Remodel update - Front room

In the front room, we decided to remove all the pony walls, demo the built-in book case, build in a new closet, and refinish the fireplace. Oh - and raise the floor a foot or so... It was sunken before and we wanted to "update" that.

Here are pics from before we moved into the house 7 years ago:

Please note the lovely wall color... also the fireplace is a ton of masonry, covered by wood paneling. As it would turn out, that tile in the entry would be the most difficult of all our flooring to demo out. It was tile on top of tile on top of tile. And that original tile was laid with CEMENT not thinset.

When we moved in, we painted the walls (and the walls behind the built-in book case), got rid of the popcorn ceilings and also got rid of the brass fixtures. A few years later, we updated the off-off-white trim to bright white. This was the shape of that area before the remodel:

Here are the remodel progress pics!

After Day 1:

After the wood covering was removed:

Bricks on the ground, bricks on the ground.... lookin' like a fool with your bricks on the ground.

Holy shiz! We gained a whole foot (at least) with everything removed!!!

Take a look around at the other framing work (and my cute photo-bomber) - After Day #9:

Now it was time to raise the floors (Day #17):

Then glue and screw the plywood on top (Day #19):

The leftover framing has disappeared below behind sheetrock (Day #21):

I'm sorry mama. I never meant to hurt youuuuuuu. I never meant to make you cry but tonight, I'm framing out my closet... (Day #24 - a/k/a Christmas Eve):

Day #31:

That top right corner of the crown was (apparently) a real bear!

At this point, I wanted them to add insulation under the raised wood floor. I know it won't ever have the same sound as the concrete slab, but it was sounding VERY hollow. So on Day #40, they cut some holes in the floor to blow insulation. I had a small heart attack with this photo:

But it turned out to be the right call! Here is Day #45:

Floors are down, walls are painted and there are holes in the floor for the plugs we have added in the raised floor.

Between Day 45 and today, they have worked on the electrical in that room, added and painted base boards and we've met with the mantle designer (although we don't have a sketch of that quite yet). But the floors are covered in paper so the pics aren't quite as fun.

Remodel update - Living Room

Our remodel started on December 1st with Demo Day #1. I was out of town for work so I kept up with progress with texts. Derek had to brave the dust with the kids! We are now on Day #56 of the remodel and I think we are about 10 days away from being done. Maybe (hopefully) less.

Our biggest challenges thus far have been (1) under-estimating flooring costs and sq. footage; (2) delay of 7-10 days for city permitting inspections - did not factor in inspector's vacation!!; and (3) countertop installation delays.

Here's a photo-summary of the progress thus far:

This is when we moved in 7 years ago. The fireplace brick was a dusty rose color. It doesn't show up here, but all of the trim was off-off white and all the fixtures were brass. We had popcorn ceilings!

This is just before the remodel. Before we ever moved in, we changed the fixtures to nickel and got rid of the popcorn ceilings. When Grant was a baby, we had the trim painted bright white. In 2013, Derek and his dad painted the fireplace bricks bright white.

Featured above with the lovely bi-fold blind-like doors is the World's Smallest Coat Closet. It's not even wide enough for coats unless you shove them in, close the door quickly and run away.

During Day 1:


After Day 1:


This is when we learned that the columns that I'd had in my plans weren't necessary. OH HAPPY DAY!!!

After Day 4:

You can see between the column and the blue wall what was once the World's Smallest Coat Closet. We have turned that into (awkward but useful) cabinets for storage that can be accessed in the new powder bath. You can also see that they have drilled through the slab, filled at least 10 bags with dirt and tunneled through to connect the new powder bath to the sewer line.

After Day 9:


In the first pic you can see between the living room and the foyer (where we once had glass french doors) is MUCH taller now! It went from about 7' there to 10'. In the second pic you can see the header that spans between the kitchen and living room. In that pic you can also see what looks like a board on the ground on the far right. That's actually where the framing was removed. We opened up that wall as much as we could. In the "before" pics, it's the wall where I had the canvas of the Pantheon on the wall.

This is where we had several slow days. There was plumbing work going on that can't even be seen in photos. Then the city inspector was gone on vacation...

After Day 20

My new bathroom!!! Sheetrock is so beautiful!

After Day 31:

After mud, texture, primer and the first day of crown molding installation!

After Day 45:

Paint is on the walls, crown molding is done (we even added crown over the window in the dining room in the background!), color is on the walls and FLOORING is down!!

Most of the work from Day 45-now has been touch ups or electrical or in other rooms. I'll update on those next time I blog (don't hold your breath). For now, here's a sneak peak at my new bath:

Project Remodel - the layout

Warning - This is a LONG post! And unless you are really into remodeling, you should just stop here.

