Renovation Update: The Guts of It
We’re in the final stretch if you can believe it, about four more weeks to go until we wrap this project! The beginning goes SO fast, the middle (the “guts” of the house) seem to be slower with less visual gratification, and then the finish work and punch list tend to drag on as your anxiety to be DONE mounts and makes time stand still. But thankfully, my team from VW Builders has been IMPECCABLE. Not only have I been totally impressed, but my Dad (whose been in the home building business over 35 years) has too! What a professional, wonderful team to have on board. I can not recommend them any higher.
So- here’s the addition looking like a real addition! We got a new roof on the whole house too (ours was 23 years old, but luckily had not one leak). We have a carriage style garage door on it’s way that we’ve decided to paint black to balance with the shutters and front door. And that last remaining wire running to the house will be buried underground any day now!
So, in the kitchen this door is going away and there is a step down to a pantry and door to the patio near the grill. I’m also toying with continuing the backsplash tile up and around this door opening, which I should have done originally but we all make mistakes….
This will be the large pantry cabinet! STORAGE!!!!
I decided to do single panel doors in white which will reflect the style of my kitchen cabinets making this feel like the extension of the kitchen it actually is. I ordered some gorgeous crystal Emtek knobs to dress it up a smidge.
To the left you step down again (ahhh, the beauty of a raised lot) and to the right is a giant coat closet and straight ahead is my laundry room (you can see my plans here regarding that space!) Not having to go down a steep narrow staircase to the basement to do laundry is going to be amazing.
Looking back to the pantry area from the laundry. To the right is the door into the garage…
NEVER AGAIN WILL I HAVE TO SHOVEL MY CAR OUT OF THE SNOW!!!! PRAISE BE!
Moving upstairs, this is the entrance to the master suite- to the left is the area we are installing some really wonderful built ins that will serve as Andrew’s closet and a bookcase….
They will look like this- and the panels in the doors will be mirrored so Andrew can use them to get dressed but also it will bounce some nice light around making it feel bigger.
On the wall opposite I’m going to wallpaper with this Cole & Sons paper. Been wanting to use this forever. :)
This is the wall that will get wallpaper- also a pocket door is going into that opening which is our master bathroom.
This long narrow space will be the master bathroom- the plan is almost exactly the same as I had hoped it would be (see board/post here) minus a few changes…
I went ALL OUT with the flooring in here. I absolutely love it. The one good thing about small bathroom is not needing much tile so you can get nicer stuff! :)
The master feels HUGE to me. It’s really awesome and I can’t wait to see it come to life with finishes and furniture (all pretty similar to this post here and here).
The window seat will soon go in for my boys to look out at the street and bark at everyone.
That opening over there in the corner is my awesome new closet! For the first time ever I will get to design and plan my own organizational system with California Closets! A pocket door also goes on this opening.
It’s hard to tell the size here but I am REALLY happy with all this space to myself and high ceilings to utilize!
Moving outside, this is the addition from the back with two doors leading out to our fabulous new patio.
Deciding between this and this for the patio lighting next to the doors…. we have the one at right up now by the older door.
This is what it looked like before! How far we’ve come!
Due to the coat closet and laundry no windows could go on the lower level so we have this big expanse of wood siding to deal with….
So we’re going to install a nice, huge trellis and grow something lovely up it, like climbing hydrangea perhaps!
All the bluebpard and plaster go up this week so by next week things will really start to look finished! I can’t wait!
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I literally just installed those carriage style lights (on the left side) on either side of my front door and on our light post. They look great and spread just the perfect amount of light with 3 40-watt candelabra bulbs. We have similar whiteish cream siding and dark grey shutters. The whole look is very classy, and very new england!
so jealous of your new master suite!
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Looks hectic but also like you’re making good progress. Would love to see the after photos, side by side with these. I love the trellis, perfect way to add a bit of nature to the property. Do you have an idea of when it will all be complete?
its all sooooooo amazing!!!
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One more thought on that stunning addition. Will you need to paint it again in the future? Can you plan a trellis that hinges down for painting? Or will you need to cut back the plants and take it down? How do other people handle this issue?
Our big and bushy hops isn’t a problem … brick house and plant dies back in fall. The chain it grows up is easily moved for trim work and brick repointing…
That bathroom floor tile! Beautiful.
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I was going to warn you about the hydrangea but more so because they’re slow growers and hard to keep tidy in a trellis. I was going to suggest the white clematis. Grows much faster, easier to grow where you want it and thin branches easy to prune. :)
erin, i have followed your blog for a few years and am just about to put white macaubus vs. taj mahal quartzite in my kitchen – i just ‘resaw’ yours – how have you liked it? my concern is that it is too linear (macaubus) but just love it – not sure but thought i would ask -thanks!!
Thanks for the reply re: the roof! I am fretting over the decision as it’s huge! We’re replacing our cedar shake ( I Love it, but way too pricey to replace). Loving the landmark driftwood. Again , thank you!!
Mary- the front of the house is clapboard which is what we did for the addition. In time we will replace the back of the house shingles with clapboard as well. Just can’t afford to do everything at once.
Love your blog, the decorating and the fashion advice. Enjoyed the remodel update. If you haven’t chosen an outside light yet, I think the carriage light looks more like you and your house. Have you thought about swapping the front door lights to the back and putting a similar but bolder pair there? Looking forward to the progress.
