I’ve had a few questions about what’s going on NOW at the 50’s House in the Woods! Well, we had a short break for the past couple of weeks (for the most part) while waiting for some materials to arrive. That wait corresponded nicely with other urgent projects for the carpenters, plumbers, HVAC guys, electrician and…..me! I’ve been doing finishing on my other current project, the Empty Nester’s Refresh, and that has been intense! Now it is entering the final week, including new furnishings & finishing touches. This week work ramps up once again on the 50’s House, which is quickly becoming something much more modern, as you’ll see!
While one crew worked hanging siding on the exterior of the new addition, and various old areas in need of new materials, the framers moved to the inside to give definition to the new space. At the same time, they redefined some OLD spaces in preparation for their “best and highest” use! The photo above shows the new master suite from the entrance; you can still ‘see through’ the back wall of the bedroom into the architecturally stunning new master bath!
A large soaker tub will be featured under the peak of the vaulted ceiling, with windows above designed to frame the private view of oaks and stars, as this faces the back yard and private acreage beyond. To the right is the walk-in shower which will feature some amazing ceramic tile, a corner bench and an extra large shampoo niche that becomes an important design element. Here’s a clue from the tile display that inspired us:
What’s a modern master suite without ample walk-in closets?! In this case the former master bedroom/bath becomes the connector to the new suite: it includes a small “entrance” to the suite with a short hall flanked by his ‘n hers closet rooms, shown here:
This might be a good time to point out HOW IMPORTANT good, thoughtful framing is to a successful remodeling project, assuming some walls are moving or spaces within a room are being redefined. In this project, almost all of the walls moved, either just a bit or totally – and one major supporting wall was removed completely! (If you missed that, here’s how that happened)
So back to framing….there are often small changes that can be made to redefine spaces for better use; it can be due to changing lifestyles, or sometimes just poorly thought-out plans from the original builder. (examples to follow). But while demo is going on, you should really think about changes that will make a difference. In this case, since we tore walls down to the studs in order to rewire, replumb and redo the entire roof structure, we had the opportunity to rethink all of the interior spaces ~ and, since this house is on a pier and beam foundation, all things were possible!
Here is an example of making the original design work better: bedrooms 2 and 3 both had long closets, which were placed side-by-side but opening into each room, of course. First, the closet openings were too large, so were accessed with overly wide sliding doors – 3 in fact. With that setup, one could never open the doors wide enough to reach all that closet space! It was needlessly tough to actually use the closets. In addition, the closets were placed in each room in such a way that they took up the whole wall, making it unusable for furniture. It may be hard to see here, but I’m going to show you how we reversed the closets in each room, thereby leaving usable space. In one room, there is now a nice large corner to place a dresser or reading chair and table; in the other room, which is typically used as an office, the closet is easily accessible (not behind the door) and by moving down the door we also created an area for the exercise bike behind it. Some of this will make more sense when you see the spaces with sheetrock and doors, but take a peek:
In what was formerly a den, JUST next to the living room and kitchen, we are creating a game area flanked by 2 walls of built-in bookshelves – carving out a “room” that will now be useful AND beautiful! This room opens to the sunroom, kitchen and living room:
In this 50’s house, there was the period-typical bedroom hallway, with 2 bedrooms on one side, the master on the other, and the hall bath at the end. While that design works pretty well in practice, for some reason nothing “lined up” in this one. The decision was made early on to make a major design statement with the use of solid hickory 5-panel doors in the hallway; while other doors in the house will be painted, these will be wood. But…none of them lined up, so they could not be seen at the same time. The bathroom door was not centered on the hallway – and I wanted it to be! I wanted one to look from the kitchen or living room and see the gorgeous hickory bathroom door in the center of the hallway – and the other hickory doors lining each side of the hall. Small changes made this happen (my framers may not agree the changes were ‘small’ but I say they were!) Again, this will all be much easier to see when we have sheetrock and doors, and finally, with paint, stain and trim! But the framework for these all-important design elements must be done at THIS stage! I think I have a couple of photos that show the beginning of what we laughingly called “lining it up” during framing!
The kitchen is the part that will be the most fun to show you, but it’s difficult to ‘see’ right now; I’ll show a couple of photos so you can later see how well you were able to visualilze! There will be lower and upper cabinets along the outside wall only; in the center will be a large island, and all other cabinets will be ‘lowers’ only – thus opening the space to the surrounding rooms. While cooking, my client will be able to see out the front and back picture windows and interact with those in the living room, gameroom or sitting at the counter stools. Here’s an early view to ponder:
I have one last thing to show you today ~ the beginning of the outdoor living areas! First, there will be a small screened porch opening off of the master bedroom; it is just framed enough to allow the roof structure to be added. Then there is the main deck extending from the back (main) entrance. Again, the roof structure is done, allowing us to get the entire roof framed and ‘in the dry’. Soon they will go ahead and do the finish out, consisting of the following:
- Build a deck “floor” the same height as the interior spaces
- Connect the outdoor living area with the sunroom by building a deck walkway
- Wrap the deck supports in rough cedar
- Finish off the vaulted ceiling and add lights and a large fan
- Finish off the vaulted ends with rough cedar
This coming week we see the plumbers starting to redo ALL the plumbing under the house, replacing old pipes with new and replacing the old tree-root-infested sewer line. They’ll then set the rough-in for all interior tubs, faucets, and appliances. This phase will not be blog-pretty!
The electricians are also starting to update all the wiring; the old wiring was not even grounded. They will then set up the proper wiring for all new appliances, lights, switches and outlets – also not a pretty sight!
The HVAC guys will set the new 5-ton efficient unit (in the newly higher attic this time!), then begin building all new flexible ductwork, with returns in each room. All of this work will be done with the knowledge that foam insulation will be used in the walls and attic of the house later. So many things at this stage are affected by that decision – so don’t let it be an afterthought!
The flooring guy has been out to measure now that everything is framed; we’ll be using Mannington Adura luxury vinyl plank, and because of supply chain issues, will go ahead and get the material on order. This house will contain plenty of custom cabinetry, so we’ll get Keith Farr out to measure for them as soon as he has a break in his schedule. Meanwhile, the sheet rockers are planning to start in approximately 3 weeks – and that’s when I’ll update you next!
As always, thanks for checking in to see our progress: I hope you’ve seen at least one nugget that somehow helps you on your own journey through life. Until next time, live with intention & enjoy every day you have! Blessings, my friends!
Blue Sky Interiors 