The New Third Floor

One of the things that was really exciting about this project was adding a new floor.  By raising the roof a few feet, we were able to create a whole new living area.  That gave us the opportunity to add 2 bedrooms, a full bath and a laundry room.

The stairway to the 3rd floor is pretty dramatic - it has a tall ceiling that makes the space seem huge.  Nothing like the split level we started with!  

The staircase has tall ceilings - unlike the original split level

But the real difference is when you get into the new rooms.  The front bedroom has a vaulted ceiling, including a gable that overlooks the front of the house.  It's not a huge room, but it feels so big thanks to the high ceilings and the windows.  

The back bedroom is also a show stopper.

I love this new hall bathroom.  We installed a sink with a sea glass green top.

We used green glass accents in the shower, to add some design interest to the space.  

And the doorknob to the bath storage closet - is this fabulous glass pull.  I bought this so many years ago and now wish I had a lot more!!  It's perfect!

We also included a laundry room on this floor.  It's super convenient to the bedrooms and there is a nice little window the provide natural light.  

And see the light fixture?  It's from the original house.  So nice to have a bit of history there.

We made so many changes to this house, but the addition of this new floor made everything else possible!  

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Creating a Luxurious Primary Suite

So.... this house started with two bedrooms and a bath.  'Suite' wasn't even in the vocabulary when they built the house in 1949.  But my clients wanted a total of 3 bedrooms, with a primary suite to get away from it all, so we made some pretty big changes to create a full suite on the 2nd floor! 

We moved a lot of things around.  We made the front bedroom a bit larger and vaulted the ceiling - which made an AMAZING difference.  We also added new double windows to let more light in and provide a view to the water.

The old bathroom became the dressing areas 

with built in closets lining both walls for lots of storage.

And the back bedroom became a beautiful bathroom.  

The bathroom has it all - a large double sink, heated marble floors, custom shower with a bench and niche, glass doors,

a heated towel rack and a custom make-up vanity that matches the sink.

The living area is on the first floor and the other bedrooms and bath are on the 3rd floor - so this entire floor is devoted to the primary suite.  Now the owners really can get away from the noise in the rest of the house in their own private area! 

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Nautical Powder Room

I'd love to show you the Before & After of the Powder Room - but it's a brand new space that didn't exist in the original house.  So you'll only see the 'after' version.

Let's face it, powder rooms can be boring, especially if they don't have a window.  It can be a tiny, dull space. So our goal was to make this one interesting.  And I think we succeeded!  Every time a new contractor walks up the stairs and turns the corner, it's a WOW!   

The far wall is wallpapered with nautical chart wallpaper.  It's so much fun to look for your favorite landmarks on this wall!  And they were able to mark the house location with this little anchor - isn't that the best?

For the flooring, I installed this great hex tile, which has an undulating surface and fades from dark to light watery blue. 

We wanted a small vanity (and it is small!!!) so there was a spot to hide a couple rolls of TP.    And above it, we found a nautical light fixture with a porthole style mirror.  So say goodbye to a dull boring powder room, this one is a conversation piece! 

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Split Level - It's Done, It's Done, It's Done!!!

We turned the keys over to the homeowners last week and they're busy moving in.  And I can finally start to share the Before & After Photos.

There were so many changes to the house, it's hard to figure out where to start.  But let's look at the exterior first, because that's the first thing you see when you arrive.  

Our goal was to add living space while ensuring the house still blends in with the neighborhood.  There were a lot of challenges from a zoning perspective, so we carefully balanced where we could build with keeping an 'old house vibe'.  We added a new top floor, which provided space for two bedrooms and a bath.  And we were able to bump out 5 feet on the right side of the house, as long as we stayed back behind the setback.

Split Level - Before

And from a functional standpoint, we removed the front door - which was a cramped space next to the garage door with dangerously low headroom to get up the stairs to the living area or down to the basement.  Now there is a normal front door that meets all building codes - yippee!!

The house was sided with vinyl siding and PVC trim - so it's a low maintenance lifestyle!  The homeowners opted to do the front stairs with meranti posts to bring the warm glow of natural wood against the gray siding.  It's complemented with sleek cable rail instead of balusters.  The decking is a low maintenance AZEK decking, which blends beautifully with the posts.  

And the result?  Well we're all pretty thrilled with how it came out.  Quite a change, don't you think?

 

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