Coming Soon, 11 Stone Drive, SoPo

Craftsman Bungalow - Before

After 6 long months of work, we're nearing the finish line.  There are still lots and lots of 'to do' items, but we're hoping to get them all done and have the Open House on Sunday, June 29th.  This Craftsman Bungalow has come a long way and all the custom woodwork and finishes are really starting to shine.

The original maple floors have been refinished and we're doing the last of the finishing work on the amazing new stairwell.

The hutch in the dining room is getting its last coat of finish.


































Kyle installed the mudroom bench and mirror this week.  Of course the weather has been so nice, it's hard to remember how necessary that is for removing boots in the winter!























Our antique bathtub in the 1st floor bath will get reinstalled this week.......I went bold with the color, to tie into the stained glass tile 'window' above it (to see more about the bathroom, click here).  And the new, vintage style sink was installed today.




Appliances come this week.  The kitchen is ready for them!

Dominic Installing the Bridge Faucet

The Loft

The 2nd floor still needs light fixtures, but everything else is ready.  We have 2 full bedrooms upstairs (there is another one on the first floor), a full bath and 'the loft' - a bright open space for a desk, easy chair or reading nook.  And it has its own custom, built in bookshelf!

Kelly's Sealcoating came out this weekend to freshen up the driveway - part of the Garage Beautification project!

Light fixtures?  I can't wait till you see them.  I found some really great Craftsman style fixtures for this home.  Including the $2800 one that I shared in this post.

Curious about how much has changed?  Click on the '6th House Before' tab above and you can see all the before pictures.

I'll be sharing a lot more photos this week as we get it pulled together.  And hopefully I'll get to meet you at the Open House next weekend!


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When Things Don't Go Exactly As Planned.....Try, Try, Try Again

One of the big design elements between the Living Room and Dining Room are the Colonnades.  They're a classic Craftsman feature and they're one of the first design elements we wanted to build.

First step - Kyle needed to trim out the opening.  We were able to reuse the original moldings for the vertical pieces and created new matching trim across the top.  We used the same wainscot detail on both sides of the opening.

Source: Barnyard Gazette

Next we need the columns.  We're making them of quarter sawn oak.  As a quick primer - quarter sawn was a popular way of cutting lumber in the late 19th and early 20th century.  It results in wood that has a beautiful grain, is stronger and more stable, with little warping or twisting.  Have you ever seen a quarter sawn floor?  They're incredibly hard and beautiful.  But cutting wood this way reduces the yield,  so it fell out of favor as modern practices were utilized.

This is a tricky carpentry project.  There are a lot of compound angles to contend with.  But Kyle was up to the challenge.  We laid them out 'to scale' with a drawing on the floor.  They looked great and we were very pleased with the proportions.

Kyle went back to the Waterhouse Builders shop and started putting them together.  He started with the basic column and then glued, screwed and finished nailed the surrounding frame.  They were very well made!









He brought them back to the house.....

and I hated them.  Really, really hated them.  While they looked really great in a 2D drawing, when you saw them in 3D, the mass was just way too big.  I kept trying to like them, but they looked like parts from a much bigger house, the proportions didn't work.  I even tried giving it another day, for them to grow on me.  But they were just wrong.



















Sooooo, as much as we hated to do it, it was back to the drawing board.  Literally.  We scaled them down and Kyle got to make them all over again.  But this time, we loved them.  What a difference it makes, getting the proportions right!

Next up - finishing, flooring, paint & more!

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Lady - Is That a Doorknob in Your Purse?

As we near the end of a project, there are so many details to remember, I start losing track of things.  Case in point - I had removed one of the antique glass doorknobs from a door and had tossed it in my purse to take it home and clean it up.  And promptly forgot it was there (although you would think I would notice my purse was much heavier!)

Several days later, I had to go into an office building that had one of those X-ray machines like you see in the airport.  I dutifully popped by bag on the belt and went through the metal detector.  But as I waited on the other side, I noticed the security guard looking at the screen and then he called another guard over to look.  Both of them started to give me funny looks.

"Lady, is that a doorknob in your purse?"

"Why yes it is!"

I was 1) mortified and 2) suddenly worried they would take it away from me - and I really need that matching doorknob!  But evidently doorknobs aren't on a confiscate list, like brass knuckles or pocket knives.  I quickly tried to explain why it was in my purse, as they made me pull it out and show it to them.

"That thing looks awful!  Are you really going to reuse it?"

So, I started rambling about how it can be cleaned up, how I put the parts in a crock pot with vinegar to remove all the paint.  How Brasso is a wonderful product.  And the whole time, they just looked at me like I was a crazy lady.  By now, there was a line forming to go through the machine and they weren't amused.

But instead of hurrying, the guards started reminiscing about door knobs in the houses they grew up in.  Evidently, one of the guards had knobs like this in his childhood home.  Maybe this was the oddest thing that happened that day??  A little excitement to breakup the routine?

But the people queuing in line, didn't seem to be interested.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they gave it back to me.  But suggested I might not want to bring it back for my next visit!  Good thing it's now out of my purse and getting prettied up!

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More Than a Facelift - The Deck Before & After

I haven't shared many photos of the back of the house, but I'll change that with this post.  We have a nice private backyard.  And there's a lot of decking on the back of the house.  It provides lovely outdoor living space as well as a connection to the 'bonus room' over top of the garage.  It's sturdy and in good shape.  But, while I love the style of the big X shaped railings, they fall woefully short of building code requirements. So we need to make some changes.


