AFTER 1920 kitchen in Seattle: Scott removed the walls defining the hall and the eating area, creating an extra 104 square feet and making way for countertops and lower cabinets that stretch down and around the room. With the walls out of the way, light can enter the space from a new bank of windows.
AFTER 1905 Atlanta: AFTER: The new master bathroom “wasn’t the largest space, but I decided to jam everything in it that I could” “I wanted it to be the full en suite bathroom that you didn’t want to leave.” He kept it as open as possible, with a full glass shower surround and a claw-foot tub original to his own 1905 house. He paid $300 to have it refinished and have the bottom painted black for a classic look. The chandelier gives the space a modern twist. Vermont marble tops the vanity.
Mattison took down a wall to open the kitchen to the dining room. Pocket doors to the living room create a better modern living flow. AFTER 195 Atlanta: owner had one design goal: gray, and lots of it. “It was really all I wanted,” he said. “I hadn’t used gray cabinets before, and I finally found the right color with the right company. So I did gray on gray on gray.” He then added all-new appliances and an open island topped with Vermont marble. “I’m from Vermont — my family and ancestors have lived there for hundreds of years — so I really wanted to use that marble. It has a lot of lines and movement; it’s a much more vintage feel,” he says.
BEFORE 1905 Atlanta: kitchen was completely closed off from the rest of the house. Owners sold the kitchen cabinet doors at an estate sale, along with a lot of other belongings left behind. “There was so much stuff in the kitchen ....no less than five blenders, eight mixers, 30 of the same plate — everywhere, stacks of it.” There was also a Formica counter-top with a metal edge... someone decided baby blue was a nice color, so they painted the moldings, trim and cabinets that color. Then they added the same wood paneling from the hallway. Also, office-style panels dropped the ceiling down.
AFTER Oregon 1920's: the bathtub was found at a resale shop in Atascadero, California and was hauled home, where it sat in a chicken shed for years. When the bathroom remodel was under way, the piece was finally refinished: The inside was in good shape, the outside had some rust so it was flipped it over. Steel wool & sanding it... then a primer for rust prevention was applied... it was painted w/ two coats on the body with a color mix then spray painted black on claw feet.
BEFORE Oregon 1920's: The bathroom transformation began alongside state highway 86 in Eastern Oregon. “I found the perfect 1930s-era large cast-iron sink online, but it was way too much money,” Connie says. “Then one day I was driving the road to town when I spotted a white flash across the river. I pulled out my binoculars and could see that it was a sink. It was the exact sink I had found online.” After wrestling the heavy basin across a field and a flowing river, my wonderful husband cleaned it up for me.
AFTER Deco bath: Smith’s preference for a shower-tub combination made laying out the 10- by 12-foot room easier. This allowed for a generously sized deep soaking tub. A hexagonal marble floor is a nod to the 1920s. It has a honed finish to prevent slips. The team was able to save the original windows by repairing and replacing the original pulleys. They repaired and dipped all of the window hardware in chrome, then put it right back where it belonged.
BEFORE Deco bath: The original bathroom had many charms, including celadon green tile and a gorgeous art deco mirror with lights down the side. However, the layout was awkward and all but guaranteed crashing one’s knees into the toilet immediately after opening the door. Unfortunately, the tile couldn’t be saved, because the original framework of the space required too much structural repair.
AFTER Berkly house: The couple built a basement apartment so Ouellette’s aging mother could live with them. They added a budget-friendly Ikea kitchen and installed large doors that open to the garden, so the space felt less like a basement.
BEFORE Berkly house: Wood panels once covered the basement walls, while a small window at the far end barely illuminated the room.
AFTER Berkly house: designers combined all four rooms to create a large kitchen, which extends across the entire rear of the house. The back door was moved to the left, allowing the adjoining counter to be extended.
BEFORE Berkly house: the original floor plan had four rooms at the back of the house: a small kitchen, a bathroom, a maid’s room and a laundry room.
AFTER Seattle house: A second kitchen and bar with direct access to the outdoors
BEFORE Seattle house: basement was used as a laundry space and a dumping ground for furniture, toys and boxes.
AFTER Seattle house: A raised bath takes the bather right up to the window level for a floating experience...the window in shower was altered to solid wall
BEFORE Seattle house: previous main bathroom had views going for it, but the quality wasn’t good
AFTER Seattle house: new ceiling treatment and painted MDF wainscoting add texture. The French doors lead to the front yard.
BEFORE Seattle house: In the family room, they kept the existing windows and doors but otherwise completely redid the space.
AFTER Seattle house: AFTER: While the interior is 1940s Tudor with Craftsman touches, the couple wanted a straight Craftsman appearance on the exterior. “We wanted a simple, stronger face to the house,” Nychay says. “Bigger shingles and a simple color with a little statement.” The latter comes from a punch of color around the window sashes and on the front door, a faux copper gutter and a cross-gable roof form in the center, which is a common Craftsman device.
