A contemporary residence updated with thoughtful details and deadlines.
Two life-changing events came upon Kim and Jed Ferguson in a matter of days. Their newly renovated home had just reached completion when their youngest son decided to come into the world in August 2021. While Kim Ferguson hunkered down at her parents’ house to tend to a newborn, Jed Ferguson — with the generous help of friends — undertook the ultimate nesting project at their new residence. They worked long days, unpacking boxes and organizing rooms, so his family could move into a somewhat-settled home.
“It was a special time for Kim to see it all put together — the final vision of everything,” said Jed Ferguson. “We still had a few loose ends, but it was a nice, clean, organized space for her to come home with the new baby.”
The Fergusons’ dream home, a contemporary house in Edmond’s Arrowhead Hills neighborhood, came on the market in spring 2021 when they were expecting. The timing wasn’t ideal, but the home was. So, they embarked on a quick-turn renovation with their growing family in mind.
“Multiple times throughout the process, we thought, ‘Are we crazy for doing this?’” recalled Ferguson.
Trotter Construction and interior designer Sherree Ulrich collaborated to make the tight timeline possible.
“To do basically a full-gut renovation of the kitchen and bathrooms, painting everything … stripping and staining the concrete floors, fully furnishing the home, [and] moving in completely within eight months was a feat that I am not sure I could recreate.” Ulrich said with a laugh.
The Arrowhead Hills home only had one previous owner, a couple who worked in construction and designed and built it in 1969 as their family home. The Fergusons were drawn to the lot’s hilly topography and the house’s thoughtful layout.
“One of my favorite parts is the main area of the home has these clerestory windows,” Ferguson said. “The house runs north and south, so you get this fantastic light that kind of floods into the main area of the house, both in the morning from the east, as the sun comes up, and then in the afternoon in the west, as it is setting.”
The charming windows and dark cedar beams lining the flat-roof ceiling were kept intact, while the kitchen and bathrooms were overhauled. In addition, a kitchen wall was removed to open up the area to the living room.
Ulrich kept it all on track by sourcing materials in stock, but post-pandemic supply issues forced her to pivot a time or two. For example, the green tile selected for the primary bathroom wasn’t available, so Ulrich found a rosy-hued substitute. It turned out to be “a happy accident,” she says, as the new selection shines radiantly in the natural light.
Mid-century modern themes are carried through collectible items — such as the living room’s Isamu Noguchi paper lantern and Roly Poly chair by Faye Toogood — as well as custom woodwork, like the dining room’s 12-foot modular bookshelves. Ulrich brought in architect Josh Hogsett and carpenter Matt Iseman to fashion shelves to accommodate the Fergusons’ records, turntable and vintage speakers.
“That bookshelf was an example of Sherree knowing us, knowing our personalities, and then bringing several different elements together to create a really unique and special piece that fit us,” said Ferguson. “People come over and they flip through the records… [They] can pick out a favorite and put it on. It sparks interesting conversation.”
Ulrich agreed that her close relationship with the Fergusons enhanced the end design. She said they also partnered well because their visions aligned.
“Even though we tried to keep most of the house fairly restrained and minimal, it was important to us that everything that we incorporated had interesting shapes and quality textures,” Ulrich said. “We were trying to figure out the best way to introduce some new textures, new materials to make it feel updated, while staying true to the home.”
Typically, planning and executing such thoughtful designs takes time — years, even. This home didn’t have that luxury, but each detail was still carefully considered, creating rooms that would function efficiently while bringing more beauty into the home.
“Sherree was always looking at things as a homeowner, not just a design professional. She and the Trotters both were looking at things that we wouldn’t have even considered but that made total sense once you put the whole picture together,” Ferguson said.
In the end, two timelines overlapped: Construction ran a bit long and the baby came a bit early. But after a few days of chaos, the “whole picture” settled into view — and it was just as pleasant as the Fergusons had imagined. A new family. A new home. Life forever changed.
