Gracious Gambrel: Master Suite Before & After

There wasn't a master suite when we bought the house....just a large bedroom with maroon carpet and a row of closets.   You entered through a small room, that really didn't have a clear purpose.

We opened up that wall and added a row of wardrobes in the small room, to provide lots of storage space.   See the angled wall on the right?  That's the only thing we didn't change.

The wardrobes provide lots of storage for all of your clothes!

Opening up the old ceiling and creating a cathedral ceiling resulted in a huge change!  I tried to capture it on camera - but it really doesn't do it justice.  We added a lot of lighting - recessed lighting in the ceiling, an 'art light' over the far wall and a chandelier over the bed.

Master Bedroom - Before

Master Bedroom - After (new Master Bath was added on the right)

At the far end of the old bedroom, we added a walk in closet and a master bath, in what was previously just bedroom space.  

The master bath includes an intricate marble floor, double vanity, and a large shower.

There was a lot of investment to make this a real master suite.  But we think it was worth it!  What do you think?

Back wall - before

Back wall - after

Sources:

Light Fixture - Pottery Barn

Duvet, Shams & Bed Skirt - Pottery Barn

Wing Chair - Pottery Barn

Zinc Table - HomeGoods

Drapes & pillows - Custom made - Nate Berkus Fabric

Vanity - Home Decorator's Collection

Painting - MJ Benson original 

Wardrobes - IKEA PAX with custom installation

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Project Number 10: The Ugly Duckling

Yup - that's our next project.  And without a doubt, our biggest project yet!  

It's created quite a bit of conversation, so I thought I'd start with the FAQ's:  

• Was it in a fire?  
• Surprisingly - no.  The top of the house has shingles that were painted black.  As shingles age, they start to curl up, so that's what you're seeing.  I guess black shingles were popular at some point in time.
• Did you start to knock it down and then changed your mind?
• Again - no.  Someone else had bought it and had completely stripped it, inside and out.  They also dug for an addition.  But they had a change of plans and they called me about buying it as-is.  I'd seen the house a year earlier, but couldn't buy it at that point in time.  But was happy to snap it up this time!
• So you bought just a shell of a house?  With a big, big hole in the ground?
• Yup!  AND, I'd excited about it (yes, call me crazy!)
  
• Are you going to tear it down?  Doesn't look like it's worth saving!
• Well that's a good question.  As we started looking at it, we realized there are some serious challenges.  Some of the foundation is questionable.  The staircase would never pass code.  The floors are over spanned and need to be reinforced.  We will be moving every window location in the house.  And economically, it's probably cheaper to build new.  BUT - it has some architectural charm and we would hate for that to disappear.  We hate to tear down old houses.  
• Does it have water views?
• Maybe.  We are close to the water and up on a hill.  We think it might, if we expand.  More about that later.
• Will there be a Before Open House?
• No!!!  Our insurance company would never allow that.  Only licensed contractors are allowed in.

So, we're calling it the Ugly Duckling (that black and yellow combination makes me think of a duckling every time I see it!).  And we hope it will be a swan soon.  Stay tuned to see our plans!

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Gracious Gambrel - First Floor Before and After

While we didn't make major changes to the layout of the first floor of the Gambrel, we did update almost every surface!  I've already shared the kitchen, but wanted to share the rest of the first floor as well.

We started with the vestibule and the foyer.  The vestibule was rebuilt with a new front door and sidelights.  This brought lots of light in to the front of the house and really highlighted the new marble floor.

The foyer has a whole new feel, now that we opened up the doorway to the kitchen.

And now we have a powder room!  We moved the closet to the living room, to make space for this half bath.     BTW - all the walls are Sherwin Williams Toque White.  It's such a versatile off-white that looks great throughout the house!

And I'm so thrilled with how the original light fixture has been polished and restored.  Doesn't it look fantastic?  

And the dining room has a whole new feel.  The brick fireplace mantle has been updated with a more traditional look.   We created an entry to the living room on the far side of the fireplace, creating a great circular flow between the two rooms (great for parties!).  And the new chandelier provides a soft glow for the table.  The old yellow birch floors look fantastic, now that they've been refinished.

Dining room before - old brick mantle, narrow bookcases and only one entrance to living room

Dining Room After

Dining Room Before - looking towards kitchen and foyer

Dining Room After

Best of all is the living room.  We raised the floor, so it no longer feels disconnected from the rest of the first floor.  We had to tear out the old cabinets, but had new custom cabinets built to create a wall of built ins.

Living Room Before

Living Room After

By adding the door to the yard, we brightened up the room, but also provided a way to get to the new brick patio.  This indoor/outdoor space is wonderful during the warm weather months (yes, we do get some of them up here in Maine!).

And I am in love with this spherical light fixture!  A nice change from the old ceiling fan.

