Now that you have seen the outside photos of the house "before and after" it was gutted AND the interior photos of "before and after" the fire...that brings us to the inside gut. We hired a crew to come in and remove all the plaster and lathe, and let me tell you that was a messy job! Thank goodness we didn't attempt to take THAT project on for ourselves! I don't have any photos to share with you, since I tried to stay as far away as possible. I just know that we filled 2 large dumpsters AND ended up dumping a bunch of lathe in the backyard to burn, so that we didn't have to order yet another dumpster!
Are you anxious to see what it all looks liken now? Let's get started! Here is what each room looked like after the plaster all came out...
Kitchen:
The kitchen originally had 5 doors coming off of it, and if that weren't enough...I added one more! I know, I know...but I have a very good explanation as to why I did this! In the first picture of the kitchen, you can see on the left the door to the dining room, the middle door is to the basement, and the last door is to the pantry hall/back staircase and soon-to-be computer desk area. I'll show you a picture of that soon.
In this picture of the kitchen (which is across the room from the other), the door on the left is the one I added. A window used to be here looking out onto the back deck. I replaced the window with a door because it is the only logical place to let our dog outside. That's my reason! There will be just a small deck outside this door to have access to my side yard and future flower garden AND to put my Chihuahua, Ginger, outside to go potty! You may wonder why I don't just use the door already there that goes outside? Read on and find out.
The middle door is to the bathroom/laundry room/mudroom. The door that leads outside from the mudroom will eventually open onto our new deck. That is the door I want the kids to use all the time...you know...to dump their stuff. The door on the right is the door that goes out onto the little back porch...which will also be part of our new deck that connects to the mudroom door. Are you following me? That deck/porch will meet up with our driveway area...which is NOT a good place to let your dog out to go potty! So that is my reason for adding a 6th door to my kitchen! Moving on...
This is the laundry/mudroom, as seen from the door to the kitchen. We did remove the back door from the back side of the house, and put a new door in on the end wall of the room. The deck that currently sits outside where the old back door used to be, will soon be removed. The boards are rotting, it's uneven, and a pressed cement patio would look soooo much better in that location someday. A new deck will be built between the main house and this mudroom. I'll show a better photo where that will be soon. It really does make sense, I promise. I know this space doesn't look like much now, but it will be absolutely wonderful when it's done!
Here is the dining room:
Remember when I showed you pictures of the outside, I told you we replaced a window with a door? This door opens onto the new porch we added. We will have to add some trim above the door similar to what's below the windows, just to even out the space. We are also adding another door opening on the right, about 2 feet out from the window. This will open that pantry hall/stairs/desk area to the dining room for better flow. In the picture below, you can maybe see better where that door will open up to. It will be at the base of the stairs. The desk area will be against the same wall the window is on. Are you using your vision-goggles? I hope so!
Here's the den:
We actually already pulled those shelves out. I know that we COULD have re-sized/cut those shelves to fit a large flat screen TV, but I honestly didn't want to have to dust them all! We will mount the TV on the wall, and put a console of some sort under it. This room will be used for the kids, mainly for their Xbox and the Wii. My kids are all teenagers, so this room will come in very handy. It will be a great place for them to hang out with their friends, and I can still have my living room to do my thing...whatever that is. I told my husband to make sure to add extra insulation around these walls!
Here's the living room:
Don't mind the trap...we thought we might have a squirrel stuck in the house! Never did catch anything, so it must have found it's way out??
Here is the front entry/formal staircase:
Here are two different views of the upstairs landing. The first one is facing the front of the house, and that is the master bedroom on the left. The opening on the right is to the hallway that takes you to the other 2 bedrooms and another full bathroom.
That is a bathroom at the top of the stairs, but that will be closed of, and the wall will be pushed back about 2 feet. Why, you ask? Because...we are turning the small bedroom that is at the right of the stairs and into a master bathroom and walk-in closet. Garry and I have NEVER in all the 21 years that we have been married had our own bathroom! Serious. Our previous "old" house had one full bathroom on the main floor and another full bathroom on the 2nd floor, along with 4 bedrooms. That is one of the reasons our house did not sell right away. So this time around...and since everything is all torn up anyway...we decided while we had the chance we were adding a master bath and walk-in closet. I am so ecstatic about this! Woohoo!
Here is the master bedroom:
Here is a picture of that other hallway which leads to the kid's rooms:
There is a full bathroom at the end of the hall, and the door to that is around the corner. This is the bedroom that is the right. This is the room that used to be bright fuchsia pink, remember?
Here is the landing the heads downstairs to the pantry hall/desk area:
I'm envisioning a picture gallery on this tall wall space...can you? Someday! We need actual walls first, so I am jumping ahead of myself! Haha...can't hurt to plan though! Anyway...that door, just 3 steps down, opens to the 3rd bedroom, which is above the kitchen. (Maybe a long time ago it was a servant's room?) My daughter, who is the youngest, has staked a claim to this room. It actually has the largest floor space, but the curved ceilings limits the use of the space as well. Here's a little better picture of that room:
Now, back down the stairs we go:
At the bottom of the stairs, there used to be a closet. We have removed that framing and will be using that wall space for a computer desk area. You can see the pantry cabinets to the right...those also will be updated with new cabinetry. And you can see the dining room to the left, since there are no walls!
Here is another perspective of this space looking down the hallway towards the kitchen. I can not tell you how happy I am to have a pantry wall! Look at all the space to store food and supplies! I have a few designs in mind for this space, mainly from photos I have seen online. I am a avid blog reader and I love to browse through the Houzz App on my phone whenever I get the chance. I'll share those pictures another time.
Well, we have come full circle on this house tour! Wow...sorry there are so many pictures! But it IS a big house, and there really is SO much to show you. I will have to figure out how to download a floor plan for you someday, so you can really get a better picture of the layout of the house. But hopefully, you've gotten a pretty good idea in your mind about what it looks like and how it's laid out.
Do you enjoy your tour? I hope so! I hope you aren't hyper-ventilating like a dear friend of mine did when I gave her a tour in person. She was overwhelmed by everything we still need to do. Yes, I know!?! But I have this incredible vision of what it will look like when it's done...and that, my friends, makes it all so worth it!
Next time I will post some updated photos of the exterior of the house. We are picking out siding and window trim as I type, and I'm hoping we can get started on the actual siding of the house in a couple weeks. I am so excited...I can hardly wait!
Is there anyone else out there who can see through their walls? Please share!
