project house {pro photos}

so many of you have been asking about seeing updated photos of our newly renovated space. we have been so eager to share, but nothing seems quite finished. I know the rooms will never really be “finished” but I am hoping to get to the point (soon!) that they are blog worthy enough to share.

any-hoo, I did want to share some professional photos that our architects had taken a few weeks ago.

Lower Entry

Lower Entry Bathroom email

Lower Entry Stairs email

Lower Exterior email

{photo credit: Perspective Image Photography}

I also finally updated the Project House tab so you can see all of the phases of construction (pretty much until we moved in).

I wish my house always looked that good!

M

project house {diy sputnik chandelier}

a house update – it’s been a long time, huh? I guess that’s what happens when you have a baby at the end of a house remodel… in happy news, I am going to share a fun house update! {& in even happier news, we are 100% DONE with construction!}

as soon as I started seeing the entryway come to life – demolition of the office & old entry walls, & drywall – I started brainstorming what type of light fixture would go above the stairwell. the space is so big & bright with two big windows centered in the space, & was begging for a big, bold, & dramatic light fixture. given our very tight light fixture budget, I started the hunt for an awesome DIY & found the perfect one!

much like jenny over at Little Green Notebook {her blog is absolutely inspiring!} I was dreaming of a sputnik chandelier (like the one pictured below). wouldn’t that have been amazing? needless to say, this wasn’t in my budget. luckily, jenny created an ikea hack for a DIY version of a sputnik!

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{sputnik chandelier via}

I followed jenny’s tutorial pretty much exactly, but have included in progress photos of my version. while I had plans & the supplies to do this project by late spring, I didn’t find the time to actually do any of it until I started my maternity leave at the end of july. so, you can picture me at 37 weeks handpainting all of these flowers {that’s two coats on each side!}. by the time I had finished painting the flowers, I made aaron find our paint sprayer so I didn’t have to handpaint the rest of the fixture!

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& the final product!

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this is such an amazing piece & I am so, so proud of it! it makes such a statement & you see it as soon as you walk in the front door. one of my favorite DIYs to date!

& for reference, this is what the original ikea fixture looks like. an improvement, right?

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have you DIY’d a light fixture?

M

project house {week 18}

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{wall sconces in master bedroom // vanity in master bathroom // clawfoot tub in kids’ bathroom}

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{light fixture in master bedroom // downstairs hallway lights}

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{dutch door for the laundry room & handles on the closet doors // bath fixtures waiting to be installed // living room is coming together}

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{downstairs hallway looking towards master // upstairs hallway with new light & attic access}

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{light fixture in entryway // front porch light fixture // stair hand railing}

this week at the house {& for the rest of the project!} is all about details. the electricians were in this weekend getting lighting fixtures installed, & outlets & covers installed. the interior paint is mostly finished with touch-ups needed, but that will probably not be totally done until after we have fully moved back in.

this week the plumber is in to install the bath fixtures &, fingers crossed, the electricians will be back to complete their work. at the end of the week the entryway floors & stairs will be fully finished & sealed.

we have been able to “move back in” to the main living space, though we aren’t yet living there full time. hopefully that will happen sometime this week! the new space is starting to come together though & hopefully we can really start on the nursery soon!

fingers crossed our completion is a bit earlier than more recently anticipated {maybe, next week??}

M

project house {week 17}

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{paint touch up in kitchen // “moving back into the living room” // windows over the stairwell papered for painting // door painting in the office}

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{paint touch up in the living room & readying the space to move back in // lots of cleaning happening – so. much. dust. // the new hardwood floor peeking thru // painting doors in the kids’ bathroom}

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{entryway window // looking downstairs at the new paint // painting supplies including our handrails // door painting in the master bedroom}

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{painting supplies – a better set-up than I use! // 38 week bump at the house // more doors}

in the first picture of the kitchen, the floor looks a little wonky because there are two plywood pieces in the floor – one over the old chimney space & the other over the old heating vent. there is currently linoleum in our kitchen & it would be more hassle than it is worth to try to patch these two small pieces. we have grand plans to do a kitchen remodel on that side of the kitchen, including new flooring {hopefully we will uncover old wood floor underneath the laminate!} at some point in the {near} future.

last week the interior painting started, including all of the new dry wall & trim, & the touch-ups of the upstairs space {living room, kitchen, hallway}. this work was technically supposed to be done by the end of last week so we could start moving back into our old space this weekend, but when we showed up at the house on saturday morning, the painters were there. & that repeated on sunday too. a bit of a bummer for us since the continued work prevented us from really being able to move back in. at this point we are shooting for a move-in at the end of this week. fingers crossed!

in better news, we are getting so close to the end of this remodel! tomorrow the electrician is supposed to be in to install the outlets & lighting fixtures. the plumber is scheduled for later in the week or early next week to install the bath fixtures. exterior painting touch-ups are also on the agenda, but not quite as imperative as that work doesn’t effect our ability to live in the space.

in the final countdown! how much longer do you think we have?

