The New Third Floor

One of the things that was really exciting about this project was adding a new floor.  By raising the roof a few feet, we were able to create a whole new living area.  That gave us the opportunity to add 2 bedrooms, a full bath and a laundry room.

The stairway to the 3rd floor is pretty dramatic - it has a tall ceiling that makes the space seem huge.  Nothing like the split level we started with!  

The staircase has tall ceilings - unlike the original split level

But the real difference is when you get into the new rooms.  The front bedroom has a vaulted ceiling, including a gable that overlooks the front of the house.  It's not a huge room, but it feels so big thanks to the high ceilings and the windows.  

The back bedroom is also a show stopper.

I love this new hall bathroom.  We installed a sink with a sea glass green top.

We used green glass accents in the shower, to add some design interest to the space.  

And the doorknob to the bath storage closet - is this fabulous glass pull.  I bought this so many years ago and now wish I had a lot more!!  It's perfect!

We also included a laundry room on this floor.  It's super convenient to the bedrooms and there is a nice little window the provide natural light.  

And see the light fixture?  It's from the original house.  So nice to have a bit of history there.

We made so many changes to this house, but the addition of this new floor made everything else possible!  

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Creating a Luxurious Primary Suite

So.... this house started with two bedrooms and a bath.  'Suite' wasn't even in the vocabulary when they built the house in 1949.  But my clients wanted a total of 3 bedrooms, with a primary suite to get away from it all, so we made some pretty big changes to create a full suite on the 2nd floor! 

We moved a lot of things around.  We made the front bedroom a bit larger and vaulted the ceiling - which made an AMAZING difference.  We also added new double windows to let more light in and provide a view to the water.

The old bathroom became the dressing areas 

with built in closets lining both walls for lots of storage.

And the back bedroom became a beautiful bathroom.  

The bathroom has it all - a large double sink, heated marble floors, custom shower with a bench and niche, glass doors,

a heated towel rack and a custom make-up vanity that matches the sink.

The living area is on the first floor and the other bedrooms and bath are on the 3rd floor - so this entire floor is devoted to the primary suite.  Now the owners really can get away from the noise in the rest of the house in their own private area! 

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Nautical Powder Room

I'd love to show you the Before & After of the Powder Room - but it's a brand new space that didn't exist in the original house.  So you'll only see the 'after' version.

Let's face it, powder rooms can be boring, especially if they don't have a window.  It can be a tiny, dull space. So our goal was to make this one interesting.  And I think we succeeded!  Every time a new contractor walks up the stairs and turns the corner, it's a WOW!   

The far wall is wallpapered with nautical chart wallpaper.  It's so much fun to look for your favorite landmarks on this wall!  And they were able to mark the house location with this little anchor - isn't that the best?

For the flooring, I installed this great hex tile, which has an undulating surface and fades from dark to light watery blue. 

We wanted a small vanity (and it is small!!!) so there was a spot to hide a couple rolls of TP.    And above it, we found a nautical light fixture with a porthole style mirror.  So say goodbye to a dull boring powder room, this one is a conversation piece! 

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Split Level - It's Done, It's Done, It's Done!!!

We turned the keys over to the homeowners last week and they're busy moving in.  And I can finally start to share the Before & After Photos.

There were so many changes to the house, it's hard to figure out where to start.  But let's look at the exterior first, because that's the first thing you see when you arrive.  

Our goal was to add living space while ensuring the house still blends in with the neighborhood.  There were a lot of challenges from a zoning perspective, so we carefully balanced where we could build with keeping an 'old house vibe'.  We added a new top floor, which provided space for two bedrooms and a bath.  And we were able to bump out 5 feet on the right side of the house, as long as we stayed back behind the setback.

Split Level - Before

And from a functional standpoint, we removed the front door - which was a cramped space next to the garage door with dangerously low headroom to get up the stairs to the living area or down to the basement.  Now there is a normal front door that meets all building codes - yippee!!

The house was sided with vinyl siding and PVC trim - so it's a low maintenance lifestyle!  The homeowners opted to do the front stairs with meranti posts to bring the warm glow of natural wood against the gray siding.  It's complemented with sleek cable rail instead of balusters.  The decking is a low maintenance AZEK decking, which blends beautifully with the posts.  

And the result?  Well we're all pretty thrilled with how it came out.  Quite a change, don't you think?

 

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Kitchen Update

I haven't done a kitchen update in awhile - and it's changed so much!  What was a tight, cramped space is now opened up to the entire living area!