BEFORE Seattle house: The home sits on a sloping hillside, with the front just below street level and the rest dropping off toward the water. The partial second floor that a previous homeowner tacked on made the home appear as one large expanse of roof shingles. The old front door was around the left side down a narrow bridge-way.
AFTER 1960's bath: As you can see, moving the toilet into the powder room freed up space for the larger soaking tub. This was much more important to the family than the existing storage closet was. The new layout allowed them to add lots of cabinet storage without cramping the room.
BEFORE 1960's bath: The hall closet on the right became the powder room, which added approximately 19½ square feet. (It is 5½ by 3½ feet.)
AFTER #3: Shower floor: penny round tile 0270, Daltile; shower curb: black ceramic tile, Daltile; shower and wall tile: white subway tile with brick joint installation; trim detail tile: 1⅛- by 1⅛-inch polished statuary, installed in three rows, trim cap: 1½- by 6-inch white Crown ceramic, Daltile; counter and shower shelf: Carrara Gioia white polished marble; fixtures: Perrin & Rowe Edwardian Era; Rohl
BEFORE #3
AFTER bath #2
BEFORE bath #2
AFTER bath #1
BEFORE bath #1: The old bathroom was outdated and didn’t make the best use of the space
AFTER California cottage: The French doors confused visitors, who weren’t sure if they should enter there or through the real front door to the left.
BEFORE: California Cottage The French doors confused visitors, who weren’t sure if they should enter there or through the real front door to the left.
AFTER 1960's dorm: The home continues to play a role in the community, as the Buhrers rent the lower level to visiting Phillips Academy parents and donate the proceeds to the current ABC House of Andover.
BEFORE The home was a Phillips Academy dorm in the 1960s and then housing for Andover’s A Better Chance (ABC) program in the ’70s. 1960's dorm:
AFTER beach cottage: The house is almost unrecognizable today, thanks to a new cedar shake exterior and embellishments that give it a classic coastal look.
BEFORE beach cottage: pink, old, dowdy
AFTER functional kitchen: kept the kitchen layout and focused on the cabinetry and surfaces instead. They removed the soffit and extended the upper cabinets to the ceiling. They also installed wood floors and a subway tile back-splash. The biggest splurge was the granite countertop
BEFORE functional kitchen: the 1970s gingerbread cabinet detailing and dingy wall color “had to go.”
AFTER living room in center of house: corrected the light issue by painting the walls a creamy hue, painting the dark brick hearth bright white and installing recessed lighting fixtures.
BEFORE living room in center of house
AFTER: Adobe brick is still the focal point of the exterior, but new stucco siding accents the garage and bedroom additions. The all-gravel landscape ensures that any rain runoff from the mountainside seeps into the ground instead of finding its way into the sunken entry. A new and improved entryway includes floor-to-ceiling windows, which help showcase a great view of Camelback Mountain. The front door pays homage to the original blue door, which was too far gone to restore
BEFORE adobe brick house
AFTER gabled 2-story ranch
BEFORE gabled 2-story ranch
AFTER rancher in Georgia: The path is the same as before, bringing guests to the entrance via a path parallel to the facade. The new porch elevates this movement, building the anticipation.
BEFORE rancher in Georgia: The house was fairly anonymous, its entry hidden behind a large bush and featuring decoration (shutters and sconces) at odds with its simple and then-contemporary design.
DURING garage entry: floor was acid washed and painted with this pattern
BEFORE garage entry: This shot shows the nothing-special nature of the garage before the remodel. When DuBose’s client bought the building, it was decided that one of the parking spaces would become the entry.
SEATTLE, WA AFTER: The house borders a commercial district, so the owners felt they had a little more leeway to do something exuberant. The exterior is now painted in Benjamin Moore’s Douglas Fir, with Benjamin Moore’s Blushing Red for trim. “Even on a dark day, it still feels bright and happy,” says Pelletier.
SEATTLE, WA BEFORE: exterior
SEATTLE, WA AFTER: Originally there was only one communal bathroom on the second floor, so Pelletier added another off the master bedroom. Showerheads anchor both ends of the shower; clever medicine cabinets have open shelves incorporated below, so the vanity doesn’t become cluttered with everyday toiletries.
SEATTLE, WA AFTER: A dog crate was built into a storage unit dividing the kitchen and entry hall. One side is always open, and grilles on both sides provide cross ventilation, as well as views in several directions
SEATTLE, WA AFTER: The old house had poor indoor-outdoor flow, so we added a set of retractable patio doors where a mudroom and bath once stood.
SEATTLE, WA AFTER: gutted the kitchen, crafting the new room from parts of the old kitchen, a mudroom and bath. He divided the space into separate work zones, including one for making smoothies.
transitional kitchen by Renewal Design-Build Renewal Design-Build Save to Ideabook Email Photo AFTER 1920's kitchen: The renovation created a tighter envelope along the back, with added insulation and air sealing. Ducts were relocated to increase energy efficiency. After leveling the floors, the design team added new wide-plank red oak floors, which flow with the rest of the flooring in the house.
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