View from the Inside

The changes on the outside are creating some great new spaces on the inside. Having studied the plans for months, I had a good mental picture of how the interior would change. But seeing the spaces in person is pretty cool and starts to get real. Here are some views from the past few weeks in the Great Room, in roughly chronological order. The view from the new sitting room is below too. 

  

The master bedroom sitting area:

Exterior Transformation Continues

The back of the house is undergoing its major transformation, and the last couple of weeks have produced a lot of changes that I've tried to capture in a series of pictures from the same perspectives. My blog skills are about 2 out of 10, or whatever the beginner rating is. Here is a low-tech version of a time-motion reel:

View from the kitchen patio side

   

From the other side...

  

Going Topless at Greenbrier...just in time for summer

The final phase of major demo is underway this week, removing the gable roof from the living/dining room to make way for the raised ceiling and hip roof. The heat index has been over 100 degrees this week, so the work was called off from last Friday, but continued this week (in the 90s!). And it's easily 20 degrees hotter on the roof, the dedicated crew is working diligently through the heat. In a renovation project, even after a full day's work, some days it looks like nothing has happened; but on days like this the progress is visible and fun to watch unfold. Enjoy!

From the front door looking down the hallway, sun is streaming through the topless  living room. 

From the left rear, the gable roof is gone, and the roofing on the main house is removed to make way for the extended walls and hip roof, eventually. It will tie into the existing house just back from the ridge line. 

From inside, the steel beam carried the load of the gable end roof; new load points at each corner of the great room will take its place. The opening in the middle of the view is the medicine cabinet cutout of the master bathroom, FYI. 

Another view from the right rear yard. 

Open air view

Installing the new large beam to carry the load of the new roof

Trusses and materials waiting in the front yard

View from the side (kitchen) door. The house was originally stick-built, so removing the  rafters is slightly easier than if  it were pre-made trusses (so they tell us). 

First Look at Finishes

Over the past few months, I have enjoyed window shopping, internet research, and magazine flipping to look for ideas and finishes for the renovation. About 2 weeks ago, I reached overload and needed to sort through everything that I stowed away in folders, spreadsheets and my brain. I was having dreams about flipping through endless pages of faucets and lighting online. 

I realized that looking at 157 bathroom faucets and narrowing them down to 5 contenders was a helpful first step, but I didn't realize that I wasn't putting the different pieces together. Faucets sit on counter tops, which sit on vanities, which sit next to tile, which sit next to toilets, etc... So I started a finish book with a file for each room. Here is a glance at the finish book for a few rooms so far. Consider this a first cut of favorites and contenders. More updates and rooms to come!

EXTERIOR: To complement the variety of color in the variegated bricks, we're going with dark brown clad windows, cedar siding, and bronze fixtures. The front porch design isn't quite finished, but we envision a metal and wood railing like the one pictured. And some cool mod house numbers. Details matter!  

KITCHEN: Stainless steel appliances (found great commercial-looking KitchenAid Architect Series models, easier on the budget than Sub-Z and Viking), glass pendants, medium brown cabinets (still need to choose one), soapstone counters (also need to choose a slab--from Central Virginia, incidentally), and an awesome mod glass back splash tile that pulls it all together.

DINING ROOM: The chandelier was a huge find at the local lighting store. It's 24 hand-blown glass teardrops; the strings are adjustable up to 10' so it will be perfect for the high ceiling in the dining room. It will create drama and sparkle but will also allow you to see through to the living room. Made by ET2, a very cool lighting designer. The sideboard was an amazing find at Copeland Furniture in rural Vermont (about 90 miles from Burlington). I visited their tent sale in May and picked out several awesome MCM pieces at a huge discount. The vintage poster we already own, just wanted to see how it might look over the sideboard. And the Laphroig Scotch is one of our favorites; it really isn't a finish for the room, but it will likely end up on the sideboard or somewhere in the dining room regularly. So I added it, and it looks pretty good there. 

LIVING ROOM: Clean lined furniture (we don't own any of this yet, but the inspiration pieces on the list appear here--btw check out Thrive Furniture in LA for some well-priced MCM-inspired pieces), along with an existing area rug, possible fan choices (leaning toward the metal one--called "Midnight Chrome"--sounds hot), and an inspiration picture for the fireplace. That design has limestone tiles ($$$), but there are some interesting porcelain options that give a soft gray tone with depth and character much like limestone. The floor (pictured below the rug) is also a sample of something we like--this is acacia wood, which is still TBD. Could be a budget killer, but look at that floor!?

MASTER BATH: Aiming for clean lines and soothing colors, but not an over-the-top spa either. Not our style. Things are ending up to be an international mix. Surprisingly, the toilet is Kohler--most of the modern looking models are European and pricey. This one is around $300. The fixtures are Grohe and Hansgrohe (two German companies started by brothers). The vanity is also German (Duravit), solid walnut cabinet and porcelain sink combo, wall mounted--there will be 2 mounted side-by-side. The shower field tile is Italian; each large tile has a four-square pattern with alternating ridges. The shower floor tile and bathroom floor tile appears at the base of the field tile.

STUDY: The study is located off the entry hall; we're adding double pocket doors, not exactly like the ones pictured, but added here for effect. I think ours will be clear glass and not as many divided panels. By contrast with the living/dining room with tall ceiling and big windows, the study is smaller and cozier, so thinking of going with a grasscloth wallcover. The ceiling mounted light and pendant is Sonneman (awesome lighting designer). Not sure if we need all of those lights, but they made the first cut.