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After the Carlsbad loft build: new upstairs loft above the living room and rebuilt staircase with dark wood handrail and black iron balusters

PROJECT

Carlsbad, California · Completed 2025

Carlsbad Loft Conversion & Whole-Home Remodel on Gold Flower Rd

Model Home, Inc., a licensed general contractor since 2009 (CSLB #927826), planned and built this project from start to finish. The home on Gold Flower Rd in Carlsbad had an open two-story sitting room beside a curved staircase. We framed about 300 square feet of new living space across the double-height room, rebuilt the staircase, and remodeled the entire downstairs, including a new kitchen, laundry room and guest bathroom. It took about a year and was completed in 2025.

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After: living room under the new loft with wood ceiling beams, recessed lighting, stone fireplace wall and leather sectional

How this project started, from owner Dustin Roller

It began as a referral. A longtime customer told me a friend had just bought a house and wanted the floors refinished. They'd had the keys for three days when I walked in, and the solid Brazilian cherry floor looked badly water damaged. In places the moisture had soaked in so deep it looked hand-scraped. I asked if they knew the house had flooded at some point. They had no idea.

The floor still looked wet, and the baseboards were swollen. The homeowner said a door jamb had swollen noticeably in just two days, which told me water was probably still coming in. I grabbed my moisture meter from the truck, and the readings were very high. I sent them to the leak detection company I work with, and they found an active leak.

Insurance approved new floors and a new kitchen, since the kitchen was damaged too. While that was being worked out, they asked whether we could add a loft over the big open ceiling as a play area for their kids. Then came a surprise: a baby on the way. The loft now had to be a bedroom too.

We built about 300 square feet of new living space upstairs, a bedroom and a toy room. Downstairs we rebuilt the staircase and redid everything, with a new kitchen, laundry room and guest bathroom, faux beams and new doors. It took about a year instead of the seven months we planned, because we had to pour new footings in a post-tension slab, work with a design team and pull every required permit. We couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

Most contractor-client relationships don't end in friendship. A lot of mine do, but this one was special. They're some of the most genuine people I know.

Gold Flower Rd, Carlsbad: before, during and after the loft build (45 seconds, no sound).

Before and after

Before the Carlsbad loft build: curved staircase with red carpet runner beside a two-story sitting room with tall windows — Before: the curved staircase with red carpet runner and the open two-story room

After the Carlsbad loft build: new upstairs loft above the living room and rebuilt staircase with dark wood handrail and black iron balusters — After: the new loft and rebuilt staircase with iron balusters

Before: double-height sitting room with tall windows, built-in white shelving and wood floors in the Gold Flower Rd home — Before: the double-height sitting room and built-in shelving

After: living room under the new loft with wood ceiling beams, recessed lighting, stone fireplace wall and leather sectional — After: the living room under the new loft, with wood beams, a stone fireplace wall and recessed lights

Before: sitting room with a red brick fireplace, white built-in cabinets in an arched niche and reddish solid wood floors — Before: the brick fireplace and white niche cabinets

After: stone-clad fireplace beside an arched bar niche with open shelves and a wine fridge, over new wide-plank wood floors, with the beamed living room beyond — After: a stone-clad fireplace, an arched bar niche and new wide-plank floors

Before: white high-gloss kitchen with an island cooktop, a stainless pendant hood and reddish solid wood floors in the Gold Flower Rd home — Before: the white high-gloss kitchen

Kitchen island with a bold veined countertop, a gold-tone faucet and a gas cooktop, looking out to a patio, in a Carlsbad home — After: the new kitchen island with a veined countertop and gold-tone faucet

Before: brick fireplace and arched cabinet niche with the white kitchen beyond, on reddish solid wood floors — Before: the fireplace and kitchen from the living area

Carlsbad kitchen with light wood upper cabinets, white lower cabinets with long gold pulls, veined countertops, a gold-tone faucet and a white range hood — After: wood upper cabinets, gold hardware and a white range hood

Before: guest bathroom with white walls, a round mirror and a white vessel sink on a black countertop — Before: the guest bathroom

After: guest bathroom with floral wallpaper, dark wainscot paneling, a dark wood vanity with a marble top and a herringbone tile floor — After: the guest bathroom with wallpaper, dark paneling and a marble-topped vanity

Scope of work

Design, architectural plans and structural plans, with a design team
City permits and inspections
Demolition and framing, including new footings in the post-tension slab
About 300 square feet of new living space upstairs: a bedroom and a toy room
Staircase rebuilt with a dark wood handrail, black iron balusters and a matching loft railing
A new kitchen, laundry room and guest bathroom
Plumbing, electrical and HVAC
Floors, cabinetry, doors and windows
Finish carpentry, faux ceiling beams, and tile and stone work
Paint and stucco

Planning a loft addition, staircase remodel or flooring project in Carlsbad or elsewhere in North County San Diego? Model Home, Inc. plans and builds the project with you from the first visit to the finished room. See kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, hardwood flooring and custom cabinetry, or tell us about your project.

Planning a project in Carlsbad? See Home Remodeling in Carlsbad, CA.