Exceeding Expectations - Craftsman at Work in Our Craftsman Bungalow

There's something about this house.  I LOVE it.  It's not big.  It's not grand.  But it has a coziness that envelopes you when you come through the front door.  Maybe that's why I wanted to make it really beautiful, with high end finishes and details.  You know, the kind you would typically see in much more expensive, custom homes.

Now, I had high expectations on how it would come together.  After all, we have a big chunk of budget going towards custom woodwork.  I knew I'd be happy with the finished product.    But it's gone way over my expectations.   The guys have done such a fabulous job, I'm blown away with how it looks.

The piece de resistance is the new staircase, which is the first thing you see when you enter the house.  The Waterhouse Builders team did it again!  They framed it up months ago, but the finish work is what makes it look so great.  And it's a complicated staircase - 3 newel posts, a custom landing, a secret storage closet and Craftsman style balusters.
















First step - Brian put in the oak stair treads and risers.  He made oak plugs, to hide all the fasteners.  Then he started framing the closet that fits under the stairs.  There is a lot of space there, for storing big, bulky items.

Creating Oak Plugs

Second step - building the Craftsman baluster panels.  Owner Mike Backman went back to his shop and started cutting these to exacting dimensions.  We wanted them to fit together with minimal joinery - so they would look as close to one piece as possible.

Once they were cut, Kyle put them together and sanded them all to a fine finish.







Third Step - While that work was in process, Brian installed the newel posts.  I'd consulted with the folks at Atlantic Hardwoods (I've been there so much lately, we're all on first name basis!) and we decided to use a large chunky newel at the bottom of the steps and then slimmer ones on the landing and at the top of the stairs.

Kyle finished off the trim on the storage closet - with wainscot detail that matches the dining room.  When it's closed, you can't really tell it's there.

Fourth Step - This was the moment we'd been waiting for.  The baluster panels are what really make this staircase unique.  We had spent a lot of time planning the design and layout - it was exciting to see it all come together!.

The unveiling!

Fifth Step - Matt from Backman Painting came in to spray all the trim.  It took him 5 hours to tape off all the oak and then he started spraying multiple coats of white semi-gloss.  The result?  Amazing.  Everything is flawless, with no seams or marks.







Sixth Step - We have antique maple throughout most of the first floor, which will have a beautiful golden patina when it's refinished.  But we're installing all new hardwood on the 2nd floor - and knew that new maple would have been too pale a finish.  So we decided to install oak (which is traditional in a Craftsman Bungalow) stair treads and we'll do the 2nd floor with oak as well.  But how to make the transition between the two flooring types?  We decided to do this inset on the landing.  It has an oak 'frame' around the outside, with a walnut border and the antique maple at the center.  We can't wait to see how it looks when it's sanded and finished.

Next Step - Now I need to get to work.  Once all the dust settles, I've got a lot of sanding and sealing to do on the natural woodwork.  Hopefully I can get that done in the next week or so.

In the meantime, we're going to keep admiring all the hard work that went into it!  This was a huge project that took a couple of weeks.  But we're pretty thrilled with how it's coming along.  Do you think it will make a great first impression as folks come through the front door?

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The Children's Rooms - Before & After

Befpre

Like the Master Bedroom, this side of the 2nd floor almost doubled in size as we changed from a low profile cape cod roof to a taller, shed dormer roofline - without any footprint change!  Instead of one, narrow room, we now have two light, bright bedrooms (plus a hall bath!).  Here's where we started.

Floor Plan - Before

Floor Plan - After

After building the new 2nd floor, 4 feet taller than the original, we have a dramatic change from the 'before'.  We now have lots of windows and light.  And on the interior, we popped the ceilings up a bit higher than planned, to take advantage of all the new space.  This added lots of architectural interest in the rooms, thanks to the dormer angles.

The Girls Room

If you remember the plan for the back bedroom, we wanted to create a girl's room with no pink (click here for more info).  It was a bit of a challenge, but we think we pulled it off.  Here's how we did it.

At the Open House, we heard lots of comments about the angled feature wall.  Painted Sherwin Williams Retiring Blue, it really adds a lot of interest to the space.  And while the rest of the room is painted a basic Sherwin Williams Extra White, the blue wall reflects and adds dimension to the white walls as well.


I love the Pottery Barn duvet cover and pillows, as well as the faux fur bean bag chair.  Remember the little chandelier that I spray painted?  Doesn't it look great installed over the table (with the bling!)?

We love this room!








The Boys Room

The front bedroom has lots and lots of sunlight streaming in.  With 5 windows, facing south and west, it's a really bright room.

We capitalized on the cool space under the dormer, by creating a wall of built ins.  We were able to reuse the built in dresser from the original space, but added a closet and a cozy window seat as well.

Inspiration for the room came from the very colorful geometric sheets that I found at Target (on sale!).  The striped coverlet and decorative pillows are from Pottery Barn (except for the custom window seat cushion that my friend Faith made!).

     

So what do you think?  Isn't this a big change from our starting point?

