SoPo Cottage: May 2018

Monday, May 28, 2018

Vintage Colonial: Kids Bedrooms and Hall Bathroom

I love decorating children's rooms and this home was particularly fun!

The front bedroom got a dramatic change when we opened up the doorway that led to the attic. The addition of this space and the extra window really transformed the room. We also added a closet (oddly, it didn't have one before) and the built in shelving.

Eliminating the wall & door to let the additional window be part of the bedroom made it so much brighter!!

The charming dog artwork? Was done by my friend Julie out of her shop Earth Angel Arts. She used the dog theme duvet as inspiration and created these great paintings!

Penelope!!

The back bedroom isn't large, but it's such a sweet room. After more hours than I care to remember stripping wallpaper and what seemed like hundreds of upholstery tacks (seriously, what were they for???),

we painted the walls, added a custom radiator cover and decorated the room with a nautical theme.

We had to take 2 feet from this closet wall to expand the bathroom - but it didn't have much impact on the bedroom.

And the biggest change? The new bathroom at the top of the stairs.

This is the space that was turned into the new hall bathroom

We stole a little space from the back bedroom, as well as this former landing space and the linen closet - all to create a bright new bathroom. Doesn't it sound simple? It was actually a huge challenge involving moving doors, the window, steam radiators and all new plumbing/fixtures. But, it was worth it. It makes a huge difference in the house for a future family.

A glass tile feature stripe really brightens up the room!

All in all, the house now has 3 great bedrooms, lots of closets as well as two full baths. A real plus for modern living! Pin It

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Creating a Master Suite

Back in 1938, when this house was built, no one would have thought to have a master suite. A separate bathroom for the adults? Crazy! Just having a hall bathroom was a nice touch! But for modern living, it's an amenity many buyers want and I like to create one whenever I can. And this house was a perfect candidate.

The original house had a large master bedroom next to an adjoining hall bathroom. That gave us the opportunity to reconfigure the bathroom and connect it to the master bedroom (of course we had to add a new hall bath, but more about that in a future post!).

To do that, we had to gut the space, move the doorway, install all new plumbing, fixtures and tile. So it was a big job - but oh, so worth it!

Bathroom - Before

Bathroom - After

For the floor tile, I installed a new pattern - water jet hexagonal carrera & black marble. It's big and bold and I love it!

Bathroom - Before

And for a touch of drama, I installed a feature wall of blue glass, to complement the blue vanity.

In the bedroom, we made some changes as well. It's a big room with lots of windows and doors.

Master Bedroom - Before

Since people always need storage space, we added two new closets, connected by a window seat. With the radiator underneath it, it's a toasty spot to sit!

Look closely at the ceiling. This house didn't have insulation for so many years, the ceilings and exterior walls had somehow 'pillowed' over the years. This required lots of plaster work, to create a smooth, clean finish.

We moved the light fixture, so we could add this chandelier above the bed. From Restoration Hardware, the black and brass combination looks great, with the white silk shades.

And the result? A lovely suite with a calm, soothing color palette.

Sources:

Chandelier - Restoration Hardware Milo

Bedside Sconces - Restoration Hardware Baby & Child

Bathroom Light Fixture - Wayfair

Window Treatments & Pillows- Custom

Dresser - Crate & Barrel

Rug - Ballard Designs

Paint Color - Walls, Sherwin Williams Medici Ivory

Trim, Sherwin Williams Extra White

Tile - Builder Depot

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Thursday, May 17, 2018

Summertime.....and the Living is Easy - on the Screened In Porch

As soon as I saw the 'bones' of this porch, I knew it could be an amazing asset to the house. Sure, it was a bit tired and rough. But there was also a lot of potential!

Look at that potential!!!

And the interior was a bit tired as well. Just ready for some updating!

But I had to cool my jets on this for awhile. With our crazy cold winter and snow, it wasn't a good time to get to work. Many of the products we wanted to use require temperatures above 45 degrees (the screening product recommends 60 degrees.....you know, July in Maine! :-) ) So this was the very last project that we worked on before putting the house on the market. It was a race to the finish!!!

First step - we needed a new, low maintenance ceiling. A vinyl beadboard really brightens the porch up and is also easy to take care of. Next we installed a dramatic fan/light. Honestly, I really love this fan. It has a classic charm, with the cage that's built around it. Such a great statement piece!

Next, we tore out all the old screening and sanded down the original cedar posts. After staining them with a transparent cedar stain, they look like new!

Finally, we installed the screening - a product called ScreenEZ, which let us put up big clean panels with a special extra tough screen and a nice frame around the unit.

This photo was about an hour before people started coming to see the house. I was in a panic, calling out 90 minutes! We have 90 minutes!!! But we got it done!!

And the result? Well now this really is an extension of the living space. You can leave the door open all summer and walk seamlessly from indoors to outdoors.

Before

After

See the fern stand? That started life as the hot water holding tank from the original boiler in the basement. Thanks to a little work, it's now a very cool planter!

Porch - Before

Can't you see yourself sitting out here on a warm summer evening???

Sources:
Fan - Savoy House
Letter S - Ballard Designs
Pillows - Pottery Barn
Outdoor Rug - Target
Furniture - HomeGoods
Screening - ScreenEz, Hammond Lumber

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Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Vintage Colonial: Living Spaces

I love everything about this house, but now that it's done, I realize the first floor living spaces are my favorite.

I've already shared the kitchen and dining room - so let's take a look at the living room. This room was pretty bland when we started. A long brown box of a room, with a big black wood stove in the fireplace.

You start to see the difference as soon as you walk in the front door. See the difference from the foyer?

One of the biggest changes was to open up the wall to the kitchen. Can you believe this is the same view??

Before

After

Aren't the antique andirons great???

And we made the fireplace a real focal point for the room. That included removing the clunky old wood stove, inserting antique anchor andirons (more about that here!) that we found on the property and adding custom molding and sconces.

Of course having a big bay window across the front of the room ensures the space is always flooded with sunlight!

But that's not all. The living room has another doorway that's the entrance to the home office.

This room was truly a freezer when we started (seriously, all the cleaning products I put in there turned into ice cubes overnight! The two electric heaters in the room should have been a clue that there was an issue!).

But after insulating all the exterior walls, crawl space, fixing the radiator and replacing the old windows with energy efficient ones, this room is so cozy and bright. Well, I just love it!

We reworked the bookcases, added custom cabinets doors and a cover for the radiator. Add to that a very cool edison light fixture and you have a pretty fabulous room!

But the coolest thing??? My friend and neighbor showed up at the door with 6 crystal knobs from her house that she couldn't use. They are PERFECT for the brand new cabinet doors. Doesn't that add a fantastic detail? And you have to love that they came from a house right up the street - truly staying in the neighborhood.