Not too long ago, I posted about Project Kitchen Remodel. You'll notice that the word "Kitchen" has now been removed. Because the project grew and grew and grew...

Here's a glimpse at the future layout of our remodeled home.

Let's chat a bit on the overall layout.

*Extra sink in the island - For a while we thought about putting the oven and vent-a-hood in the island. I was persuaded away from that because
1. We have 8 foot ceilings in this area, so the hood would be a bit intrusive instead of open.
2. Hoods are loud (although so is running water).
3. Who doesn't want an extra sink for veggies or hand-washing when the other sink has dirty dishes?
4. Derek wanted the sink in the island.
5. My co-workers (all architects) said the sink was the way to go.

*Counter-height island eating area - Again, for a while we thought about putting the eating area at bar height. But because of #4 and #5 above, we kept the eating area counter-height.

*Stacked Micro & Oven - This one was a real battle. We cook on the stove about twice a week. But we are a leftover family, so we use our microwave for ALL OTHER MEALS! That puppy HAD to be easily accessible. But we had to overcome some problems for relocating it:
Option 1 - next to pantry. The issue - the max space is 27" (which is a standard size, but I wanted 30"). ALSO, when you are loading the pantry, you want counterspace to be RIGHT THERE!
Option 2 - Micro-drawer in the island. The issue - I hate them and Derek loves them. I've been loading the micro from the front like a normal person for the past /cough/ 29 years! I can't be re-trained to load it from the TOP! Plus, the micro drawers are obviously made for midgets and we are full size. The end.
Option 3 - next to cooktop. The issue - Since these items are deeper than having uppers next to the cooktop, I was worried the light from our (soon to be smaller) window to the patio would be limited in the cooking area. I was also worried there wouldn't be enough work space next to the cooktop. So we had a one-track mind with the cooktop over the oven. We kept leaving it there for some reason, but when we pulled the oven out from under the cooktop and stacked it with the micro, the stars just aligned. Now I think the sunlight issue is nbd - there will be lots of other sources for natural light. And I also have to realize that I have a work surface ready simply by ROTATING 180 DEGREES from the cooktop. This island thing is really going to come in handy!!

This next layout decision was a doozie. It was right in front of me all along, but it had to be shown to me!

*Raising the floor in the front living area & removing the pony walls. And THIS is why I'm so glad I work with a bunch of people that understand space more than me. A co-worker said "Just have them price it, then you can V.E. it out like all our clients do." Ha! Architect humor.

I must say that I had considered this before, but I had in my head "NO! This is only a kitchen remodel. We aren't going to let this grow and grow and get out of control." When the price came in for that option and it was relatively affordable, I was thrilled! This lead to a few more changes:
1. Remove the ridiculously tiny closet that was between the remaining fireplace and new half bath. That space can be used for the bathroom instead.
2. Add a glorious closet right next to the entry-way.
3. Remove the built-in bookcase.
4. Remove (and then re-cover) the fireplace facing to update it.

My furniture layout has the TV where the bookcase is now. But we will likely put electrical and cable above the new mantle so we can turn it all around if we want to. Hokie Pokie style. And imagine that TV flanked with plenty of toy storage. Because that will still be our go-to for a play room.

If you managed to read all that, give me your thoughts on our new layout!

Kitchen - plans are evolving

We are going to price 2 options for our kitchen and decide how to proceed from there. Here are our latest and greatest options:

Using Home Designer, I can drop you into each one! Here's Option A:

And here's Option B:

Project - Kitchen Remodel

We've been contemplating a kitchen remodel for a few years now. What we want requires heavy duty stuff - taking out walls, structural engineer, etc. But we had trouble finding a good layout.

A co-worker recommended that I try Home Designer. This was the game changer. And the best part is that the basic (read: cheapest) version was all that I needed. I could rearrange things a dozen times to find the best layout. We now have a layout that we like, so it's just a matter of deciding details and finishes. And finding a contractor, appliances, and spending a few Benjamins.

So here are the floorplans - current and planned:

Look at the walls that are coming down (as long as the structural engineer allows it):

Here's the best feature of the software though. It will drop you into the house and show you what it will REALLY look like:

When I used the camera angles, I realized that we really need to remove one of the fireplaces so that we can keep the areas open.

I'm still adjusting it some. I'm not 100% sold on that closet (or maybe it's just the door placement?). And I can play with the fixtures and finishes some more too. I couldn't figure out how to insert white cabinets, so they are shown as beige even though I really want white. And the columns at the ends of the island will connect to the island itself, but I couldn't figure that out exactly on the software.

I will keep updating as we make decisions and progress. It'll be so exciting to have an open concept kitchen. We are planning to stay in this house for a long time, and I know this remodel will make the next 10+ years here better!