Kitchen, Dining and Mudroom - Before and After

If you visited the house before we did the renovations, the biggest 'wow' is the back of the house with the kitchen, dining room and mudroom (of course there wasn't a mudroom before we started!).  This house, like most homes built in the 1940's, had a kitchen that was closed off from the rest of the house.  There was a narrow doorway to the basement and garage entrance.  And another doorway to the dining room.

We changed all that!  With the mini addition to the stairwell landing and removing the kitchen wall and door, there is now so much light coming in from the south facing windows and door.  And of course there is room for coats and boots, without the tripping hazard they created when there was just a small landing to the basement. (we also opened up the doorway to the living room about 12 inches). 

What else changed?  We opened up the wall between the kitchen and dining room, which gave us space to create a peninsula between the two rooms - including a great spot for a stool to sit and watch all the action in the kitchen.

And the kitchen got a to-the-studs update!  That included all new electrical, plumbing and insulation. We moved the windows, creating one large window above the sink, added lots of new cabinetry and modern appliances like a dishwasher, exhaust fan and a refrigerator with an ice maker!!  Woo hoo!

I'm so excited for the new owners to move in and get to enjoy this fabulous new space!  

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First Peeks of Finished Cottage

There has been a whirlwind of activity in the last few week and suddenly the house is complete and under contract!  So now it's time to start sharing before & after photos - starting with what you see as you come through the front door.  Thanks to the foyer wall that we opened up, it's changed a lot!  

But that wasn't the only change.  By eliminating the wall and the radiator, we could open the doorway to the kitchen a bit, making the whole first floor plan a lot more welcoming - thanks to lots of sunshine that comes streaming through the wider openings.  Farewell dark entry!!  

This is a big living room, but it didn't feel that way before we started.  

One of the nicest comments I heard at the Open House was someone thanking me for leaving the original fireplace mantle.  I had to show them the photo, so they could see it wasn't that way when we started.  Adding traditional elements to an old house creates so much charm and interest!

I'm sure the new owners will really enjoy this light, bright room!  I'm so glad we were able to make these updates!

Opening the wall to the foyer changed the whole room!

Next up - the dining room and kitchen! 

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So Much Progress!!

There comes a time on every project where there is so much going on, I have trouble sharing all the updates.  That's the current state of affairs at the Charming Cottage.   There is so much progress being made every single day.

First - the floors are done!  And they are absolutely gorgeous.  We were able to keep all the original flooring, with the exception of the kitchen floor (kitchen floors are always a challenge because of water stains, pipe holes and multiple layers of flooring added on top).  The guys also did some patch work to repair some nasty spots - I challenge you to find them!  We will add 2 last coats of water based polyurethane just before the new owners move in, to make sure they look their absolute best. 

All of the trim work is done. This is truly detailed work - to recreate the original molding, the guys had to piece together 3 different moldings to get the same look.  It's exacting work, but makes such a difference!

I've polished up all the old doorknobs and they're pretty special.  Look at the difference after they are cleaned up.  I've never seen this pattern before.  It appears to be Art Deco, and the knobs seem to be black Bakelite with solid brass centers.  They're beautiful and so unusual!

The kitchen countertops got installed and it makes the whole kitchen look so much nicer!

I've started tiling the backsplash.  This is a Calacatta marble mosaic and with its multiple shades of white, gray and gold, it provides a neutral backdrop while adding some visual interest. 

Do you remember the dark basement?  Nicknamed 'the cave'?  Well it's gotten a brightening treatment and is looking so much better!  It took a couple coats of a oil based BIN to seal all the old wood, but now it's pretty gorgeous!

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Fireplace Update - Again

The Charming Cottage doesn't have its original fireplace mantle. My guess is there was a traditional wood mantle when the house was first built.  But at some point, it was updated with this brick facade.  Surely when it was first updated, this brick fireplace was the height of fashion.   But I'm not a fan.  It just looks odd in this traditional house.

Mantle - Before

So we set out to change it.  We wanted something more classic, that would blend well with the rest of the interior.  And since we'd found wiring for sconces above the mantle we wanted a traditional update.

I started by sketching out my ideas.  It mirrored the existing mantle size, but added additional millwork above it, to highlight the sconces.

Kyle started getting the new design into place, 

but then he paused while I installed this new black brick-style tile to frame the opening and hide the 3D pattern of the old fireplace.

Kyle added lots of detailed trim, like this crown molding, to achieve that vintage style.

Now that the trim is completed, we're ready to have it all painted.

Oh, and while we were at it, we had the fireplace cleaned and made ready for a traditional wood burning fire.

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Bathroom Updates

Both of the bathrooms needed serious updates in this house.  So we started with the upstairs full bath.  It was completely gutted and then new electrical, plumbing and insulation were installed in a different layout, to make the room feel more spacious.  After that, the fun started!

Here's the mood board for the bathroom, with lots of classic details. 

I installed 'dogbone' Carrera marble floors (it's called dogbone, because instead of a perfect rectangle basketweave, the Carrera pieces have a gentle curve to them). 

