I knew this house had to have some ship lap somewhere due to it’s age, 1953 and so I felt that was what it needed but exposed rather than hidden behind walls…so I wanted walls of wood if possible. I think this will also give the home some more character and attention to detail.
My original intention was to put a pocket door from the Master Bedroom to the
bath next to it. Once they started tearing out the wall, it appeared that the
roof line was built into this wall so there is not room to put a pocket door
in 😦 But we will put a door in and just use a bi-fold door to save space in
the master. The bathroom door opens now to the dining room which just does not work for me! As well, it is a bit oversized so it really intruded into the dining space…I also needed that wall space since this is such a small cottage…
The oblong square in the back wall was a built in ironing board. Cool and vintage as it was, I just didn’t want to give up a clean and neat wall space for it so I had it removed. Guess it will go on Ebay! Moving the washer and dryer to the pantry next to hot water heater meant that the stair pull down above, had to be moved over about 4 inches to make room for the wall enclosing the washer/dryer and hot water heater. I also removed the ceiling light in the laundry area and installed a can light since there will be a chandelier so to speak in the center of the kitchen. So, you can see how every little decision creates another decision and design decision.
Being anxious to see the cabinets installed, I marked off with tape where each cabinet and appliance will go just so I could get an idea of how much space there will be in my new, little kitchen!
The old door and window go next, being replace by a 5 ft. French door unit. This leads out to the little deck that I enjoy every morning with my laptop and coffee, when the weather is nice. I listen to the roosters, the ducks next door and watch the train as it moves back and forth through town. The black birds and flocks of doves as well as cracklings keep me company!
The dining area at the end of this photo on right will get a new French door as well in place of the old, horizontal window. It opens to the front so I hope to be able to enclose a little patio out there for morning coffee.
The fridge and Ikea pantry go to the left here in this photo next to the jet out wall which houses the fireplace on the other side. We had to move the door way over about 8 inches to make sure there was room for my Ikea pantry. The micro wave will go inside the pantry as well so to save counter space since I wanted the stainless vent a hood over the stove rather than a built in microwave and vent a hood unit. I guess looks win out over practicality in my little cottage, but if you know me, then what else would you expect!
This is a view into the master bath as it is now, getting ready for the opening into the master and finish out for a later remodel. I decided to go ahead and do the gutting now while everything is a mess and they are in the “tear out mode” and then as money permits, I will re-tile the floors and do something fun with the tub or make a shower leading outside instead! Stay tuned!
The dining is more open now since the overhang beam between the dining and kitchen was not load bearing, I said, ” Rip that thing out!” and so now the whole room has a more, modern, open feel! These as well as all the other walls will now get covered in ship lap like you see behind the walls in the master bath. It will then all be painted white. I felt like this little cottage probably had those kind of walls behind the sheet rock and that that was the cottage feel for this house, so that i how I decided to add those to the walls rather than just leave it all sheet rocked.
Here is the door way to the living area that has moved over a few inches for the pantry and fridge. The plug was added for the microwave to go into the pantry on one of the Fixed shelves Ikea offers inside of it.
In my last house I saw an arched window as the feature of the kitchen over the sink and found the perfect, old wooden window in the exact size for that space. This house all I saw was just a larger, new window to let more light in and clean up the appearance of this old house. You can also see that they re sheet rocked under and around the window and added some insulation since the wall was torn out a bit. They re worked the old, nasty water lines and drain lines since I moaned and groaned so much about how bad they looked! Nice guys they are…
My bid included 8 can lights I think so I decided to put one in the dining room over the wall that will house my sideboard. This doorway goes next! Can’t wait to see the change! These walls will all be ship lap as well, painted white.
The contractor and his workers are moving right along! You can
see my new 40×40 in window in it’s place~ The hardwoods went down
on Sunday and will be sanded, filled and then stained to match the
rest of the house in a few weeks. What a relief it is to have them down on top
of the sub-floor, which was rather weak in places and also drafty
with the slats not being really tightly butted together. Now, at
least it feels solid! Next comes the ship lap siding walls all around the room
and the French doors in the kitchen and dining need to be installed! Ikea delivers tomorrow so the cabinets will be waiting their turn at installation! I hope all of these notes are helpful to others out there taking on a remodel. Being a woman on my own, I wanted to show that we are capable and can get these things done whether we have someone with us or are alone. Of course, I have had many years of being around remodeling due to the fact that my brother in law, Rex, is a contractor. I have helped him on a number of projects come up with ideas on what colors, types of design ideas, etc. to do so I have seen behind the scenes so to speak of the construction process. I think every home has a different “feel” as you walk into it so each home tells you what to do… I don’t just do the same thing on every house but listen to what the home says and what it feels like and go from there!
Farmhaus
KIT KAT TALKS 
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