Desert Zen Makeover

Desert Zen is what we call the style we created to meet the desires of several clients.

We describe Desert Zen as warm earth tone colors and clean lines. It has become quite popular with our clients that prefer a somewhat contemporary look, but not the stark and cold colors often seen in contemporary interior design.

Desert Zen was the perfect solution to the differing style desires of Corky and Larry Bull. Corky wanted warm and inviting colors and Larry was partial to a more contemporary style. When we showed them some of the other Desert Zen homes we had done, they both fell in love with it.

Corky and Larry Bull live in upstate New York. They bought a get-away and eventual retirement home in Sun City Oro Valley that needed some updating. But, they wanted to enjoy their 3 – 4 trips a year here. They love to hike in the mountains, and did not want to spend their precious time here dealing with all the hassles of home renovations.

Tile, Tile and more Tile

Corky and Larry originally wanted to replace the carpeted areas with tile to match the existing. Unfortunately, that tile had been long discontinued, so we ended up replacing all 2,800 sq. ft. of flooring with a magnificent new tile selection.

Because we were able to do the work with nobody living in the home, the work could be done much more efficiently, saving them money. We always take precautions to protect existing furniture, etc.

Custom Bar Cabinet

The Bulls like to entertain, and needed a place for a wine cooler and other party gear.

I sketched out what I thought would look good in the space available and had my outstanding cabinet and furniture maker build it to fit in the kitchen wall.

With our cabinetmaker, just about anything is possible – at a price that often surprises our clients.

Brightening a Dull Kitchen

The kitchen was somewhat dull and needed some color and focal point. So we added a strip of glass and stone to the center of diagonally placed tile. With older homes that need a bit of updating, we can often make otherwise sound cabinets look newer with much less expensive touches – like this backsplash or lighting. Another option is to reface your cabinets. Cabinet refacing can update sound but tired boxes at less cost than a full cabinet replacement.

Added Benefit of Working With Interior Expressions: We Coordinate Subs – so you don’t have to

We have rigid procedures for key control and home security that all our subs follow. We personally check the job on a near daily basis and routinely visit the job site while the work is progressing.

All our subcontractors, who we keep very busy, know that just one incident will mean they will never do work for us again. It has taken us over 10 years of trial and error to cultivate our current crew, and we’ve fired a few along the way.