We have many plans and dreams for our blue century home. We hope to do much of the renovation/restoration ourselves, but we know we will have to hire out to experts for some of the projects like remodeling the kitchen and adding a front porch and back stone patio. As we've worked on the house, we've discovered that some of the "updated wiring" is miserably out of code. Fortunately, Jim and his father are both electrical engineers and can rewire the house as we go. We'll probably end up rewiring almost the entire house by the time we are done. We know our plans are a work in progress and will most likely take several years to complete. We just hope we'll have enough funds and energy to see our dreams come to fruition.
Here are some of our ideas for each room:
Foyer: Knock down the wall that separates the foyer closet and family room closet to expand the small foyer into a mudroom, use the current family room closet door as the mudroom entrance into the family room and close off the current foyer entrance to the family room.
Family Room: Gut the room to the studs, remove the pink fake bricks on the south wall, add a gas fireplace, add an overhead light/fan.
Kitchen: Total remodel of the galley kitchen by knocking down the wall that separates the kitchen and side entrance mudroom.
Dining Room: Remove the current pink wall paper and trim and replace with damask wallpaper, remove the carpeting and add hardwood floors, add wainscoting and crown molding, remove the ceiling fan and replace with a chandelier.
Library: Gut the library and rebuild walls, add built-in bookshelves, transform small triangular closet into a built-in display cabinet, add overhead lighting and possibly a ceiling fan, add wall sconces, possibly add wainscoting, reopen a doorway between library and Jim's office and transform it into a secret passage, remove carpeting and replace/refinish hardwood floors.
Jim's Office: Remove cheap 70's wood paneling, repair and paint walls, add a chair rail, add built-in bookshelves, possibly keep carpeting, remove bi-fold closet doors and add sliding doors, plan out the room so that it could easily transform back into a 4th bedroom if desired.
Amanda's Craft Room: Mission Complete! Rotten flooring removed and new Pergo flooring installed, walls repaired and painted, new trim added and bi-fold closet doors removed, new door, new overhead light, new shelving in closet.
Downstairs Bathroom: Gut the room, remove large floor to ceiling cabinets, move toilet to opposite side of room, new flooring, new vanity and fixtures, tile shower, add a window to outside for natural light, replace current ventilation fan.
Upstairs Hallway and Stairwell: In Progress! Gut the area and add insulation, remove wall separating stairwell from hallway, restore landing with box newel posts and balustrade, level ceiling and floor, enlarge attic access to include pull down attic stairs, rebuild corner closet to also include a triangular built-in with lower cabinet and upper open shelving, and new baseboards and window trim.
Nursery: Mission Complete! Gutted the room to the studs and added insulation, rewired the room, leveled the walls and ceiling, knocked down old closet and rebuilt a new one, added new trim and baseboards, replaced carpeting.
Guest Room: Mission Complete! Gutted the room to the studs and added insulation, rewired the room, leveled the walls and ceiling, knocked down old closet and rebuilt a new one, added new trim and baseboards, replaced carpeting, moved secondary breaker box from this room into the hallway.
Bonus Room/Old Renter's Kitchen: Gut the room and add insulation, level floor, walls, and ceiling; transform room into a full bath with clawfoot tub and walk-in master closet.
Upstairs Bathroom: Gut the room, new flooring and fixtures, new wall light, tile tub, replace old storage with more efficient, add a ventilation fan. (This will be the kids' bathroom eventually)
Upstairs Balcony: Enlarge balcony into an upper level deck that connects to the master. (This is probably mostly fantasy/wishful thinking)
Master Bedroom: Gut room and add insulation, level floors, walls, and ceiling; replace overhead lighting/fan, new carpeting, tear out old closet and add new storage in room, build a window seat to look out onto backyard, add wall sconces on either side of bed.
Attic: In Progress! Remove old blown-in insulation and add fiberglass batting, add some plywood flooring to create a walking surface and storage area near new attic access, open up an access between the attic above the master and the rest of the attic, remove old chimneys?, find hidden treasures underneath old insulation.
Basement: Create a laundry center for Amanda (new flooring for laundry area, re-plumb area for washer, buy new washer and dryer, add counter surface, add storage for laundry area, level floor for laundry area), Create a Workshop for Jim (build workbench, add storage).
House Exterior and Yard: Redesign landscaping, add a front porch, remove back wooden deck and replace with stone patio, add siding to house, clean up and rewire garage, add outdoor accent lighting, create vegetable and fruit garden, plant cherry trees and strawberry beds, pave driveway, add bushes in front to create sound barrier from road, fence in yard as much as possible (especially along shared driveway), add a tree swing somewhere, maybe one day add a gazebo or pergola, build a better firepit, add gingerbread to exterior of house.
