Tag Archives: renovation

Matt and Angela’s 1930s Cape Fixer

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Katie | 7 Comments

When Matt and Angela moved to Del Ray in 2004, they purchased the typical Del Ray rowhouse. Now, nine years later, they are ready to make their next move into a single family home — a 1930s cape fixer — which they happily stumbled upon during their Spring house hunt.

From the outside the house is as sweet as can be, but the inside tells a different story. Though they haven’t moved in yet, Angela invited me over to check out the new digs and get a sneak preview of the updates they are making to this classic house.

Before making an offer, Matt and Angela brought a home inspector/contractor to the house to get his opinion on a few problem areas. They didn’t want to make an offer without a professional opinion about whether or not the issues could be resolved.

The first issue was the living room. When you walked in the front door, you entered a narrow foyer with a wall on your right and an opening to the left leading into a very awkwardly sized living room. With three doorways, a large radiator under the window and a fireplace, there was zero room for a couch, deeming the room practically useless. However, on the other side of the foyer wall there was a small bedroom. With two spacious bedrooms upstairs, they really didn’t need a third.

So after their contractor determined which walls were load-bearing, they made the decision that if they purchased the house they would tear down the wall to the bedroom to make one wide open living room. And that’s what they did.

(And if you’re concerned about resale for this house — 3BR homes usually sell for more than 2BR — the contractor assured them they could build that wall back up again to create a third bedroom if they ever decided to sell.)

So now when you enter the house, you can go left toward the fireplace where they will have a sitting area or you can go to the right where they will have their couch and TV.

The former bedroom came with a full wall of built-in bookcases, wrapped around a radiator and window. Can’t you picture some houseplants over the radiator soaking in the afternoon sun?

They will also patch and refinish the floors (where the wall once stood) and reroute the electrical.

Angela and Matt are bringing over all their current living room furniture and are thinking of painting the walls the same color as their old living room — a buttery yellow, Behr’s Arizona Tan.

Angela is a yoga instructor and she plans to use a small addition behind the fireplace as a yoga and meditation room. The room is too small for chairs, seems like it was intended to be a home office for a former owner. They will put new carpeting on the floor and paint — Angela is inspired by the warm lavender color found at the Pure Prana yoga studio in Old Town.

Angela has already moved over a few pieces of art from her old house to help visual the colors.

The one room that doesn’t need much work is the dining room. Coming from a rowhouse with a dining room so small they had to keep the table tucked in a corner, Angela looks forward to finally having a large separate dining area. They are going to paint the walls a medium shade of grey and replace a chandelier. They plan to keep the chair rail and wainscoting.

The first floor also has a full bathroom. It has some well-maintained vintage tiles that they will keep, but the blue and white striped wallpaper is history. They may also replace the vanity, but other than that, no other changes in here.

The kitchen is also original. Everything is white except the dusty faux brick linoleum floor and there are exposed beams along the ceiling.

Storage is very limited — about 24 inches of counter top space and no dishwasher. Angela is going to get creative with some short-term fixes until they can save for upgrades.

But I love the vintage look so much — these cabinets make me feel like I’m in a rustic beach cottage. I told Angela I hope she keeps it this way forever! She did not seem to share that sentiment.

Off the kitchen is one of my favorite features, a screened-in deck overlooking a brick patio and a spectacular garden with brick pathways.

The patio has plenty of space for a table, grill and outdoor fireplace.

The previous owners haven’t lived in the house in many years, it stood as a rental before being put up for sale. At closing, the owner gave Angela a detailed map of the entire yard, specifying each type of plant, even some which are original to the house.

With some thoughtful pruning, they will be able to restore the backyard to what the previous owner envisioned, a Williamsburg, VA, style garden. (Coincidentally, Matt and Angela met while studying at William and Mary in Williamsburg and it’s also where they were married.)

On the second floor there are two bedrooms and another full bathroom. The closets in the bedrooms are small, but there are crawl spaces for storing out-of-season clothing.

The upstairs bathroom is another one of the “problem” areas — wood-paneled walls, brown checkered wallpaper (on the walls AND the tub), outdated (and leaking) fixtures and a window offering a peep show for neighbors. They are going to gut this as soon as the first floor renovations are complete. Angela is still pondering tile and fixtures, but I’m sure it will be fabulous.

Someone sure loved their brown checkered wallpaper!