M

project house {week 16}

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{window trim & picture rail in stairwell // trim in stairwell // stairs covered & ready for painting // sadie’s dog door installed // trim around doorway in entry // window trim & trim in stairwell}

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{floors downstairs prepped for painting // master bath vanity waiting for installation // sadie’s dog crate & under the stairs closet // office window trim // hinges are up // down the hall towards our master bed & bath}

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{floor & trim patching in the kitchen // trim patching in living room // doorway trim in living room // stair hand rails ready for installation & painting}

last week all of the millwork – trim – went in & it all looks great! we have pretty traditional craftsman style trim in the upstairs that we wanted to continue into the new space. the picture rail was continued into the entryway & stairwell, but not anywhere downstairs; it may be something we add to the master bedroom perhaps at some point in the future but since the ceilings are almost a foot lower downstairs, we decided to hold off on putting picture rail thru-out the new space. the hinges are also all installed & the doors are ready to be hung & just waiting for hardware.

this week we will have interior painters in, starting with touch up in the upstairs spaces – kitchen, living room – & continuing on to paint the new space. lots of people have asked about paint colors & then I think are a little disappointed in my answer. most of the new space – entryway, stairwell, laundry room, hallway, office, nursery, kids’ bath, & master bath – will all be simply white by benjamin moore. the master bedroom will be revere pewter by benjamin moore. under other circumstances {mostly not being almost due with baby!} I probably would have chosen an actual color palette to save aaron & me the work of later needing to paint any walls. however, I went with white because I knew it would be a safe choice & a good canvas for any future color. I do have color plans for the rest of the space, including painting the ceiling of the kids’ bath {like this} & painting stripes on the nursery ceiling, so no worries!

like I mentioned last week, we are going to start moving into the house slowly starting this weekend. I don’t know if we are more excited or nervous! there is so much stuff packed into our living room right now {though our contractor will clear out his stuff} & there is more stuff to fit in there, like the crib, dresser/changing table, & other baby necessities. if that doesn’t sound like a good nesting project {except for moving the really heavy stuff} I don’t know what is!

M

project house {week 15}

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{gutters! // extra storage under the front stairs // east side fence // west side fence}

**I realize every picture shows the house a different color – the first one with the fence is the most accurate**

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{floors in the upstairs entry & hallway // floor panel in closet under stairs // floors in entryway // stairs & landing // stairs & downstairs floor}

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{penny tile in kids’ bath! // doors // subway tile & marble in master shower}

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{master bath floor // master bath shower // subway tile}

this past week all of the flooring was basically completed – salvaged wood floors upstairs were stained & conditioned {first round}, stairs were completed with new fir – stained & conditioned, & tile in the bathrooms was grouted. it is looking so amazing!

up this week: hanging doors & installing millwork! for both of these elements we are trying to keep true to the original craftsman style in the house, & having 5 panel doors & simple, thick trim with quarter-round.

as for timeline {which is everyone’s question these days!}: we are planning on moving into the main level {living room, kitchen, bath, & bedroom} in a week & a half, & the entire project is slated to be finished sometime the week of august 18th. not ideal I know since baby lower is due on august 12th, but there really isn’t much we can do {trust me, I’ve asked!}. all of this finish work takes a lot of time! & for those of you wondering, nope, I won’t get to set up the nursery until after the house is done. that means setting up baby’s nursery furniture in the living room for now so that its ready to move downstairs as soon as we get the greenlight – anyone want to help?

