmond’s Fan district earlier this year, they knew it was solidly constructed but poorly finished.
“In my opinion, previous owners cheapened the house by failing to hire high-quality finishing contractors,” he says. “The bones of the house are pretty darn good, and the overall condition was good, but the house suffered for a number of years with poor paint jobs over poor paint jobs.”
Nick and Lee Ann were aware of H.J. Holtz & Son’s reputation, but they did their due diligence before calling the company for an estimate.
Scheduling and executing projects for H.J. Holtz & Son is a multi-step process that involves many people and, often, many changes.
“There are so many factors [at play],” says Production Manager Kelly Kutchey. “People get sick – both customers and staff – and weather can affect outdoor projects. We have spreadsheets for all our jobs, because everything relates; when something happens to delay one job, that affects others.
