Open House

Can't have a renovation blog without the before photos. These were the pictures we took on our first house tour..

3rd Floor Bedroom

Tilted floor and tiny windows

3rd Floor Bedroom

Plenty of closet space at the least.  Our lovely agent Kirsty patiently stood by while we gushed

Stairway to the 3rd Floor

The retro pattern carpeted stairways and the 80s pebble stucco paint, with walls blocking any natural lights created dark segregated space

Stairs to the Parlor

Seems dark, but the window should help. Again the walls created a dark section in the house.  Will have to open up the walls later.

Front Section of the Parlor

The 12 feet ceiling height of the typical parlor space wasn't being utilized fully here.  The parlor floor was sectioned into smaller rooms and the height was masked under the 80s pebble stucco with dropped ceiling. So much potential!

Parlor Windows

The room will get so much more light coming in just with the right size windows and better window treatments of course.

Potential Competition?

I was totally sizing up the competition when I took this photo.  Do you think they have the imagination to make this place great?!

Mid Section of the Parlor

See how tall the ceiling really was without being blocked by sectional compartmental walls

Bath

Arrg!

Garden Floor Living Room

The house removed its stoop and added a ~200sf extension in front, you can see exactly where the extension was added by the demarcations in the floor finishes and the difference in ceiling height. AND what's up with the pebbled stucco again??

Garden Floor Living Room

I guess after you pass through the door, the bedroom was place in the middle of the floor plan with very little sunlight

Kitchen

Wow, I can imagine how stuffy this room can get especially when I am deep frying my thanksgiving turkey!  There is actually another window buried behind those cabinet walls

Three story floor plan for demolition

Demolition

We decided to completely gut the house and left nothing but the shell, so we can build a totally modern interior to fit our needs.  I am trying to keep the photos in the same order throughout, so you can see side by side what transformations each room went through.

3rd Floor Bedroom

Ceilings and walls completely ripped out, my architect husband is discussing the central AC system with the crew and how the pipe plans will look like.  We decided to remove the old boiler system (that wasn't working anyways) and replaced the heating using Mitsubishi central heating/AC

3rd Floor Bedroom

Last look of the floor baby! We are taking the warped floors out to realign them completely.

Stairway to the 3rd Floor

Or used to be the stairway and a portion of the door? The floors are being ripped out, you can see through the beams!

Parlor Floor

Not sure if it's the underfloor or the actual floor here.  The staircase will go soon and so is the tiny window in the back.  We plan to knock down the entire back wall facing the garden and install large steel windows

Reflooring the Garden Unit

Salvaging the beams and the fireplace.  The new wide plank floor will be even and uniform in color.  No one will be able to tell that it was an extension from the interior

Garden Level Fireplace

A closer look of the defunct fireplace.  The low ceiling makes it harder to ventilate the smoke fire, we decided to only keep the fireplace for the looks rather than reviving it

Preserving the Brick wall

It's kind of a shame to buy a historic house without leaving any original details, even though the house came with very little of them left.  During the demolition process, we discovered that some of the brickwalls are actually intact and could be shown to expose beautifully.

Garden Floor Brickwall

Some walls were falling apart after we took out the old dry walls, they wouldn't be good candidates for exposed brickwalls.  This garden floor fireplace had to be reinforced with new cement for example.

Parlor Floor Brick Wall

part of the walls in the Parlor actually caved in after we uncovered them, we had to put in new bricks to support the frame.  You can see the color difference here

Shahab

Our wonderful brickwork was done by Shahab here, who worked tireless to repoint and reinforce all the brickwalls.  You'll see the beautiful exposed brickwall he did for us later!

Framing

After pulling out all the old structure, fixing the walls, laying down the foundation of the house, it's time to frame the interior layout and decided where the rooms will be.

Empty Shell - Garden

Empty Shell - Parlor

Empty Shell - Top Floor

Just to show you how much we took the house apart.  At this point, I could stand on the ground floor and look straight up to the roof (with holes!).  Good thing it was the middle of June and no snowstorms!

Remnants of the Old Boiler

Since we installed the modern AC system, there is no need of this old cast iron heater

Fireplace Collapsed!

There was a little accident during construction.  The old chimney gave in and collapsed.  Luckily no one was hurt, that's why there is a hard hat rule on site.  We ended up reinforcing the top floor fireplace to ensure safety

Top Floor Framed for Future Bedrooms

Top floor will have one master en suite, two small bedrooms and one more guest bath

FInishing Touches

It's December, six months after we started demolition.  Our goal is to move in by Christmas, so the count down is on!  We now have a fireplace, but no one can live on just one fireplace.  Will need working bathrooms, I hope!

Framing the Bath

Opening up a Skylight

Tiles, Tub and Toilet!

We picked marble subway tiles for the guest bath, to stay in the neutral color tone but with a subtle pop in texture.  Those marble tiles came out beautifully!

Custom Handcarved Handrail

Custom Screen Against the Exposed Brick

Exposed Brickwall under Gallery Lighting

Another look from the top floor.  The screen was extended upward to form the upper handrail for the top floor. We added gallery lighting (in soft white 2700k) to enhance the look and the texture of the woodwork against the brick.

Installing Custom Cabinets

On two separate occasions, Stephen flew in from South Carolina to install the cabinets for us.  All the drawers, hidden compartments and storage space were made to measure in maple and then stained in espresso color to match the screens in front of the stairs

Garden Level Kitchen

Garden Level Kitchen

Garden Level Bath

Since it's farmhouse style, we tried to have more fun in the garden unit compared to the monochromatic upper duplex.  Color cement tiles made an interesting pattern for the bath floor

Master Bedroom

Walk In Closet in Master Bedroom

Tiny Bedroom for A Tiny Person

We didn't have enough space to build three normal size bedrooms, a 16 footer is a small floor plan after all.  So Olivia's bedroom is tiny, but we took advantage of the higher ceiling at the front of house (the roof slants downward towards the back) and the bright sunny exposure.  Wallpaper was Bellewood from Rebel Walls

A work in Progress

We are slowly transforming the rest of the space as budget allows, now we are moving beyond the essentials. Steel windows were always in the plans, with a deck extending out the parlor into the yard and of course planting, more planting….

Garden

It’s almost impossible to photgraph a garden well, until it’s in full bloom and envelopes in lush shades of green. The wooden cedar planks used for fences also started to lose its orangey surface oil and turning nicely grey, giving them a weathered look, like everything is all grown in.

But let’s not forget how far this place has come. Enjoy the before and afters!

Original Entry to Yard

Original Fences

Old Aviary

Hope you catch the theme, if not, just stare at those bird-pattern decor a bit longer, you’ll get it….

Use Anchoring Plants to Provide Structure

Container Garden Adds Vertical Variations

New Deck for the Parlor

Looking nice and still has plenty of birds visting us