Bedrooms at the Craftsman Cottage

The dramatic Before & After photos continue on the second floor, thanks to changing the ceiling height from a very low 6' 6" to 9' high.

Opening up this space gave us opportunity to move walls around

But it wasn't easy.  We had to open up the ceilings and install a new structural ridge beam across the peak of the roof.  This required lots of new structural supports below it, to transfer all the load down to the foundation.  But in doing so, we got light and airiness that just didn't exist when we started.

We also removed the chimney, which gave us lots of options for moving walls around and making the bedrooms larger.

With all the structural work done, we turned our attention to creating 3 comfortable bedrooms in roughly the same spot we started with.    

This floor plan helps illustrate all the changes we made. 

The primary bedroom saw huge changes - it got taller.  It got wider.  And a skylight brought in some light and fresh air. 

How did we make the room so much bigger?  There was a bathroom closet and shower behind this wall.  We stole that space for the bedroom.

And we were able to add a large closet on this wall, when we moved the doorway from the hall.  A large closet in a 101 year old home is pretty unusual! 

Like the primary bedroom, the second bedroom is now larger and more spacious, because we moved the chimney that was in the hallway. 

Taller, wider and so much brighter!!!

This room didn't have a closet, so we added a custom built storage unit into the corner of the room.  The baskets function as drawers and there is hanging space behind the custom doors.  Oh and the triangular cubby?  Well that's just fun! 

Can you believe it's the same room?  Of course it has new walls, window, beadboard on the kneewall, and a skylight that floods the room with light. 

And last, but not least, is the third bedroom.  This bedroom was small to start with.  But it shared the same dark color scheme with low ceilings that made it feel even smaller. 

While we couldn't make it any bigger, the increased ceiling height provides a sense of spaciousness.  And a built in closet provides some much needed storage.  

Look at the change with new ceiling height!

This is now the perfect room for a child or a home office!

Finally, it's noteworthy to see the changes we made in the hallway.  It was abnormally large, given the size of the bedrooms.  But by removing the chimney and making the hall smaller, the bedrooms gained useful space.  

Note how low the ceiling was! 

The door to the Primary Suite is where the chimney used to be. That added 3' to both bedrooms

Everyone loved all the changes we made when they visited the Open House.  And the new owners love it too!  Changing these rooms was a massive project, but so worth it! 

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Craftsman Living Room and Sunroom

We made lots of changes to the primary living space in the Craftsman Cottage.  The changes are evident as soon as you walk in the front door.  By removing the wall between the living room and 'foyer', the space now feels much larger and light floods through the space.  And while it wasn't a big change, opening the doorway to the kitchen makes it feel more welcoming.

From the other viewpoint, again, you can see how much brighter it is in the living room now.  And of course removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room is also a game changer!

An even bigger change is enclosing a portion of the front porch to create a sunroom.  Keep in mind, we don't have a lot of months of 'porch' weather here in Maine.  So making this space useful year round it a big plus.

Before

After

The stained glass window from the living room got moved to the sunroom.  Now it's the first thing you see when you come to the front door and as you enter the sunroom.  Isn't that a great touch?

And now the whole room looks different with the new sunroom.  Plus it brings so much more light into the living room.

And while we made lots of changes, some things stayed the same - like the doorway to the dining room. 

The transformation of this space was a fun challenge.  We were able to blend some antique features (like original woodwork), while creating a more open, inviting space.  I just love this house!

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Antique Front Door Gets a Glow Up

The front door on this Craftsman home has a Victorian look to it.  But I'm pretty sure it's original, so I wanted to keep it.  But it was a bit tired and needed some attention.

First and foremost, we needed the lockset to work.  Mike at Old House Parts helped tune up the mortise lock and was even able to find a key that works for the front door!   

I cleaned up the shellac on the interior to give it the same lustre as the rest of the molding.

The house had original metal weatherstripping - the traditional kind that locks to provide a weathertight seal. And while one side was still in good shape, the other side and threshold were bent up and beyond repair.  Paul from Bagala Window Works came out and installed all new bronze weatherstripping.  Such a great detail.

And the final look?  Well now it's not just functional, it looks good too!

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Creating a New, Structurally Sound Powder Room

The Craftsman Cottage had a half bath off of the kitchen, in what appears to have originally been a porch. I don't really know when they converted it from a porch to a half bath - maybe 1980's???  But it was definitely ready for a serious upgrade. 

Because it was a porch, there was an exterior door, but it no longer opened because the porch was sagging so much (a good thing, because the stairs were long gone - except for one stringer next to the house)

Window with a view of the neighbor's driveway

It was structurally comprised, so the guys had to jack up the porch, pour new footings and build the supporting structure. 

You're not supposed to be able to put your hand under structural posts!

And yes, this was the home of the constipation closet!  Because who doesn't want a closet full of ancient laxatives in an unheated room? 😂

With the structural work completed, we better allocated the space to provide a large pantry and a powder room with all new plumbing, electrical and insulation.  

The ceiling, floor and walls all got insulation

Finally, I got to do the pretty stuff, with this gorgeous Morris & Co wallpaper. 

 I really love the finished product - even if it was a huge pain to install!

In keeping with our usual obsession for detail, we installed these gorgeous pocket door pulls.

And now that it's done, I'm thrilled with the changes.  Not only does it look nicer, but it's structurally sound with all new systems.  That's a huge change!

The pantry provides so much storage space! 

Sources:

Sink - Signature Hardware Cierra

Faucet - Kohler

Toilet - Toto Entrada

Wallpaper - Morris & Co, Wallflower

Lighting - Pottery Barn Essential Sconce

Pocket Door Pull - House of Antique Hardware

Mirror - Wayfair Elora

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The Craftsman Cottage Kitchen Got a Major Update

It’s been a crazy few weeks getting the house finished and on the market. We had an amazing Open House and are now under contract. Finally, I can spend some time posting ‘Before & After’ photos. And this house has some great ones!

I’m going to start with the kitchen which had some of the biggest changes. Like many old houses, this one had a dark, cramped kitchen. It was a place for the woman of the house to turn out meals, but it wasn't the family gathering place it is today.

Kitchen - the starting point

To change that, we started by removing the structural wall between the kitchen and dining room (a big milestone!!!).  That allowed us to expand the footprint – making this kitchen much bigger than the original. 

The structural wall between the kitchen and dining room was removed

What a difference!

We also eliminated the original furnace flue (we installed heat pumps) and opened up the doorway to the living room.   That allowed us to move the refrigerator to the side wall and create space for the island.

By gutting everything, installing new plumbing and electrical is much easier

All of that made this kitchen feel like it belongs in this century. But we also kept original woodwork and complimented it with a cherry island, which helps maintain the antique character of the home. 

And the results - well it's a huge change! 

I am in love with the calacatta marble, penny round tile that I used behind the stove and as an accent strip across the backsplash.  You can't go wrong with natural stone (although I wouldn't use it for a countertop.  My daughter has carrera marble counters and they take a lot of extra care that most of us wouldn't want to deal with).  I always use quartz for countertops, it's easy to maintain. 

Now you can see all the way to the bay window in the dining room!

Look at the difference in the basement! 

Was it a big job?  Absolutely!  Was it worth it?  Absolutely!  I'm so excited for the new homeowners to get to use this kitchen! 

Sources:

Cabinetry - Thomasville - painted Whippet and Cherry with Fox Stain

Countertop - Viatera Taj Duna

Flooring - Beech hardwood to match original

Pendants - Wayfair, Julyn Pendant

Backsplash - Calacutta Marble - The Builder Depot

Walls - Sherwin Williams White Flour 

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