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Reclaimed Wood Vanity

For the upstairs hall bathroom, we didn't want to install the typical, boring vanity.  We were looking for something a little more interesting.

Pottery Barn Mason Vanity

So, I was pretty excited when I found this cabinet at the Pottery Barn outlet.  It's the base of a very expensive vanity they make, and while I like the wood base, I wasn't really crazy about the big chunky ceramic top.  So it didn't bother me that it didn't come with the cabinet.  Plus, it made for a major discount!

Instead, we have this sink top that was in the downstairs bathroom.  I really like the clean lines and practicality of it - and thought it would be great if we could reuse it.

So Kyle, from Waterhouse Builders, got to work creating a reclaimed wood vanity top, to support the sink top.  He started with some old timber joists and after cleaning them up a bit, created a 'picture frame' top, to maximize the patina edges.

Old Growth Wood Joists

He biscuited the pieces and then used Kreg screws to really tie it all together. This thing is solid!!!!











Next, it got a light sanding to take off the really rough edges, while leaving the beauty of the saw marks and aged wood.

1st Fit Up

Finally, we're applying 7 coats of polyurethane, to give it a tough protective finish.  Once that's done, it's ready for the top and faucet.  Can't wait to get it installed!  What do you think?

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The 2 Tools No Home Renovator Should Be Without

Okay, so I'm not talking about the usual stuff….hammers, drills, saws, etc.  I'm talking about a couple of tools that we've discovered in the last two years that have made our life MUCH easier.

First, the laser level.  Like lots of other folks, we have levels of different sizes that get used for lots of tasks.  But once we discovered the joy of a laser level, we find we use it a LOT.  

The most obvious place to use a laser level is to install kitchen cabinets.  It quickly helps you determine the high/low point in the room, so you can define where to start placing your cabinets.  And of course it helps you constantly check your level during the installation process.

But I quickly found lots of other uses for it.  One of my all time favorite projects was painting the staircase on our first project (click here for photos).  The laser level let us quickly tape up the steps and get the project moving quickly.  Since then, I've used it for any unique taping project - the nursery in our last project was done in half the time it would have taken with an old fashioned level or plumb bob.

My other favorite use - installing tile.  I love installing bands of special tile.  But it's critical to have these perfectly level.  The laser level lets you do that with ease.  WARNING:  it can let you become a bit obsessive about keeping your line exactly level.  There are times when I know I ripped out a line of tile for a fraction of an inch difference, that no one but me would ever notice!

We have a Bosch Cross Line Leveler.  It works beautifully, but we were cheap and in retrospect, I wish we'd bought the next higher level model which also provides a plumb laser.  This is a fantastic tool when you're doing things like trying to mark the center of the ceiling for a light fixture.

A critical accessory for a laser level is a tripod.  I use an inexpensive Targus tripod that I bought at Target.  Again, in retrospect, it would be nice to have something a little more rugged.  And at some point, I'll need to upgrade.

The other tool that I don't think we could live without at this point is the 'Fein' tool.  Developed in the 60's by the German Fein company, this oscillating tool was used for removing plaster casts when a broken arm or leg had mended.  Its oscillating blade wouldn't cut skin, but would cut right through a cast.  Today, many companies make their own version (ours is a Bosch) and they come with a variety of cutting blades, sanding heads, etc.  

It's the perfect tool to cut off a bit of trim, cut off a broken fastener, or undercut a door frame.  For example, when the granite installers discovered we had a section of 2x4 sticking too far out of the wall, I was able to quickly cut it out of the way, so that they could continue with their installation.  A couple of bolts sticking out of the wall?  Cut them right off!   They have plunge cut blades, scraping blades and grinder blades.  And they all work beautifully.  The only thing I'm not crazy about is the sanding accessory.  I've used it a few times, but haven't found it quite as useful - the sandpaper just seems to vibrate off!  

So, I'm curious.  Are there tools that you've found incredibly helpful in your renovation projects?  I'd love to find some more time savers!!

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Creating a Master Bedroom from Unused Attic Space

Somehow, in the course of 120 years, this attic space never got finished into living space.  It was one of the features of this house that excited us the most, when we started the project.

During

After

But it wasn't an easy job.  The joists were over-spanned.  The roof rafters didn't meet new codes.  And of course there was no insulation.  But we quickly tackled these challenges (see details on insulation and structural updates) and added new elements like collar ties of antique, hand hewn beams.

And the result?   Thanks to new windows and a large skylight - and a very cool light fixture - the room is light and bright.  No more dark, creepy spaces.  The gabled roof provides architectural interest to the space.  And the room is large enough to have room space for a reading nook by the window.

And we were able to add a half bath at the far end of the room, complete with a marble mosaic floor and classic fixtures.


So, it might have taken 120 years to get this room finished, but it's ready for the next 120 now!  What do you think?




Sources:
Chandelier - Shades of Light
Bathroom Fixtures - Kohler & American Standard
Rug, Bedside Lamps & Linens - Homegoods
Wall Color - Benjamin Moore Green Cast








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