And FINALLY, there is one more room to look at – the basement. Half of the basement is finished, a very dated finish at that, but functional enough except for one itty bitty problem — the ceiling is too low for Matt who is over six feet tall. He can’t walk in the basement without bumping into bulk heads. The plan is to rip out the ceiling and possibly leave the floor joists exposed (I’ve seen this done in a few Del Ray houses with rather nice results). We’ll see what happens once the drywall comes down…

Matt and Angela will definitely need a functional basement to support one of their favorite pastimes, homebrewing beer. They’ve already moved their supplies over as well as an assortment of ready-to-serve homebrewed beers (bottled in empty commercial bottles).

They’ve had so much success with homebrewing, they no longer purchase store-bought beer. It’s quite good in fact, always a highlight at Matt and Angela’s signature annual event, their Super Bowl Party, which should be even better this year at the new house (pressure is on, Angela!).

So what do you think of their renovation plans? Have any advice or tips? We’ll check in with Matt and Angela in a few months to see how they are settling in. Stay tuned!

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Posted in House Tours

Tagged cape cod, home tour, remodel, renovation

Marcy and Jason’s DIY Kitchen Reno Part II

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Katie | 4 Comments

Yesterday, we introduced you to Marcy and Jason who spent six months designing and rebuilding the kitchen in their classic Del Ray rowhouse.

marcy and jason

Here’s where we left off — the original kitchen when they purchased the home…

The gutted kitchen…

The new kitchen on the home stretch…

And now, the finished kitchen!

You can tell Marcy and Jason put their heart and souls into this project — they beamed while they gave us the tour — and their hard work definitely paid off. Aesthetically, they wanted to make the kitchen more their style. But they also wanted to make it more efficient and increase storage.

diy kitchen renovation

They were committed to making this a green renovation. They donated the old cabinets to the local Restore, they sold the fridge on Craig’s list and they recycled the old stove with the city’s hazardous waste department, as it had a history of gas leaks.

But let’s just look around and ooh and ahh at all the cool features like the mosaic-tiled backsplash. The various hues of green, white, beige and black tie into the other colors throughout the room.

Under-cabinet lights brighten dark corners to help with food prep and display.

The Richlite countertops are made from recycled paper and resin, purchased from local business R Bratti. Their matte finish is a nice contrast to the shiny white cabinets. The sustainable product is stain, water, scratch and heat-resistant.

The dual compartment undermount sink has a chic modern faucet.

A new triple-glazed casement window provides plenty of natural light. It’s also energy-efficient and a huge improvement over the previous basement-sized window which wouldn’t open properly and would constantly fill with moisture due to improper installation. It’s one of Marcy’s favorite elements in the room.

The cork floor purchased from Lumber Liquidators is another sustainable, eco-friendly product. It’s also softer on your feet than tile or wood. They had to tear out the old floor and spend some time leveling the surface to get the cork and the hardwoods in the dining room to line up evenly. The cork comes in tiles which adhere to the subfloor.

Shiny white kitchen cabinets come from IKEA. The glossy finish is easy to clean. One of the best features is this space-saving and user-friendly pull-out pantry that has plenty of room for all their groceries.

To make room for the pantry, they removed the wall that separated the kitchen and dining room. In the process, they had to reroute a duct, now located underneath the cabinet.

We love how they used a decorative floor register to cover the vent instead of a standard wall one.

There’s also ample space on the other side of the fridge to go down to the basement.

A special feature they added was this built-in wine rack. It takes advantage of a bump out covering the ducts and water pipes and fits neatly into the room. Jason designed and built this himself.

As we mentioned yesterday, Marcy and Jason are both architects, so designing and conceptualizing the space was a no-brainer. Doing the actual work and maintaining their standard of perfectionism, however, was a little trickier. But they welcomed the challenge, all for the joy of DIY. Marcy and Jason’s advice to anyone considering a reno: Spend time researching products, and find the best ones for your project and budget.

With DIY determination and the help of a few friends, Marcy and Jason turned a dated drab room into a modern green masterpiece to enjoy for many years. Here’s one more look at how far they’ve come:

Do you have any questions for Marcy and Jason about their project? What is your favorite part of their new kitchen? Tell us in the comment section below. If you have recently completely a kitchen or home reno and would like to share your story, please contact us at info[at]diydelray.com.

