Palma Ceia · Tampa, Florida
The Bennett Residence
A transitional modern kitchen and primary bathroom shaped by Craftsman character, Spanish influence, and a fresh sense of home.
A New Chapter, Thoughtfully Designed
A home created to feel personal, expressive, and entirely renewed
Designed for a client beginning a new chapter, the Bennett residence transforms a historic Tampa home through expressive color, architectural references, and carefully considered details.
Her love of cooking, entertaining, gardening, history, and hospitality shaped a home that feels collected and sophisticated while remaining warm, functional, and full of personality.
- Location
- Palma Ceia, Tampa
- Service
- Residential Remodel
- Scope
- Kitchen, Primary Bath & Creative Direction
- Style
- Transitional Modern
- Influence
- Craftsman & Spanish Architecture
The Kitchen Story
European cottage inspiration, interpreted with originality
The kitchen began with an inspiration image featuring a copper range hood, white countertops, a patterned backsplash, and soft blue cabinetry. Rather than reproduce the image, HLM Designs identified the qualities that made it meaningful and reinterpreted them for the architecture and personality of this home.
Soft blue extends across the ceiling, walls, cabinetry, casing, and trim to create an airy, cohesive color-drenched environment. A custom range hood, sculptural curves, unlacquered brass, and a mosaic cross-and-star backsplash give the compact kitchen depth, movement, and distinction.
The goal was never to duplicate an inspiration image. It was to understand what the client loved and transform that feeling into something unmistakably her own.
The HLM Designs Perspective
The Primary Bathroom
Earthy materials and organic color create a quiet retreat
Inspired by the client’s connection to gardening and the outdoors, the bathroom combines earthy greens, warm wood, brass, cane details, and layered tile. A furniture-style double vanity provides the functionality she needed while honoring the Craftsman character of the home.
Details Worth Discovering
Every selection contributes to the complete story
The Starting Point
One wallpaper swatch
A wallpaper originally considered for the dining room became the foundation for the entire home’s color palette. Each paint color was drawn from that single selection.
The Visual Thread
Pattern, curve, and movement
Mosaic tile, bowed profiles, soft-edged stonework, cane insets, and sculptural lighting create continuity without making the kitchen and bathroom feel identical.
The Favorite Detail
Materials that improve with age
Unlacquered brass hardware and blonde-and-white checkered flooring bring timeless character and will continue developing richness as the home is lived in.
Designing Within History
Solving what could not be seen
Historic homes bring character, but they also reveal complexities. A significant slope in the kitchen floor required structural support, while the original construction presented insulation, ventilation, and storage limitations.
The finished design responds with thoughtful cabinetry, tall pantry storage, glass-front uppers, improved ventilation, and carefully resolved architectural details. The result preserves the home’s history while making it work beautifully for contemporary life.
Your Home, Reimagined
Ready to begin your own design story?
HLM Designs creates highly personalized interiors shaped by the way clients live, gather, and experience home.