Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Tenant's Living Room and Dining Room: Before and After

While the first floor in both duplex units started out the same, we took different approaches to creating the 'after' design.  They both involved a lot of work - but they each have their own unique look now!

The challenge on the Tenant side of the duplex was to create flow between the living spaces on the first floor.  The kitchen was at the very back of the house and felt cut off from the rest of the house.  So we made a dramatic change eliminated the hallway between the dining room and kitchen.  It was a big job, because they were load bearing walls.  But look at the difference it makes!

Eliminating Hallway with new LVL Beams
It also meant we had to move the china cabinet to the right a few feet - but I just love how it looks, now that it's centered in the doorway from the living room!

In Progress - China Cabinet Moved to Right
The dining room now feels much larger, with the addition of 4 feet from the old hallway.


And painting it Sherwin Williams's neutral Linen made it so much brighter.

The Restoration Hardware light fixture adds a dramatic touch.  The underside of the canopy is lined with mirrors, so it will add a lot of sparking light to the dining table.





And when we rebuilt the china cabinet, we lighted it and added glass shelves.  Now it's a great spot to display collectibles!


The living room didn't get as many changes - it was already a nice size, with beautiful stained glass in the front window.  And of course now there is a nice flow between all of the rooms.  


Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen are now connected!
We still need to get the china cabinet completed with hardware and the original glass doors reinstalled, but it's nice to have everything else finished!

Curious how this unit compares to the Living Room and Dining Room in the other duplex unit?  Click here.

Up next?  I'll be sharing the before and after photos of the kitchen.




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19 comments:

  1. Beautiful! That light fixture reminds me of a daisy.
    Is the wall with the china cabinet slightly slanted?

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    1. Thanks!!

      The wall with the china cabinet is straight - but we 'clipped' the corner on the wall to the left, to make it more open to the kitchen. We've done that in a few houses now and really like how 1) it makes the space feel more open and 2) makes it easier to navigate (no running into a corner!)

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  2. I came from Ikea Hackers and I couldn't help but reading the whole blog ! That's so amazing.
    I LOVE the way you transform poor old houses in something beautiful and unique.
    BTW I am French (sorry for the mistakes) and houses are really different here. Most of them are made of bricks or concrete blocks and covered with slates or tiles.
    And another difference, in France, most people don't like (my husband hates it) having toilet in the bathroom... ;-) Aline in Brittany

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for reading the blog! Especially from so far away!

      Yes, houses are very different here. I guess we have so many wood houses because of all the forest land. And if you didn't have a toilet in the bathroom - most Americans would find that very odd! It does seem like different parts of the world have very different styles!

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  3. The house is very beautiful, thanks very much

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  4. Very good post, your house is beautiful

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  5. The wood house is great.There's lot of space, light colors and big windows.The only missing thing is an electric smoker in the garden.

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  7. Your house is very, very nice. The post is very interesting and full with innovative ideas.

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  8. The house looks great. You've done a great job!

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  9. Really nice house you got there! The ambient and lighting is well placed ! Really good job !

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  10. this looks very nice and elegant house
    thanks for posting pics

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  11. Your decoration look fabulous. May I try your way? It seems to me that the room looks more spacious. It is clever idea for combining my small living room and dining room.

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  12. The wood house is really great amazing!

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