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Posted in Kitchens, Rooms

Tagged after, eco-friendly, kitchen, renovation, sustainable

Marcy and Jason’s DIY Kitchen Reno Part I

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Katie | 3 Comments

Like many young couples, Marcy and Jason saved and saved until they could afford their first home, a rowhouse in Del Ray. The house they bought had good bones, beautiful wood floors, classic features and was located on a charming street. But the kitchen was the victim of ’90s style. Not only was it not their taste, it was dingy and over 20 years past its prime.

Marcy and Jason are both architects (at Wnuk Spurlock and Cooper Carry respectively) and weren’t afraid to tackle this major first-time DIY project themselves. Their years of studying architecture and experience at work prepared them well for the job, and by doing this themselves, they could save a significant amount of money. Jason joked, “I think it’s some sort of rule that if you are an architect, you have to do at least one renovation on your own!”

Here’s another before shot of the kitchen — the laminate countertops and appliances were overdue for an upgrade and boost of modern style.

If you are familiar with the typical Del Ray rowhouse, you may notice the layout of the kitchen is a little different. In most cases, the exterior door is in the kitchen, creating the classic galley. The previous owner had swapped the door with a window and reconfigured the cabinets to create a more functional U-shaped kitchen. And in the dining room, the previous owner swapped the window for a glass-pane door with steps leading out to the garden.

kitchen before

One of their issues with the kitchen, however, is that when the previous owner swapped the door for the window, the owner installed a very small window, letting in very little natural light. It was also not sealed well and would trap condensation. This window is better suited for a basement!

Throughout this project, when Marcy and Jason were stumped about renovation tasks they consulted the Internet, coworkers, friends and family. But to widen the opening for the window, they decided to contract out the job.

Here’s the new window outside:

Inside:

And a view of the entire back of the house, where you can see the outline of the original kitchen door and window on the left:

during12

Another structural change was modifying and rerouting some duct work and removing the non load-bearing wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room. Removing the wall would give them more room for the fridge and a built-in pantry.

Next came electrical upgrades and then drywall. Fortunately they weren’t changing the blueprint of the room — just putting in new materials — so there was no need to move gas/water lines or anything too technical (relatively speaking of course).

And finally, you start to see it all come together when the new floor and cabinets, assembled by Jason, make their way in the room.

Marcy and Jason both have full-time jobs, so work could only be done on nights and weekends. In the end, the project took six months to complete.

Here they are in the home stretch, with the cabinets (they are white underneath the temporary blue protective film), countertops and most of the new stainless steel appliances installed.

And before the protective film on the cabinets can be removed, Jason and a friend meticulously install the mosaic-tiled backsplash, a refreshing shade of green.

Stay tuned tomorrow when we share the amazing after photos, supply lists and insight from Marcy and Jason on DIY. We’ll even point out important green elements, including how much of the old kitchen was recycled, and show a unique custom element Jason built from scratch.

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Posted in Kitchens, Rooms

Tagged diy, kitchen, renovation

Del Ray Dream House Part II

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Katie | 2 Comments

When I last visited Chris and Mary a few weeks ago, they had a long list of projects to complete before moving in to their Del Ray fixer upper. Some updates were cosmetic, but others were more urgent repairs. Did they get all the work done? I went back this week to check out their progress.

On my last visit, the electrician was installing ceiling fans and new light fixtures on the front porch.

Today, the fans are up and running, circulating a cool breeze on those lingering warm autumn days. I like how they selected a dark-colored fan to blend in with the ceiling. Hardly noticeable as you walk up to the house.

The porch swing that Mary found on Craig’s list is also open for business. Some outdoor pillows add to the charm and make this one of their favorite spots in the house.

I mean, really, who can resist a porch swing?

Inside, the bathroom was one of the major make-or-break projects. The floor was rotten and moldy and overall the room hadn’t been updated. I ran into Mary on the soccer field the day of the move and the toilet still hadn’t been installed. But all systems were a go by the end of the day.

During their week-long renovation, they gutted the bathroom and installed all new flooring, tiles, and fixtures.

The sink, vanity and mirror are from the Allen + Roth collection at Lowe’s. Mary has used a bunch of Allen + Roth pieces in the house. She says, “Think Pottery Barn style with a much lower price tag.”

The floor tile and accent tiles in the tub come from Architectural Ceramics in Old Town. The small 3 x 6 subway tile is from Dal-Tile.

You’ll see the colors in the accent tiles in the tub — beige, brown and gray — echoed throughout the house.