Ack! I just found you kitchen reno post, nevermind:)
I am a long time lurker but just wanted to say that the renovations look amazing. I so love that style of house and it seems like you are making good use of your space. I would really love to see more pics of your kitchen! That marble (I’m assuming?) is beautiful. I tried searching on your site but had no luck. Thanks!
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Wish my dad was an architect! Your home will add value to your street! Great job and kudos to your father!
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Just curious why you went with differnet siding on the addition. Have a similar older home and am contemplating how to handle. Looks a bit incongruous?
It’s looking great. Having been down the major reno road not too long ago I know how drawn out the process can feel, but it looks like it’s all coming together. As for the expanse of siding, I’d probably recommend not doing a climbing hydrangea. They don’t grow up trellises, they grow by suckers and they are amazingly strong. Within years it will do pretty serious damage to your siding (I’d only grow one on a house if it were brick). They are gorgeous plants and they have their place, but you have to place them carefully.
So excited for you!!!! Thank you for sharing!
Oliver is doing his best “Where is Waldo” impression in a lot of these pics. :)
Thanks for the detailed overview, Erin! It’s so fun to watch it all come together. Can’t wait to see the finished master bath and Andrew’s built-in closet be finished! Those are some exciting details. While we’re on the subject…would you mind sharing your resource for your kitchen cabinet hardware? I love those brass pulls!
It is coming along SO WELL! I can’t wait to see it once it’s done!
x Lily
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Second the comment about the climbing hydrangeas… your grand children will enjoy them ;) I’m trying to think of another option.. but since you can’t do jasmine like we have down here in the South, why not do more climbing roses and clematis?
The reno is mega!!
Kirsten- I was so scared about the roof! We chose Landmark shingles in Driftwood and it’s the perfect blend of grey and brown. A nice variation. Not too dark, not too light.
It looks amazing, I am so excited to see the final result. As for the tile, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go to the ceiling during our renovation, I took a leap of faith and just did it. I have to tell you it made a huge difference. It making the space look complete and I also love that it added something unexpected.
Erin it is going to be so amazing and I love all of the choices you are making….that bath flooring, ahhh!
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Love all of these details! So stunning. You two must be thrilled. On the roof— can you share the shingle you went with? I’m roof shopping and love what you did. Thanks in advance!
Love seeing the updates! Can’t wait for the finished product.
Things are looking really good! I can’t wait to see it all finished!
The plans and your ideas look fabulous! Love the direction and so happy to hear you are happy with your building team! That makes a huge difference in a renovation project!
You can really see it now. I can’t wait to see the end product. I’m sure they’ll all be dazzling. On that trellis, climbing Hydrangeas take YEARS to get to any size. You might consider planting something else fast growing. I have golden ornamental hops growing on a light weight chain up and around my back door and it looks amazing! This is only it’s second year. It’s quite winter hardy even in Boston. The one drawback is that it dies back to the roots each fall. Perhaps you could co-plant it with your slower grower …
My house search, house purchase and major Reno have all coincided with yours…I so enjoy all of your posts and have empathized with you every step of the way!! Your vision and progress is so inspiring, love seeing your amazing talent coupled with such honesty in your writing! Can’t wait for detailed laundry room and closet posts!! (Because I have been putting those off and need inspiration!)
I love pocket doors, so I can’t wait to see this come together.
Love this! Do you mind sharing a link to the Cole and Sons paper? I’d love to use in my new laundry. Thanks! Love the blog.
It looks amazing so far and I can’t wait to see what you do with the interior. I am sure it will be fabulous. Love those door knobs by the way ;)
Wow – that looks completely amazing. I, too, am impressed with the speed of the addition, can’t wait to see the finished thing!
So excited to see this coming along for you. I can’t wait to own my own place one day!
Laura M- we didn’t do radiant floors only because Andrew and I are such quick getting ready people we never linger in the bathroom for long. It’s also over teh kitchen so it’s insulated well.
LittleMiss- We are having all the doors and cabinetry custom made so they are just doing the mirrored panels. I wanted to do antique glass but the price got crazy and plus we wanted to be able to use them to get dressed since we don;t have a full length mirror in the room right now.
Erin, you are so fortunate with the speed in which this project is going. I live in Canada (Alberta) and our tradespeople are so busy that a project like this would probably take a year to fully complete. It’s a great thing for our economy to have the trades so busy, but it is extremely frustrating from the consumers end to get anything done. Even deck-builders need to be booked a year in advance. I have been watching this transformation with awe and wonderment. It is going to be so beautiful!
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We just upgraded our master with a built in closet and had the worst time sourcing mirrored doors. Where did you find yours?
Holy smokes! This is amazing! Wow. Talk about making things happen. I’m in love with that tile floor!!! Can’t wait to see it all.
Again, free design/sourcing advice! Thank you (i’m bowing to you as I type). Did you put heating under the master bath floors? I’m being told that since my bathroom is going over my garage, heat the floors to keep it warm in the winter. They these coil things that go right under the tile I guess.
I’m so excited to see this come together! It’s going to look amazing!
Looks amazing so far, ps, the master bath link is wrong.
So beautiful! It must be really exciting to have the finished product just around the corner. I love how integrated the new part looks with the old on the outside. I hate when people put an addition on their house and it just looks like…an addition.
Wow. The progress is impressive. It will be so exciting to see the finished space. The trellis is a terrific idea. Best wishes on the final stretch.
Congratulations on your new addition, Erin! I can’t wait to see the completed space, especially that custom closet!
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Looks gorgeous! I can’t wait to see your closet come together. And I loved the photobombing puppies.