Before & After: The Journey from Ugly Duckling to Swan - First Floor

It's been a long journey, but we're finally ready to share all the Before & After photos.

This is the first day we bought the house.  The previous owner had gutted it, so there were lots of possibilities.  And a few unknown problems, that we'd yet to discover!

10 months later, it's changed a lot!  We've gone from concept to reality and transformed the Ugly Duckling into a Swan.

The interior was pretty rough.  The original staircase was intact, but was so woefully out of building code compliance, we had to rebuild it.

Richard, examining the staircase

Now - well let's just say it's changed a bit!

Many hours went into cleaning up and installing this antique mantle.  Now the gas fireplace and built-ins make the living room the perfect place to curl up with a book on a cold Maine night.

Photo by Jamie Salomon

House jacking in progress.....

Surprises?  Oh yeah, we had some of those.  Like when we discovered the back of the house didn't have any footings under the foundation.  We had to jack up the house to dig and pour footings, so we could get started.

This was a view from front to back on day 1.  Note the joists running across the ceiling (why were the bottoms painted white?  No clue!) - we kept those in the final design.  But we removed the old flue and added new engineered beams to carry the loads of the second floor.

First floor 'Before'

First floor - 'After' 

We changed the original, tiny kitchen into a space that's truly the heart of the home.  It has a custom curved island and walnut top.  And a layout that works for serious cooks!

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Photo by Jamie Salomon 

Photo by Jamie Salomon

Photo by Jamie Salomon

But to really make this house work for the 21st century, it needed more space.  That was accomplished with a dining room addition across the back.

And the garage and mudroom addition - which includes a much needed powder room.  

Photo by Jamie Salomon

And throughout the house, we paid attention to lots and lots of details.  Like adding the glass top in the powder room above.  And these reproduction doorknobs.  The result?  Well, we're pretty pleased with the outcome!  And of course we did a lot more. Click here to see the 2nd floor.


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Sources:  

Paint colors - Walls, Sherwin Williams Snowbound, Island and mudroom Sherwin Williams Tidewater, Front door Sherwin Williams Cloudburst

Stove - Thermador

Microwave - Sharp

Kitchen  & Mantle Backsplash - Oceanside Glass 
Doorknobs - Nostalgic Warehouse
Starfish Doorknocker - Michael Healy

Dining Room Pendant - Ralph Lauren Moutauk for Circa Lighting

Kitchen Island Pendant - Restoration Hardware Classic Pendant

Dining Table - Crate & Barrel
Living Room Rug & Dining Chairs - Pottery Barn