There’s also a handy built-in cabinet for storing toiletries and bathroom supplies (below left). On the other side of the wall, you’ll find a cabinet for linens and towels (below right). Apparently this cabinet used to be a laundry shoot — Chris is campaigning to return it to its original purpose.

Chris and Mary wanted to make sure the kids’ room were set up at the time of the move. Their son’s room was a mess and had been used as storage during the renovations.

But now it’s clean, organized, and personalized for their favorite sports fanatic. They painted the walls a light grayish beige (Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter HC-172) and installed wall-to-wall carpeting (from Arlandria Floors in Del Ray). The wall opposite the bed has been painted a dark charcoal gray and will eventually feature a Michael Jordan mural.

After spotting a vintage light fixture on this tour, Mary was inspired to keep the original ceiling lamp in her son’s room. You’ll notice well-maintained vintage accents throughout this home.

Their daughter’s room is also quite large with lots of room to grow. Pull out drawers on the IKEA ODDA bed provide extra storage. Previously, Mary decorated the drawers with paper and mod podge.

Alora picked out this darling chandelier herself.

Her grandmother is fixing up a desk which will eventually go in this nook under the wall shelves.

The dark gray color in the bathroom tile can be found on the fireplace in the living room. It’s Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168. You’ll have to be patient about seeing the rest of the room — it’s still a work in progress, but take my word for it, it’s quite nice.

In my last post, I shared this photo of the dining room, coated in dust and cluttered with construction supplies.

Now it’s a crisp and spacious room for meals or family game night. Like the fireplace, the walls are also Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168 but at 30%.

There was no ceiling light when they moved in, so they installed this modern, rustic chandelier with etched glass shades.

Dimmy the cat enjoys her meals on this window shelf over the radiator, left from the previous owner.

As I stated in the previous post, the kitchen will stay as-is for now. There are plans to put an addition on the back of the house so they don’t want to spend money on temporary improvements. They have made some cosmetic changes to spruce up the room, such as these peel and stick tiles on the kitchen floor. It already makes a big difference and was incredibly easy to do (even her 5-year-old daughter helped out).

The unfinished attic was another major pre move-in project. Here it was days before move-in.

Enhanced by central air throughout the house, drywall, carpeting, and built-in shelves and cabinets, it’s now a cool and quiet workspace. The ceiling may look low, but there’s plenty of clearance down the middle.

The built-in cabinets extend the entire length of the room with a custom railing at the end. Like their son’s room, the carpet comes from Arlandria Floors.

Tucked off to the side you’ll find recessed bookcases. Soon enough they’ll be filled with books to create a private reading corner.

What I would have done as a kid to have a secret hideaway like this. When Chris and Mary realized there was extra unused space in the attic, they asked the carpenters to reserve this nook for the kids. It’s carpeted and drywalled, and could be used for storage when the kids get older.

The attic leads to the third bedroom (another reason to finish it off). The entire back wall is windows and if you’re a morning person, you’ll love the warm sunlight welcoming you to a new day.

Outside, you may also remember how the stairs were treacherous. They got a much-needed safety fix.

The kids were super excited to show me their tree house. Chris helped them install the stairs.

The rule is: If you can climb up, you are big enough to play in it. Wish and Alora watched on as little Calvin tried to join them. He might need a little more time.

Aside from decorating and a few finishing touches, there are two remaining upcoming projects: water proofing the basement and repairing the front porch (it’s stable, but needs a more permanent fix). They would also like to take the siding off the front and paint the house for improved curb appeal.

During a final construction inspection last week, Mary learned that their house is the Elsmore model from the Sears Roebuck and Co. Catalog. The inspector, who lives in a Sears mail-order home in Del Ray, showed her the original catalog from the 1920s.

Look at their house compared to the catalog — a perfect replica! Outstanding!

Chris and Mary’s house was designed using the Sears plans, but lumber and supplies were purchased separately. Back in the day, you could order just the plans for $1 or you could order the plans and the kit for about $2000 (delivered by train). Homes made with the Sears-shipped materials will have the Sears stamp imprinted on the wood, which theirs does not.

But still, what a fascinating piece of Americana and an amazing testament to the DIY way of life. The catalog promised “Refinement and Comfort Here,” and without a doubt Chris and Mary are well on their way to fulfilling that dream.

We’ll give Chris and Mary a little more time to get settled and we’ll be back with one final update on the progress creating their Del Ray Dream House. It’s coming along quite nicely, don’t you think?

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Posted in House Tours

Tagged bungalow, mail-order kit house, renovation, sears roebuck