The Tenant's Living Room and Dining Room: Before and After

While the first floor in both duplex units started out the same, we took different approaches to creating the 'after' design.  They both involved a lot of work - but they each have their own unique look now!

The challenge on the Tenant side of the duplex was to create flow between the living spaces on the first floor.  The kitchen was at the very back of the house and felt cut off from the rest of the house.  So we made a dramatic change eliminated the hallway between the dining room and kitchen.  It was a big job, because they were load bearing walls.  But look at the difference it makes!

Eliminating Hallway with new LVL Beams

It also meant we had to move the china cabinet to the right a few feet - but I just love how it looks, now that it's centered in the doorway from the living room!

In Progress - China Cabinet Moved to Right

The dining room now feels much larger, with the addition of 4 feet from the old hallway.

And painting it Sherwin Williams's neutral Linen made it so much brighter.

The Restoration Hardware light fixture adds a dramatic touch.  The underside of the canopy is lined with mirrors, so it will add a lot of sparking light to the dining table.





And when we rebuilt the china cabinet, we lighted it and added glass shelves.  Now it's a great spot to display collectibles!

The living room didn't get as many changes - it was already a nice size, with beautiful stained glass in the front window.  And of course now there is a nice flow between all of the rooms.  

Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen are now connected!

We still need to get the china cabinet completed with hardware and the original glass doors reinstalled, but it's nice to have everything else finished!

Curious how this unit compares to the Living Room and Dining Room in the other duplex unit?  Click here.

Up next?  I'll be sharing the before and after photos of the kitchen.

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Before and After: The Foyer (aka Mudroom)

You may remember from a previous post that the foyer was one of the things that helped me decide to buy the Duplex.  I just love that space as you come in the front door!

But it was kind of tired looking and had some funky things going on.  The windows?  They were on the back of the showers in each unit (hence the painted glass).  The vents you see in each top corner?  Those were for the bathroom vent - stinky!  The grey indoor/outdoor carpet?  Well it was time for it to go.  And underneath, we found this beautiful pine floor - it just needs a little refinishing.

So the guys got to work.  First step, tearing out the old windows.  But it did seem odd, when they were gone - we could see all the way through the house!  Foyer to bathroom, down the hallway and straight through to the kitchen door!!






I wanted to create a mud bench and closet for each unit of the duplex.  I started the plan with an IKEA PAX wardrobe as the foundation.  I added their 5 panel BERGSBO glass door, to provide a little reflection in the space.


The guys assembled the IKEA unit and mounted it on a 2x4 frame.  They added bracing above and then installed crown moulding around the entire space.









For the back of the bench, we used V Groove paneling.  We mounted 2x6's horizontally, to provide a solid foundation for IKEA coat hooks.  Then we installed nailers for the plywood bench seat top and added pre-fab chair legs for additional stability.





















We added a soffit on either side, to vent the bathrooms to the outdoors.

Now we need paint and accents!

I had this great clock in the storage facility and framed a copy of the original neighborhood plot plan - this area was called Brooklyn Heights in the 1920's!

We installed one of these wire cage light fixtures for each duplex unit.  And painted the original bead board ceiling a fresh white.

And now that the painting is complete and the hooks are installed - we think it looks great and provides some much needed functionality in our harsh Maine winters!

One of my favorite decorating tips is to take old postcards and frame them.  These Willard Square, Spring Point Lighthouse and old SoPo postcards are such a nice touch!  

Sources:

Light Fixtures - Lamps Plus - Franklin Park Vintage Metal Cage

Closets - IKEA

Coat Hooks - IKEA

Copper Clock - Smith & Hawken

Pre-Fab Chair Legs - Home Depot

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Before & After: The Living and Dining Room

When we bought the Duplex, the existing Living Room and Dining Room were pretty nice - but a bit small.  And they were down the hall from the kitchen, which didn't give us the open floor plan we like.

Soooooo......we decided to take an extra bedroom (which the City didn't let us count as a bedroom anyway) and turn it into the dining room.

By removing a couple of walls, it let the rooms flow together and created a much larger space.  But it was a lot of work.  And as is always the case, the house looked a lot worse - before it looked better!

In the Dining Room, the wall to the kitchen was load bearing.  So we had to put in a new beam and move the radiator, to create the open space.  But it was worth it!

Dining Room (aka bedroom) Before

Walls removed and new load bearing beam installed

We updated all the electrical, eliminated knob and tube wiring, and replaced the original light switches with reproduction mother-of-pearl push buttons!








We also added beautiful new light fixtures

And we repaired the broken stained glass window.  

 Now the Dining Room is fully integrated with the Living Room and the Kitchen

We repaired and refinished all the antique red birch floors.  Don't they look fantastic at 90 years old?
And last, but not least, we restored the beauty of this china cabinet with a light, glass shelves and repaired all the plaster & wood.  We kept the original glass knobs to the doors and drawers.

We're so happy with this light, bright space.   And with the open floor plan, there is lots of room to arrange furniture and create a cozy space for the family!

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Before & After: The Owner's Kitchen

When we started the project, we fully intended to keep the maple cabinets that were already there.  They looked very nice and were in good shape.  But as we tried to figure out how to add a dishwasher, we realized that there were some challenges ahead.  So, when one of our contractors expressed some interest in them, we decided we should just pull them out and let him put them to good use.

It's a good thing we did.  The plumbing vent wasn't up to code, the electrical needed to be redone and when we jacked the floors back up, the plaster crumbled so badly, we ended up ripping the wall out and rebuilding it!  In this case, it was easier to start from scratch than maneuver around all those challenges.

New wall, plumbing, electrical, lighting and more!

And once we opened up the wall to the dining room, the space started feeling much bigger!

We also had the opportunity to change the layout a bit and provide a lot more storage.  And the old kitchen didn't have a wall light switch - you had to fumble through the dark to find the pull chain on the fan.  We fixed all that!

Kitchen Before 

We included some of our 'signature' touches - upper cabinets with glass shelves, an outlet with a USB charger for all your gadgets, and lots of counter space for cooking and entertaining

We also added lighting above the sink, quartz counters and custom glass/marble inset tilework.  And we tried open shelving for the first time - love the look!

Before

We also got rid of the leaky old back door to the deck and installed a new energy efficient one!

I love how it looks as you walk down the hallway now, vs. before.  Look at all that beautiful red birch antique flooring!  And we were also able to update the hallway built in hutch, to increase our storage.  

Of course we totally blew our budget, but in hindsight, we still think this was the right decision.  What do you think?

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