Fulton Historic Renovation
Geneva, IL

Project Story

Heritage Bones,
Contemporary Soul.

The Fulton home in Geneva is the kind of project that most contractors shy away from: a historic property with deep architectural character, rooms that each needed a distinct design identity, and a homeowner who didn't want "safe." The brief called for bold color, custom millwork, specialty tile, and finishes that honor the home's history while making it unmistakably contemporary. SilverBullet coordinated every trade across four rooms simultaneously, delivering a result that reads as a cohesive whole while giving each space its own wow-factor moment.

The home sits on Fulton Street in Geneva's historic corridor — the kind of neighborhood where houses have original plaster walls, hardwood floors that have seen a century of life, and architectural details that simply don't exist in new construction. That context shaped every decision on this project. The wainscoting in the dining room was restored and refinished, not replaced. The original wood floors were protected throughout. The millwork profiles were matched, not approximated. The goal was always to add to the house, not erase what made it special.

The Dining Room

The dining room is the home's showpiece. Full-coverage bold floral wallpaper — a dark ground with oversized blossoms in crimson, pink, gold, and green — runs from wainscot rail to crown molding on every wall. Installing pattern wallpaper in a historic room with non-standard proportions requires precision: the pattern repeat must land correctly at each corner, the wainscoting height must be measured off the actual finished floor, and the ceiling medallion must be centered on the room's visual axis, not just the structural center. Every decision was made with the finished photograph in mind.

The green beaded chandelier — a dramatic statement piece — was hardwired through the original plaster ceiling with the medallion refinished and centered around it. The emerald teal sideboard was custom painted in place, with the original cabinet hardware swapped for large brass circle pulls that anchor the piece against the wallpaper. The effect is a room that feels like it was always this way — that the house was waiting for exactly this layer of drama.

The Girl's Suite

The girl's bedroom and en-suite bathroom were designed as a connected suite — the two rooms share a color palette and material story even as they each serve a distinct function. The bedroom features a custom paneled accent wall in dusty rose on the window bay, painted against a soft grey on the remaining walls. The ceiling is painted a deeper shade of the grey wall color, a technique that makes the original coffered beam details read more prominently. Two beaded chandeliers on the ceiling give the room a feminine glamour that complements rather than fights the architecture.

The window bench is a custom built-in with drawers below — a feature that works with the original bay window rather than covering it. The cushion is upholstered in a grey tweed with a pink welt cord, a detail that bridges the room's two main tones. The existing built-in wardrobe was preserved and refinished white to match the trim. The en-suite bathroom is accessed through a barn door painted to match the cabinetry — when open, the pink bathroom beyond creates a layered view from the desk area back through the room.

The Girl's Bathroom

The girl's bathroom is deliberate and detailed in every choice. Blush pink walls meet a scallop tile border at the top of the wainscot height — a custom cut detail that required hand-setting each piece to align the scallop pattern with the window and door openings. The tub surround uses the same white tile in a stacked pattern, with a brass rod and handshower in a champagne finish. The vanity features scalloped-base cabinetry — the bottom rail of the lower cabinet is cut in a repeating scallop profile, a small detail that gives the piece its character. Arched mirrors with paired brass sconces flank the window above the built-in dressing vanity, and a separate sink vanity anchors the end of the room.

The Boy's Bathroom

The boy's bathroom shares the same floor plan logic as the girl's — a full-height painted linen tower, custom vanity, hex tile floor, and beadboard ceiling — but with an entirely different material story. Slate blue paint covers the painted cabinetry. The vanity itself is walnut with a fluted shaker-style door profile, contrasting the painted cabinetry with warm natural wood. Hex tile in white with a dark grout runs floor to wall base, and the beadboard ceiling is painted white against the blue walls. Brass sconces and a chrome faucet create a mix of metals that feels intentional rather than indecisive. The result is a bathroom that can grow with the room's occupant — classic enough to not feel juvenile, distinctive enough to be remembered.

The custom radiator cover built into the linen tower base — a decorative lattice grille that allows heat flow while concealing the original cast-iron radiator — is the kind of detail that only gets done right when the GC is paying attention to the house, not just the finishes. Historic homes have these hidden challenges. Finding and solving them before they become problems after installation is what separates a renovation that works from one that looks good in photographs but fights the house it's in.

Project Questions