Living Room Before

Living Room After

So there you have the first floor!  Stay tuned - I'm pulling together the second floor before and after photos and will share them soon!

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Lessons Learned from Life in Europe

Hmmm......do you think Americans know best?  When it comes to lifestyle, technology, fashion, etc.....we think we've got it all figured out!

So that's why it's so humbling to spend time living in another country, for an extended period, to see how they do things - and find that some of them work better than our way!

After a year and a half in Amsterdam, I'm taking a couple of those lessons learned into account in this house.

Lesson 1 - a powder room (also called the 'guest toilet' or toiletten) doesn't need to be big.  Let's face it, you don't spend a lot of time in there.  You just need to get your business done and get out.  Our apartment in Amsterdam had a guest toilet that was 42 inches square.  And guess what?  The powder room in the Gracious Gambrel is the same size.  You see, we have some big structural challenges that prohibited us from making it any bigger.  And it's going to work just fine!  (one quick note, Dutch guest toilets have a tiny sink with only cold water.....we're not going quite that far!!!)

Speaking of sinks, I love this one I found from Toto!!!   It's not big, but it packs a lot of style.  Doesn't it look fantastic?

Toto Wall Hung Sink

The other details include a fish scale marble mosaic floor in pacific gray, retro style toilet from Toto, brass towel bar from Pottery Barn, antique style sconces with edison bulbs and a matching oral mirror.

Lesson 2 - wardrobes are better than closets.  We didn't have any closets in our apartment - just big wardrobes.  In fact, when you move, you take your wardrobe with you.  They don't stay with the house.  And they held a LOT of stuff!  Our American closets, by their very design, are pretty inefficient.  The walls take up a minimum of 4 1/2" of space at either end.  The doors make access difficult.  And you always end up with stuff back in the corners that's hard to get to (yup, that's where all the dust bunnies are!).

So while our Master Bedroom has a walk in closet, it also has a long row of built-in wardrobes, with all kinds of special storage elements.

I love the jewelry storage and the little cubbies for scarfs and belts, that are under a glass shelf - so you can see everything at a glance.  And the lights that come on when you open the door are a great feature!  This should provide lots of space for a future homeowner with an extensive wardrobe.

Jewelry storage

Accessory storage

So what do you think?  Do the Europeans do a better job with some of these design elements than Americans???

Sources;
- Toilet - Toto  Promenade
- Sink - Toto
- Sconces - Nuvo Lighting Paxton Sconce
- Mirror - Uttermost
- Towel Bar - Pottery Barn Promenade
- Marble Fish Scale Tile - Meeting House Designs 

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Gracious Gambrel Kitchen: Before & After

We had a fantastic open house last weekend, with many people that had seen the house in the past.  And one of the biggest surprises for them - the kitchen.  They remembered it as a dark, small space.  And now it's a big, bright room with lots of room for cooks, family and friends.

This was our starting point.  Updated in the mid 1980's, it sported all the trends of the time.  Dark cabinets.  A peninsula with hanging cabinets above.  And patterned tile countertops.  Oh, and don't forget the textured ceiling!  With our renovation, the only thing that stayed the same was the location of the kitchen sink.  The U shaped work space has been changed to create a more open floor plan, with an island and seating in the room

Now it looks a lot different! The foundation for the room are the perimeter cabinets, in a soft color, called Pearl.  But to keep the room from being too bland, I added an island in black.  The quartz countertops tie it all together with swirls of pearl, cream and black.









And of course we added the custom banquette, to provide plenty of seating!

For focal points, I started with this custom copper hood.  I loved the dramatic curves and the interlocking circles across the front of it.

I work with Aron Buterbaugh at Meeting House Designs to come up with the backsplash.  We started with a Walker Zanger tile inset, that I'd seen on a trip to NYC.  We added a crackle finish border and subway tile, to tie it all together.






I loved the interlocking circles so much, that I created a custom design for the glass cabinets, utilizing the interlocking circles.  Jim Nutting, from Maine Glass Works in Lisbon helped take the design to reality, in an antique reproduction glass, that gives it an historic feel.


















We moved the refrigerator to the back wall, making way for a big pantry, with this antique door.

It was so much fun to see the look on people's faces as they stepped into the room.  It certainly looks a lot different now!  Don't you think?  

Sources:

Cabinets - Thomasville Hudson Painted Maple 
Custom Range Hood - Copper Kitchen Specialists
Range & Dishwasher - Thermador
Refrigerator - LG
Bar Stools - Homegoods
Pantry Door - Old House Parts
Tile Inset - Walker Zanger
Stainless Farm Sink - Vigo at Wayfair
Pendant Lights - Hudson Valley Copley Pendant
Wall Color - Toque White Sherwin Williams


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