BEACH HOUSE: PART 3 - PROGRESSING NICELY

Things have been moving along steadily at the beach house.  In our last update we installed flooring - except for the kitchen and dining area as that area had to stay put for a while.  It would eventually become a very different floor plan than the original.

Now, the kitchen is nearly complete, the master bath is nearly complete, the living room has more updates and we have a new dining room.  The 2nd bathroom is complete.  There have been major changes in the yard.  Not a lot that is totally complete - but, a lot of progress.

Want to see what's been happening?

KITCHEN....

In this cottage, what passed as a kitchen was barely big enough to turn around. Shawna could stir a pot on the stove with one hand and wash dishes with the other - seriously.  Just adjacent to the tiny kitchen; however,  was a larger space with outside access to the front patio.  This was probably an addition at some point in the life of this house and was possibly used as a dining room.  Originally I thought that we could push everything in the kitchen forward to create a larger space... but it really made more sense to just switch spaces with the adjacent dining area.   One of the charms of an old beach cottage is that there is a crawl space under the house - so rerouting plumbing is a piece of cake....

I sketched out two options for the kitchen.

The first one left the front wall and entry door intact.  Shawna wasn't sure she wanted to eliminate that door to the front deck.  It wasn't my favorite option.  There were 4 doors to enter this part of the house and I felt we could do away with one of them.  It would barely be missed.

The second version - replaced the outside door with a bank of windows and placed the kitchen sink under them.  So much better to have a window at the kitchen sink, don't you agree?  This version provided a lot more counter and storage space. Another reason it was my preferred choice was it just had a better look.  Instead of seeing a wall of major appliances and cabinets at your first glance into the room (i.e., fridge, range, microwave, cabinets...) there was a pretty spectacular wall of beautiful tile, a stainless range hood and open shelving on either side.   Sort of like this picture...

Shawna agreed she could do without that extra door to the patio and she liked the 2nd plan.  We were off and running.  Well, jogging...

Okay, we drove to the tile and cabinet stores.


On Demo Day, the first thing to go, was the outside kitchen wall...

In no time at all, the wall  was up again with a bank of windows and we were ready to map out the cabinets.

which we did with tape on the floor to make sure we could make everything fit.

Meanwhile, everything else Shawna owned, including the fridge, was crowded into the living room...
A remodel is hell - don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  But it is short lived and really, really worth it...

The rest was pretty much by the book as they added recessed lighting, rewired electrical outlets, updated plumbing and framed out doors and windows.

Ready for paint...and flooring.

Then the cabinets came and were installed....and suddenly it felt very much like a kitchen...

(minus one panel...on back order..)

A coat of fresh paint - Sherwin Williams ACCESSIBLE BEIGE.  (It is now Shawna's favorite color.)

New appliances...

A big, deep farmhouse kitchen sink and wall mounted faucet.

Things were starting to look a lot like a kitchen...one you could even turn around in.

 Next, big, fat, luscious marble tile...all the way to the ceiling..

and pulls and handles on the cabinets...

When the tile was in and grouted they installed the stainless steel hood.

NOW we have a beautiful kitchen...and nearly complete...

we await the open shelves and the final touches to finish the room - 

more to come.....  

DINING ROOM...

About the same time the kitchen demo and remodel was going on, the former kitchen space was also being transformed...into the dining room and pantry.

Another outer wall was removed and rebuilt (formerly the old tiny kitchen's outer wall)...

and french doors were installed which will eventually open onto a deck or patio (yet to be built).

This former kitchen had an odd angled wall, which was walled in to create a good sized pantry...

For the pantry door, Shawna found a vintage rustic door 

and had it installed on sliding barn door hardware

The same flooring that was installed in the rest of the house was carried into these areas and sealed with satin polyurethane.  We are hoping it weathers and looks 'lived in' very quickly.  

More to come on this area, too...

When the kitchen and dining rooms were as complete as we could make them for the time being, we started on the master bathroom.

MASTER BATHROOM ...

The tub was removed and replaced with a walk-in shower.

 More of the large format marble tile was installed and a quirky round porthole window was added (salvaged).

We chose a pebble mosaic for the floor - and this room went from basic to 'charming beach' in the blink of an eye.

 Soon the vanity will be installed - but more on this room later.

LIVING ROOM

The living room ceiling had a beauty upgrade - from flat to fabulous.

Shawna found salvaged windows and replaced the small front windows with larger windows and then painted the amazing ceiling and the front door.

living room window before...

bigger window after..

front door paint before...

front door paint...after

The front door - formerly black - blends in a little more and allows the fireplace to take center stage in the room - as it should.

Speaking of which, it has gone from red brick to fresh white paint...

with a new rustic wood mantel

and a marble hearth 

before hearth picture..

BATHROOM

[Bathroom before photo...]

The 2nd bathroom was completely gutted and transformed.  It may be small but it packs a true beauty punch.

Outside of the house my green thumbed friend has made big changes.  A flagstone path is in progress and the big bad tree that decided to visit the neighbors (with its roots) is no longer standing.  Its big sister, not as bad as her brother, still offers lots of shade.

Little by little Shawna is making her beach cottage - barely livable when she first moved in - a charming, enviable home.

Stay tuned!

