Remodeling Blends Couple's Vision and Family's Change
By Cheri Ghan & Mary Dahm

Jan and Rushdy Abadir raised five boys in their Columbia home. Designed by local architect Pon Chinn and built in 1985, the unusual structure boasts 6,000 square feet of living space and has provided years of comfort and hospitality.

After Rushdy's unexpected death in 2002, Jan decided to update the home and turned to Kerry Bramon Remodeling and Design to turn the sprawling residence into a more practical space for her. "It was therapy," Jan said. "It wasn't that I was trying to move him out, it was just that the house was built for a lot of children and suddenly it was just me."

Jan met with Kerry and in-house designer Angela Holloway, who not only considered the brick-and-mortar aspects of the remodeling job, but the many emotional needs of this very special project. "We listened to her and talked about the house's strengths and weaknesses," Kerry said. "We then changed the house to meet her needs and new lifestyle. The house was very well built and she liked it. We were just rearranging it to better suit her."