M

project house {week 14}

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{flooring down in the entryway // which stain {um, left!} // dry wall patching in living room // entryway & front door}

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{stairwell windows taped off for primer & paint // entryway primed // new fir on the stair landings}

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{master bath shower bench tiled // second stair landing}

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{stair riser // new hardwood floor acclimating // downstairs hallway // tankless water heater & boiler system – who knew we were getting a spaceship in the house?}

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{wet saw & subway tile for the master bath // marble down on the master bath floor // new exterior paint!}

work is coming along, slowly but surely. lots of big things happening now with flooring being the main focus these days. salvaged fir floor was put in the entryway which will need to be sanded & stained (hopefully to match the existing main level floor). tiling has started downstairs in the master bath & shower with the kids’ bath floor to follow (soon, I hope!). the new floor is acclimating in the house now for the remainder of the basement – engineered hardwood due to radiant heat in the floor (new wood floor is subject to warping with radiant heat apparently).

I have probably said this before, but man the finish work takes for. ever. it seems like we are so close, yet so. far. away.

M

project house {week 12}

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{sadie laying in dry wall dust // dry wall! // basement hallway // entryway // doorway to living room & front door // stairwell windows // ceiling patching in kitchen // doorway from living room to kitchen // salvaged hardwood to patch upstairs flooring // aaron in upstairs hallway}

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{raised ceiling & attic access in upstairs hallway // sewer ejection pump in closet under stairs // stairwell // small ledge in stairwell // sadie’s built-in crate under stairs // basement hallway // art niche in master bedroom // kids’ bathroom // tray ceiling in master bedroom // bedroom window}

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{ceiling in upstairs hallway // entryway & stairwell // stairwell & upper hallway // living room // kitchen ceiling}

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{dry wall in the entryway // stairwell // upstairs hallway // stairwell // master bedroom & bath}

lots of progress has been made in the past few weeks – electrical & plumbing rough-in was completed & inspected, & dry wall has been installed. the exterior is also being prepped for a new paint job. {sidenote: we had to paint the new siding that went up on the house so instead of just painting it the same color as the rest of the house – tan – we decided to have the entire house painted. it seemed like a waste to pay someone to paint the new part of the house a color that I really didn’t like. why not pay a little more & have the whole thing a new color?}

as you would expect, the downstairs spaces seem much smaller now that the walls have been closed in. smaller, but still feels great! it is nice to see the rooms come to life, finally! next up is taping & mudding of the walls, & flooring {hardwood & tile}. we are meeting with our GC for a walk-thru at the end of the week & I think we are both really excited to chat about the work that is going on, ask lots of questions, & determine what the updated timeline is & what we can expect.

dry wall is up – thoughts?

M

project house {week 10}

I promised at the beginning of this renovation that I would transcribe our blueprints so that we could share them along with all of the updated pictures. I {slowly} learned how to use floorplanner.com to build our original house floor plans & our new floor plans.

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{the original main floor}

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{the original basement}

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{the new main floor}

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{the new basement}

as you can see, the main floor changed only in the office & entryway. we blew the walls out to open up the space for a big entry & set of internal stairs {we previously only had an external set of stairs & those have been filled in}. we are gaining two bedrooms, a full bath, a master suite, & a utility room – basically all of our living space will be moved downstairs & our current bedroom & bathroom will remain in tact for {out-of-town} visitors.

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{front stairs are in // back deck is in}

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{plumbing is nearly finished // electrical panel was moved to utility room}

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{back deck stairs & new landing // our poor lawn was destroyed by building materials}

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{master shower // small access for under the front steps}

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{back deck & stairs // front of house}

the more intricate work of plumbing & electrical is being done & hopefully nearly finished. plus, there was so much work done to complete the front stairs & the back deck. {no more ladder at the front door!}

we met with our GC & architect to review the work so far & to discuss things like placement of electrical outlets, tile choices, paint choices, light fixture choices, & updates to the timeline. it seems a bit surreal but so amazing to see it come to life!

thoughts on the new stairs & deck?

M

project house {week 9}

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{laundry plumbing // radiant pipe ends at the future boiler // radiant pipes retrofitted under the main floor // master bedroom plumbing // front with siding // side with siding}

we are in a phase for a bit that the progress isn’t as visible – plumbing work – as it previously was. ron the plumber worked hard at installing pipes in the bathrooms & also retrofitting the main floor subfloor with radiant heat pipes so that all of the heat will be radiant in the house {no more heating vents!}. we also have house siding now. the lighter colored wood strip is a “belly band” that basically separates the old siding from the new.

I think the next up is finishing up the electrical {including inspections} & then perhaps dry wall? that will definitely be exciting!

what do you think about the update to radiant heat?

M