If you have missed the previous posts on this endeavor, you can see them here:

BEACH HOUSE - PART I
BEACH HOUSE - PART II

THE AMAZING FLOOR - BEACH HOUSE PART 2

Another installment of
THE BEACH HOUSE
BIG RENOVATION, little budget

If you missed Part 1, check it out here.   

I'm renovating a beach house using as much salvage and green material as possible.

Working on a very tight budget, and this house needs a lot of work

both inside and out -

luckily, my client, Shawna, has a good eye,

(she's an amazing photographer who works with natural light)

a great design sense,

and the ability to think outside the box - 

you can always tell a true artist that way, right?

someone who doesn't just follow trends like a lemming, 

but who can set their own?

I'm sure that she would have preferred to have a house that was already improved,

the budget to install new floors, a custom kitchen, and be able to purchase new furnishings...

but fate and a divorce has dictated that this house and a lot of elbow grease is her future - 

which she has accepted with dignity and a sense of adventure...

This little house is unique

and we definitely want to preserve that

Like these round porthole windows on either side of the fireplace.

I'll admit my first thought was to remove them and use that spot for built-ins - 

but she felt they were part of the old original beach house charm - 

just kind of quirky and fun.

and she's right,

we should preserve some of the details that make this house unique -

so they will stay....

We didn't feel as sentimental about the patched up and smoke stained brick fireplace

or the bare wood paneling that is original to the house - 

so the whole wall got a coat of paint.

There are two entrances to this living area - this one is off the large front deck or patio.

French doors let in lots of yummy natural light

and ocean breezes.

The actual front door at  the front of the house is flanked by two smallish windows.

We will be replacing these for larger versions, which will let in yet more natural light 

as funds permit.  

We are looking for two used or salvage, matching windows.

I have to admire Shawna's determination to get all the improvements done 

before she begins the interior decoration. 
 

I'm chomping at the bit, but she is able to take it all a little at a time.  

Still, she has managed to make it cozy and comfortable in the interim - don't you think?

(She was way ahead of the game on the taxidermy that's so on trend right now.

This was a find years ago she worked on with her Dad - finding the antlers and head separately and putting them together.  He keeps gentle watch over the living room.)

But this post is all about the flooring.

Being a vintage home that started as a little beach cottage and grew over the years as owners added to it - the flooring was a patchwork of several different materials.  

There was very old original 2" hardwood in the living room,

newer 4" oak flooring in the kitchen (with weird buttons),

and some worn and slightly gross carpet in the bedrooms.

The carpet was the first to go - Shawna had to get that out of there even if she had to live on plywood sub flooring for a while!

Then the question became what type of flooring could we put in throughout the house that was affordable - durable - and would still have a beach cottage vibe.  

Shawna really wanted wood, but hardwood flooring was WAY out of the budget..

I have lived in a lot of different countries - including the UK and the South Pacific - and I've been in many an old house, and many a beach house.  I started thinking about the floors I had seen in these places; simple pine plank floors that just took on more character with each scrape and ding and I suggested we look into a wide pine plank floor...

just simple stained pine we could install ourselves 

(I say ourselves, but I'm really meaning HERSELF - :)

She needed to see what I was talking about - 

and no one is actually doing that these days.... 

except for this wonderful shop called Tuvalu in Laguna Beach.  

They have installed pine plank flooring over their entire shop.

We took a little trip to Laguna to check it out - and it was perfect!

The more traffic and distressing it receives, the better it looks.   

Pine is a soft wood - so we can pretty much guarantee the 'distressing' part - 

and this is a beach cottage, people.... 

it's the perfect floor, 

its the perfect look, 

its the perfect budget.

And so she did it.

It took a lot of courage, but Shawna is not one to shrink in the face of a challenge!

and with a little ingenuity, she mixed the perfect stain color

and stained all of those pine planks....

and with a little help from her family

the 'out of the box' floor became a reality.

I install many floors in homes that are more beautiful -

with materials more elegant and costly

from hand-scraped hardwood to breathtaking marble -

but I think in all honesty, 

this floor is my favorite.

This floor was created with love, faith and courage - 

and a lot of elbow grease.

Just needs a top sealer, and they're done!

So proud of you, Shawna.

Ignore anyone out there who has so little talent or ability or human kindness

that they can't see the beauty of what we are creating here:

A home - created with love, determination, strength of character and the need to

make a place where family can gather - on a practically non-existent budget.

Each step we take, each part we create

is a little miracle.

I'm blessed to be included in this endeavor.

Here's a recap of the progress we have made in the living room:

PROGRESS:

Popcorn (acoustic) ceiling removed, plastered and repainted

Wall between living/dining/kitchen areas removed to create an open living area

Installed a salvaged dutch door for the front door

Walls/paneling and brick fireplace - painted Sherwin Williams, Accessible Beige.
(a cool grayed down light beige)

Pine plank flooring installed

Living room furniture: Shawna purchased:
 2 slip-covered love seats,

a chaise, 


and 1 ottoman -  all second hand from Craigslist or Close5.
(this girl finds the most incredible stuff!)

Still to do:

LIVING ROOM:

Replace small windows with larger windows

Faux beam and/or beadboard ceiling treatment

Add baseboard and crown trim

Repaint all doors and trim

Create built-in shelving on both sides of fireplace under porthole windows

Chunky fireplace mantle

Ceiling fan

Light fixtures

Furniture arrangement

Accessories and decorating

Please follow this blog and support Shawna and the beach house project.
Bless you!