SoPo Cottage: July 2026

The Craftsman Cottage had a half bath off of the kitchen, in what appears to have originally been a porch. I don't really know when they converted it from a porch to a half bath - maybe 1980's??? But it was definitely ready for a serious upgrade.

Because it was a porch, there was an exterior door, but it no longer opened because the porch was sagging so much (a good thing, because the stairs were long gone - except for one stringer next to the house)

Window with a view of the neighbor's driveway

It was structurally comprised, so the guys had to jack up the porch, pour new footings and build the supporting structure.

You're not supposed to be able to put your hand under structural posts!

And yes, this was the home of the constipation closet! Because who doesn't want a closet full of ancient laxatives in an unheated room? 😂

With the structural work completed, we better allocated the space to provide a large pantry and a powder room with all new plumbing, electrical and insulation.

The ceiling, floor and walls all got insulation

Finally, I got to do the pretty stuff, with this gorgeous Morris & Co wallpaper.

I really love the finished product - even if it was a huge pain to install!

In keeping with our usual obsession for detail, we installed these gorgeous pocket door pulls.

And now that it's done, I'm thrilled with the changes. Not only does it look nicer, but it's structurally sound with all new systems. That's a huge change!

The pantry provides so much storage space!

Sources:

Sink - Signature Hardware Cierra

Faucet - Kohler

Toilet - Toto Entrada

Wallpaper - Morris & Co, Wallflower

Lighting - Pottery Barn Essential Sconce

Pocket Door Pull - House of Antique Hardware

Mirror - Wayfair Elora

It’s been a crazy few weeks getting the house finished and on the market. We had an amazing Open House and are now under contract. Finally, I can spend some time posting ‘Before & After’ photos. And this house has some great ones!

I’m going to start with the kitchen which had some of the biggest changes. Like many old houses, this one had a dark, cramped kitchen. It was a place for the woman of the house to turn out meals, but it wasn't the family gathering place it is today.

Kitchen - the starting point

To change that, we started by removing the structural wall between the kitchen and dining room (a big milestone!!!). That allowed us to expand the footprint – making this kitchen much bigger than the original.

The structural wall between the kitchen and dining room was removed

What a difference!

We also eliminated the original furnace flue (we installed heat pumps) and opened up the doorway to the living room. That allowed us to move the refrigerator to the side wall and create space for the island.

By gutting everything, installing new plumbing and electrical is much easier

All of that made this kitchen feel like it belongs in this century. But we also kept original woodwork and complimented it with a cherry island, which helps maintain the antique character of the home.

And the results - well it's a huge change!

I am in love with the calacatta marble, penny round tile that I used behind the stove and as an accent strip across the backsplash. You can't go wrong with natural stone (although I wouldn't use it for a countertop. My daughter has carrera marble counters and they take a lot of extra care that most of us wouldn't want to deal with). I always use quartz for countertops, it's easy to maintain.