The bathroom already had a nice built in cabinet, but we discovered a lot of additional open space under the dormer, so Kyle & Rich built a set of shelves to provide extra storage space. 

The bathroom had beadboard on the walls when we bought it and I really liked the style, so we added it back to the updated bath.  And I love this vanity - the serpentine front drawers and countertop are such a nice detail! 

It's still a work in progress, but it's going to be pretty sweet!

The basement bath was truly original!  And as I mentioned in this previous post, having the electrical panel above the toilet was an absolute no-no from the City, so all the wiring got rerouted.  We can't move the water meter, but we're hoping it will be less conspicuous once the updates are done. 

Like the upstairs bath, we redid the electrical and added insulation. We also had to pour lots of leveler on the floor, because it was seriously sloping.  That let me install this fabulous tile, that I'm absolutely in love with! 

Next week the walls go back up and we can start to install plumbing fixtures.  Here's the mood board with all the elements, won't it be fabulous? 

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A New Kitchen for the Charming Cottage

The kitchen in the this house was the thing that we disliked the most while living there.  It had low 30" countertops, no exhaust fan and no dishwasher.  It desperately needed an update!

Now that we had installed new electrical, plumbing and insulation, it was time for the cabinetry to go in.   The goal was to create a more functional kitchen with modern conveniences and more storage space.

The guys quickly got the base cabinets in place and then started on the uppers.

When I'm installing a white kitchen, I always like to warm it up a bit with natural wood.  For this kitchen , Kyle made a custom white oak cover for the vent hood (and an oak shelf for the microwave on the opposite wall).

And of course details make all the difference - like this crown molding.  I always like to ensure the cabinetry has this finishing detail to make it truly custom.

You really notice all the updates as the house starts to come together.  As you walk in the front door, the changes we've made - widening the kitchen doorway, adding the bright mini-mudroom and eliminating the foyer wall - result in a bright, dramatically different space!

They've templated for countertops and now we'll wait a few weeks for them to arrive, but I the meantime, I'm already loving the updates! 

Kitchen Now

Kitchen Before

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The Finished Basement - The Path From Retro to Modern-ish

The basement in the Charming Cottage is a time capsule to the 50's/60's - knotty pine pickwick paneling, a built in bar, fireplace and wall to wall carpeting (actually, we took the carpet out the day we bought the house, so there aren't any photos of that!).   It's also dark and a bit dreary. 

And that has to change.  I know some of you really like the retro look, but I'm not a fan and I find that most buyers want something lighter and brighter.  

Let me share an example.  This is a house we did a dozen years ago.  It had the same pine paneling and looked dark and dated.  We painted it white, updated the lighting and artwork and suddenly it looked totally different!  Farewell dark, dated interior!

The next change, getting rid of the bar.  It's certainly a retro feature, but this one had a super skinny little doorway to enter it.  And for many potential homeowners, it's not a feature they really want. 

For fun, I asked our social media followers if we should keep it.  54% said yes!  I was surprised at the interest in keeping it, but one of our guys is creating a 'man cave' at his house and it will really be loved there.

The floors need a lot of work.  We removed the wall to wall carpeting before we moved in.  As we renovate it, I don't want to replace the carpet (which can be a challenge even in the driest of basements - and it can be stinky!) and instead want to install LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile).  We've done this in several basements and it's a fabulous product.

But it wasn't a quick, easy job.  The basement floor was poured decades ago and we've started describing it as 'undulating'.  It's not level and rolls from one area to the next!!!  LVT requires a flat floor for a successful installation.  So the guys got to work pouring leveler to provide the proper base for the floor.  It took 33 bags of leveler to get a smooth surface for the LVT.

It looks like a lake in the basement!

With the leveler in place, the guys got to work installing the floor.  What a huge change!  

Next we need to replace the old drafty windows and then it needs lots of paint to brighten the space!

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Project Update - So Much Progress (and some pretty stuff)!

With all the mechanicals and insulation done, we can finally start putting this house back together and ordering the fun stuff.

First step - getting the white oak floors installed in the kitchen.  The entire house has white oak flooring, but the kitchen floor had been covered with white ceramic tile for years and we had to replace everything when we took it up.  

Our amazing flooring guys have carefully stitched in the new oak to match the old where we opened up and removed walls.  You won't even be able to tell once it's all sanded and polyurethaned.

The kitchen floor got sanded and two coats of poly on it - so it's all set for our cabinets to be installed.  Doesn't it look fabulous?

Drywall arrived and got installed.  It's so exciting to see walls again!  It gives us our first glimpse of just how different the house will look, thanks to changes we have made.

I've started ordering some of the pretty stuff.  One room I'm pretty excited about is the half bath in the basement.  It was so, so ugly!!!  But now it's going to have this very cool 'denim' and white tile,  a streamlined sink and black faucet.  The walls will be white bead board and this wood mirror will be a nice natural accent.

Next project is getting the kitchen installed.  Cabinets will arrive soon and we'll get going!

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