Thursday, January 29, 2015

Before & After: The Living and Dining Room

When we bought the Duplex, the existing Living Room and Dining Room were pretty nice - but a bit small.  And they were down the hall from the kitchen, which didn't give us the open floor plan we like.

Soooooo......we decided to take an extra bedroom (which the City didn't let us count as a bedroom anyway) and turn it into the dining room.
By removing a couple of walls, it let the rooms flow together and created a much larger space.  But it was a lot of work.  And as is always the case, the house looked a lot worse - before it looked better!












In the Dining Room, the wall to the kitchen was load bearing.  So we had to put in a new beam and move the radiator, to create the open space.  But it was worth it!
Dining Room (aka bedroom) Before


Walls removed and new load bearing beam installed















We updated all the electrical, eliminated knob and tube wiring, and replaced the original light switches with reproduction mother-of-pearl push buttons!








We also added beautiful new light fixtures
And we repaired the broken stained glass window.  

 Now the Dining Room is fully integrated with the Living Room and the Kitchen


We repaired and refinished all the antique red birch floors.  Don't they look fantastic at 90 years old?
And last, but not least, we restored the beauty of this china cabinet with a light, glass shelves and repaired all the plaster & wood.  We kept the original glass knobs to the doors and drawers.

We're so happy with this light, bright space.   And with the open floor plan, there is lots of room to arrange furniture and create a cozy space for the family!

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9 comments:

  1. Beautiful as always Laurel! Where did you get the reproduction light switches? Are they plug & play or a special install?

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    1. Thanks Beth! The light switches are from House of Antique Hardware. They need to be wired in, but nothing special. I love the click sound they make when you press them!

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  2. I love the attention to detail on every home. The homes seem so happy to be pretty again.

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  3. What a lovely home you have made here. Great job!

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  4. Wow! It is hard to say what is my favorite thing about what you have done! The stained glass window, moving the hutch with original hardware, opening up the living and family room. It just looks beautiful. I love the white cabinets too! Such a beautiful transistion. You have a real talent!

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    1. Thanks so much Linda. This was a loooonnnggg project, but we're so pleased with how it came out! Thanks for following along with our adventures!

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  5. Oh my gosh, both properties are gorgeous! I'd be grateful to live in either one.

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