Remember our starting point?  The huge central fireplace took up over 25 sq ft of living area and made everything super congested - probably typical in 1949 when the house was built, but totally unsuitable for today's lifestyle.   Removing the fireplace added so much flexibility for a better layout and the 5 foot addition along the south side of the house provides room for a sweet banquette with sunlight streaming in all day long.

The owners wanted a white kitchen, but we all agreed a pop of blue for the island would give it more interest and reflect its beach house location.  We built out the back of the island to provide room for stools and then painted the whole thing that gorgeous blue.

The countertops are a heavily veined quartz.

 

I covered them up right after they were installed to keep them safe, but here's a sneak peek. 

The owner asked for a backsplash that had mother-of-pearl accents.  I found this great mix of marble and glass that they love!

We've got a few more things to wrap up - but it's getting close to done! 

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Custom Features in the Living Area

To take this split level from ho-hum to wow, we want to add a lot of custom features.  And many of them are in the living area.

The house needed a mud bench to catch all the foul weather gear we have in Maine.  So we created a set of shelves that will be outfitted with wicker baskets.  In winter it can hold all the mismatched gloves that seem to accumulate!  In the summer it can store sunscreen and summer hats to take down to the beach.  

And the open space below the bench has lots of room for flip flops or snow boots, depending on the season!

The fireplace is a focal point for the living area.  I surrounded it with a beautiful honed marble, accentuated with a dark grout. 

Kyle added the decorative wooden trim and then created built in bookshelves next to the fireplace. They will both be topped with chunky reclaimed wooden beams. The vertical nickel gap paneling will provide a nice backdrop for both - particularly for the TV that will go above the mantle.  Doesn't it look great?

In the kitchen, we trimmed out the back of the island with nickel gap paneling and created side panels to create space for 3 bar stools.  Oh, and why the black wavy lines?  Well wood tends to shrink and swell with the seasons.  Once winter comes and it shrinks a bit, the part that shows is black and won't stand out like bright white on a navy island!  

And next to the pantry, Kyle built a banquette that will have a top that lifts up for storage.  This will create a little nook for a table and a couple of chairs.  The perfect spot to have a cup of coffee in the morning as the sun streams through the sliding glass door.

Once everything is painted, it's going to look amazing!!!

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It's All About the Custom Details - Makeup Vanity

You know we're getting near the finish line when all the fancy carpentry projects get going.  One of the hallmarks of our projects are the custom features we add to every home.  And the split level is getting a lot of them!

First up - the customer make-up vanity.  The owner really wanted a separate vanity to apply makeup each morning.  But finding one that matched a sink vanity (that we liked) proved to be impossible.  The solution?  We needed one custom built to match the vanity we chose.

Look how similar the makeup vanity is to the sink vanity we purchased!

And Kyle did an amazing job - from the beveled edges, to the shapely leg, he nailed it.  Next he will build a cabinet door to match.  And I've found a very similar door pull that can be installed

He extended the top to fit into a corner of the primary bath.  

Our amazing painter sprayed it the exact shade of blue as the original vanity, so they will look like they came from the same cabinet shop!  Finally, we'll get it outfitted with a Carrara marble top, to really complete the look.

This bathroom is really coming together!  Can't wait to get the rest of it finished.

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Tile Time and the Primary Bath

Woo hoo!  Now that we've started finish work, we're starting one of my favorite tasks, tile!  And we have picked out some gorgeous tile for the split level 💗

Unfortunately, I have a torn disc in my back, so I'm not tackling quite as much tiling as usual.  Thankfully, Chris has been able to give me a hand and has made quick work of the primary bath.

This will be such a luxurious bathroom!  The floor is this beautiful hexagonal Carrara marble tile - and it's heated, (see the heat lines embedded in the orange subfloor?)  so it will be nice and toasty on bare feet in the morning.  

The custom shower is big, with a seat in the corner and a built in niche for soap and shampoo.  And the tile!!! 

The feature wall is done in this glass crackle finish. I did my best to capture it in a photo - but I can't seem to get the reflective quality to show.  Once the light is installed in the ceiling, it's going to sparkle!

To coordinate with the blue shower tile is this beautiful blue vanity.  It has lots of storage and a gorgeous marble top.  The guys will be creating a custom makeup vanity to coordinate with it, adding more of this blue to the space.   You can't go wrong with a blue and Carrara marble combination!

The layout is pretty great - it provides room for everything 

Including a towel warmer, the perfect touch when you get out of the shower on a cold winter morning! 

Measurements for the glass shower door are this week and the vanity and trim should start next week.  So it's coming right along! 

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