Home Renovation Archives – With the Barretts

Semi-Attached Sybil – Part 1 – Main Living Area Transformation

Part 1 of Debra’s transformation of a fantastic semi-attached with multiple personalities.

A new post from Debra. As usual, I’ll be chiming in occasionally. You can tell it’s me by the italics. By the way, we called this project “Sybil” because this fantastic place sort of has multiple personalities. This post deals with the main living area transformation. You’ll need to stay tuned for the updates to see what we mean. And, by the way, if you haven’t seen the 1976, 2-episode miniseries with Sally Field, you should check it out. –Dan

Hello again! Quick post on a design job I finished (to the degree that any interior is ever actually “finished”) last year. Today we will have a look at the main living/dining area.

Bristol Before — Entry and fireplace before

umm, let’s start with the wall. Hello! Welcome! Try not to walk into the wall. Had to go, obvi. And that … whatever that is on the fireplace? Not pretty. The floors, with the exception of the orange outline, weren’t bad, but walls were coming down and all that marble would be impossible to patch, so they had to go.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos “during”. But ya’ll know what it was like- piles of debris, dust everywhere, utter chaos. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t hate it.

My friends had some colorful art they planned to use in the space, so we had a good starting point. Walls came down, the fireplace was skinned, the weird bar thing in the middle of the space was removed and then rebuilding began.

I promise I’m going to get better about taking “during” photos… imagine if you will some floor and fireplace sample shots here 😉

Note something else, behind the weird fireplace thing. See that wall with a “window” in it just behind the disco-ball chandelier? That wall separates the kitchen from the rest of the space. It went away, too, and an eating bar marks the spot where it was, defining the areas and creating really long luxurious sightlines.

Let’s see some pretty “afters”, shall we?

A Peek at (Half) the Kitchen at Cottage on the Corner

Before and after transformation of half of the kitchen at Cottage on the Corner, featuring dragons, jewelry, and more!

I know it has been a while since we did any remodeling posts. That doesn’t mean, however, we haven’t been hard at work at the Cottage on the Corner. We have a lot to show you. But that will come in all good time. Today, we’re going to take a peek at half the kitchen – the half that’s done!

First, let’s get a bit of perspective. Here are a couple of shots of the “before.” The first one is from the MLS listing; the second is the move-in condition:

MLS listing photo of kitchen — MLS Photo

Debra’s Domain Transformation – a Last Look at Hildring House – Guest Post by Debra

Such a late post- we sold Hildring House a couple of months ago, (Dan here; you know I can’t resist commenting. It has been more than a couple. But the Hildring House Debra’s Domain Transformation was one of the highlights of the adventure, so it’s worth looking back.) and we have moved on to a new adventure – “the Cottage on the Corner,” which we will talk about soon. At least I hope there will be something in some state of at-least-partial-completion that we can talk about.

This is the pre-purchase, MLS listing photo.

Not horrible, but not at all my style.

The first thing that happened was the closet. Mr WTB very wisely insisted that the guest room (aka Debra’s domain) have a closet installed STAT. The before closet was a 1950’s 3×3, not adequate even for a clothing minimalist. Luckily, there was a closet in the garage which backed up to the guest room. We had it flipped, installed some pretty mirrored doors, and then Container Store came and did magic. Voila! a functional, pretty closet space.

Dan again – you can see the post where we talked about doing this closet HERE. You might also remember the post about re-fitting the 3×3 closet that she mentions. You can find that one HERE.

Hildring House – the Tiniest Bath – Fini – Guest Post by Debra

Guest post by Debra showing off the changes to the tiniest bath at Hildring House – with lovely photos by the lovely Amber Shumake.

As promised, Debra is here with one of a couple of posts that she’ll do about the conclusion of the Hildring House Adventure – the re-do of the little bitty bath in Debra’s Domain. I’ll be throwing in some before shots for context – they’re easy to distinguish from Amber’s lovely after shots. As usual, when I just can’t resist chiming in, I’ll do so in italics.

We may have a new contender for the title of the tiniest bath at an upcoming project, but now, let’s just enjoy the lovely photographs from my wildly talented friend Amber Shumake.

The light fixture (@hudson valley) looks so great in here! I’m happy with the all-brass decision, but it’s always sad to leave the “finds” behind- gotta keep that warehouse full of things for future projects so I can move on peacefully ?.

Hildring House Transformation – Before & After – Part 2

Part 2 of the amazing Hildring House transformation in before and after pictures.

Sorry that it has taken me so long to get around to continuing the before & after shots of the Hildring House transformation. Things have been pretty busy, what with Valentine’s Day and getting ready to move.

That’s right. Hildring House soon will have new owners and Debra and I will be off to a new remodeling adventure. For now, though, let’s keep looking at the changes that took place at Hildring House. Once again, unless otherwise noted, all of the “after” pictures are by the wonderful Trey Freeze.

Let’s start back in the dining/living/kitchen area.

Living, dining, kitchen before — Before.

See how isolated the kitchen was? And not just because of the wall. The dramatic change in flooring material segregated the spaces. The pass-through, while a pretty convenient idea, did nothing to help the flow.

Removing the wall, installing the bar/island, getting rid of the fluorescent light box, recessing the kitchen lighting and carrying the same, wonderful oil-rubbed wood flooring throughout all of the area – and painting everything white – made it miles more open, welcoming, and accommodating.

Dining on the (NEW!) Deck – A Hildring House Outdoor Adventure from Debra

outdoor sofa — Photo by Amber Shumake Creative

Welcome to my looooong overdue post about the deck. I’m not gonna lie, I thought this deck was overkill …. a lot of $$$ …. would it really add that much to the value of the house …. etc etc.

Luckily, it was Mr WTB’s turn to win and so onward we went with the OTT plan. (Dan here. Notice how when it’s my plan, it’s over the top? Just wait until the post about the new 35 square foot bath in Debra’s Domain!)

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

This is the listing photo— that pergola was quite wobbly, there was a large ‘step down’ from the house to the patio. Continue reading “Dining on the (NEW!) Deck – A Hildring House Outdoor Adventure from Debra”

Tag: Home Renovation