This vacation home in the idyllic community of Tuxedo Park, NY was not realizing its full potential. When its new owner purchased it only half of the home had been fully renovated. There were living quarters with a dated kitchen to one side of the house’s grand entry but on the other side, what was once a high-ceilinged stable, only housed a small weight room and the ceiling had not been insulated.
The owner envisioned a basketball court beneath those high rafters as well as a separate fitness room and hot tub-sauna room with an indoor pool. We framed out the rooms, sheetrocked and painted 30-foot ceilings, installed heated real wood flooring, and extensive custom woodworking built around the hot tub and lap pool. Large custom-made doors and all-new wood trim give the space the grandeur it deserves.
The homeowner decided the living quarters should match the splendor of the family’s new recreation space. We opened up and fully renovated the kitchen area, as well as the bathrooms, and installed all new lighting, flooring, and fresh paint throughout.
This full home renovation is very special to us not only because it was our first, but because we were able to step in and help a distressed homeowner. Her previous contractor had taken a large upfront payment but work stalled after demolition. It was a high-stress situation but there is great pride in knowing that we brought that home back to life and it’s built well. All new plumbing, electric, insulation, flooring, sheetrock, rebuilt stairs, window installation, siding repair, complete interior & exterior paint, back porch build, and a custom-built front entry. This house is now a little gem on the block.
For this kitchen, the homeowner dreamed of having whitewashed shiplap and “exposed” brick walls. Instead of covering up these features with upper cabinets, they chose to simply accompany two walls of lower cabinets with a traditional kitchen hutch cupboard, and a custom wood oven vent all built on-site by Custom Built Carpentry.
In lieu of a traditional center island, we created an expansive farm table to be the centerpiece of their kitchen. Bespoke wide plank wood floors and a dark wood ceiling beam completed the feel of this farmhouse kitchen.
Building a complimentary adjoining laundry room was essential for the family.
Designed by a protege of Frank Loyd Wright in the 1960s, this home needed updating but there was so much about it that the new homeowners adored and wanted to preserve. The old-fashioned kitchen and unfinished basement didn’t reflect the era of its origins and needed modernizing while respecting the house’s origins. The kitchen gut renovation included updating the small wash closet aka half bathroom and the addition of a side mud room entry.
The cramped, unfinished basement was dug out to raise the ceiling height and an enlarged window and exterior window well let in much-needed natural light. This full basement reno also included a guest bedroom with an egress window, pantry storage, laundry room, and guest bathroom. The young family’s living space was easily doubled.
From the outside, the small addition and windows perfectly matched the original brick-facing and iron windows.
When a friend said he’d found a home in a neighboring town that he wanted to bring back to life we jumped at the chance to work together. The frame of the house remained but from the roof down it had to be rebuilt.
As progress grew, it was a pleasure when people in the community stopped by to comment on how happy they were about the transformation.
When Bagelicious, a beloved bagel shop in downtown Ridgewood, NJ suffered a five-alarm fire in the spring of 2020, the community felt the loss of this nearly 40-year institution. Thankfully, no one was injured but the building was completely destroyed. For this business, the location across the street from the Village’s busy train station was key.
When a retail store a few doors down decided to close, plans were immediately put in motion to make that the new Bagelicious. Soon after, Custom Built Carpentry stepped in to transform the old space into a working cafe with a large industrial kitchen. For the shop upfront, the hardwood floors were uncovered and brought back to life, while a durable poured epoxy floor was used in the back. New gas lines, HVAC, fire retardant sheetrock, and subway tiling were also installed.
We believe what sets us apart from most general contractors is our commitment to creating custom woodwork for our clients. While this can often be part of a kitchen, basement, bath, or full home renovation, it just as often is a stand-alone commissioned piece.
Below are examples: a wall-length entertainment built-in with extensive storage, a custom kitchen eating nook with an L-shaped bench and pedestal table, a wide dining table, a bookshelf used as a room divider, bathroom vanities that both also feature custom wainscotting and a fireplace mantel.
When moving into a new home freshly painted walls and new floors make the space feel like new. For this 2 bedroom apartment, color was key.
A Mercer Street loft in historic SOHO needed to transform from a floor-through open space with linoleum flooring to an interior designer pair’s home with their 4 young sons. The first and biggest transformation was the installation of custom-cut herringbone floors. While the walkthrough flow remained, transomed partition walls delineated the space and provided reasonable privacy.
In this Upper West Side Manhattan apartment, our key accomplishment was a custom wall-length bookshelf. Custom door trim and paint added to the full apartment refresh.
Whether it’s a grand stairwell and seemingly endless trim, and doors in a Franklin Lakes, NJ mansion, or coffered ceilings in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn apartment, they all look their best with a fresh coat of white paint.
When doing a full home renovation we really get to know the homeowners and in this case their relatives too. While remodeling their sister’s house, this couple began to imagine what their home could become and they wanted us to bring it to life.
The house and garage were re-roofed and all new windows were installed. The interior of the house was taken down to the studs, making way for new sheetrock, electric, plumbing, flooring, kitchen & baths.
The homeowners also requested extensive custom woodwork throughout including a back porch, a new entry, a small mud room built-in, and a living room entertainment built-in.
When this couple bought a new home for their retirement years, they wanted to turn the large unfinished walkout basement into an additional living area with a kitchen and 3 bedrooms where their son and grandsons could comfortably come stay with them.
In Custom Built Carpenty’s early years, we were brought in to construct all of the finished woodwork in this large restaurant & lounge. The wave-shaped bar was easily the centerpiece of our work but in the end, we did everything from the fireplace mantel, extensive crown molding & pillars, a smaller third bar on the balcony, and all of the bathroom vanities and stalls.
This large 1902 farmhouse in the Village of Ridgewood, NJ has undergone many repairs and renovations in its over 120-year history. The current homeowners were surprised to find that the roof they had replaced less than 15 years earlier was failing. We determined that the previous roofer had skipped many vital steps that would have allowed that re-shingling to last many more years.
For this estate in historic West Orange, NJ Custom Built Carpentry gave the front of the home freshly painted columns and trim. After renovating the kitchen, we added a back deck that provided the family with a spacious spot to enjoy the outdoors.
When we started Joe would lament (complain) that he spent his life in basements. At the time, it felt like something to move on from but he’s come to miss it… to miss the challenge and creativity of turning this bonus space into something that’s finished and able to be enjoyed.
For this basement, the stairs were fully rebuilt with storage nooks below, multiple bookcases, built-ins, a mudroom that could be accessed from the garage, and concealed utilities.