While rules vary a bit from town to town, most towns require a deck railing that's 36" tall, with balusters that don't have any gaps over 4".  With those big X shapes, we have gaps much bigger than that.  In addition, we didn't have any railing on the side of some of the staircases.  Again, a building code violation.  So we wanted to rectify that as well.

Kyle got to work pulling out the old railing and adding in the new.  It's amazing how much fresher it makes the deck look, with that simple addition.  And of course the railing on the stairs makes it feel so much safer.

But, it created the domino effect.  You know, that thing that happens when you make one change and it impacts everything else?  Suddenly the old decking, which hadn't looked so bad before, looks old and dingy.

The decking needs cleaning!

So, I got a container of Behr wood deck refresher.  In theory, I just needed to spray it on, wait 15 minutes and scrub it off, to clean it all up.  But I guess our deck was extra dirty, because I found myself on my hands and knees with a putty knife and coarse steel wool, trying to get the old dirty finish off.

And once that was done, it looked better - but, it still didn't look as nice and pristine as all that new railing.














So, step 2, I decided to stain the deck.  I looked at lots of options, but decided that a solid color made the most sense.  Despite all that cleaning, it still had funky dark spots and a translucent stain would just magnify that.   What a difference, it looks beautiful!  Suddenly the whole deck looks nice and fresh!

This project turned out to be quite a bit bigger than I expected.  But, now that we're done, it really does look great!

Dinner al fresco anyone?

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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?

Want to see more?  'Like' us on Facebook for regular updates and lots of photos!

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Planning the Master Bedroom

Now that we're getting close to the finish line, I'm working on the final design details.  Since this is a new Master Bedroom, I really want to make it special.  It's located in the back of the house, a great quiet location to get away from the hustle and bustle in the rest of the house.  But it looks rather plain right now - we need to spice it up!

The starting point is this great duvet cover and sham set from Pottery Barn.  I bought it in the fall, before we even started the project.  It has all the Craftsman colors that I love and the pattern is perfect!

This room has a great spot for a padded headboard, so I decided to whip one up (click here for instructions).  I used this beautiful linen blend fabric in a color called 'Paprika'.  And to really set it off, I added oversized nail head trim  every 2 inches.

Next, we need drapes for the large windows across the back.  This David Allen fabric in a trellis pattern is a great compliment to the duvet cover.  I'm just doing simple panels, for either side of the windows.  But I made sham covers as well, to tie all the colors and patterns together.

This is a good sized room, so the plan includes a cozy chair for reading a good book. And this great Restoration Hardware light fixture will brighten up the spot.

Of course we also need lots of room for storage.  There is plenty of space for a chest of drawers.  But the room also has a large walk in closet.  And if the future owners need even more storage, there is a large space in the knee wall for bulky things like suitcases.





We still need final trim, paint and the new hardwood floor.  But we'll get to put it together soon!

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Bungalow Kitchen Update

I realized there haven't been many photos of the kitchen and thought it was time to rectify that! We've made some nice progress, and while it's not completed yet, it seemed like it was time for an update.

Kitchen - Before

First, let me start with the big news.  We have hardwood floors under the linoleum!!!  And not just any boring floor, it's beautiful antique maple.  It's happy dance time!  On every other house, I made an assumption we would find hardwood and would simply need to refinish it.  And every time I was disappointed and had to come up with more budget for a new floor.  So.....this time I thought I was being clever and budgeted for a new floor right from the beginning.  And go figure, we have hardwood!  There's quite a bit of patching that will be required to work around old pipe holes, but it should be beautiful when we get it done.

There's another element that we are keeping - the existing maple cabinets are in very nice shape.  It would be a shame to take them out.  But, the layout isn't quite what we wanted, so there were some changes to make.

So.....we pulled out several of the upper cabinets and created: 

- a built-in refrigerator cabinet

- a cabinet with microwave shelf and space for a chimney style hood

And we'll be adding Craftsman style hardware on all the drawers and doors.

Then, we pulled out the old laminate countertops and replaced them with this beautiful brown and cream granite.

Creating the electronic granite template

That's a huge slab of granite!

Steve and Jason, our electricians, got to work rewiring the kitchen.  It was a bit of a challenge, with an odd mixture of wiring tied into the ceiling fixture.  But after cutting holes in the ceiling and in the floor boards of the room above, they got it done!  We added recessed lighting, a new pendant over the sink, under cabinet lights and power for our new stainless steel chimney hood.  

And then I got to work on the new tile backsplash.  I used creamy, matte subway tiles for the majority of the space.  But above the stove, I added the beautiful custom crafted tiles from Odd Inq (more about the tiles and the artist here).  They're surrounded by a marble 'frame', to set them off from the subway tile.

And to tie the tile in with the warm brown tones, I used a cocoa colored grout.  It's the first time I've done a dark colored grout - and I love it!  It really adds a nice touch to the subway tile and links everything together.

And of course the kitchen is adjacent to the breakfast room.  Now that they've painted the knotty pine ceiling, the room is so bright!  I can't wait until they get our amazing $2,800 Arts & Crafts light fixture up on that high ceiling.  And you can see the beautiful fir floors that we have in here.  

Of course, there's more to be done.  But we've made some nice progress and the finish line is in sight!

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