Project #3 - A Not So Classic Colonial

We're deep into the planning process for our next project.  I love, love, love this house.  It's a big change from our last project.  As best we can tell, it's a two owner home, built in the 40's, with additions in the 60's and 80's. It's been meticulously cared for (hooray!), but needs some updates for modern living.

There are lots of 'vintage' touches, that I'll be talking about in a future post.  Some elements are a trip down memory lane for me.  Wait till you see some of the harvest gold and orange :-)  I think we might have a 'name that Congoleum pattern contest!'.

What's our vision?  Today it's a two bedroom quasi-ranch.  We're going to expand it to be a two story colonial.  But not your traditional colonial.  We want to update it a bit, give it a bit of a twist.

1790's Colonial

We're familiar with colonial styling.  We lived in a true colonial when our kids were little.  The original house was built in 1790.  The fireplace in the kitchen was so big, 3 people could stand inside of it (great wow factor, but not energy efficient!).   The ceilings were really low, my 6'4" father wouldn't walk through the kitchen when the ceiling fan was running.  And it had lots of rooms, but not an open flow to tie them all together.  It was added onto many times, we think the view in the photo was done in the mid 1800's.



So, what's a Colonial with a Twist?  Well, we want an open floor plan, with the kitchen as the center of the home.  We'll lean towards traditional styling - but have a few updated looks throughout.  It will be a classic home with amenities for today's lifestyle
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How will we do it?   We're going to build up.  That means taking the roof off of the main house, where according to the city website, there is a second floor bedroom....but only for people much shorter than we are!  We've got all our permits in place and are just waiting for a week of clear weather (we're getting a foot of snow today!).

We hope you'll follow our adventures as we create this Colonial with a Twist!

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