Before-before, immediately before, and after.

last year

last modified: 3 months ago

As my title says, these photos are before-before, immediately before, and after.

This project was a challenge from the first day we stepped inside this Chinese dry wall filled, recluse, hoarder’s house right next door to us. This is what we saw - our before-before:

Kitchen -

Extra room off kitchen -

This is what it looked like on the day we closed - it actually cleaned up pretty nicely (not that it mattered:

The dining room -

The extra room off kitchen -

Front of house windows

Back of house windows

By the time we got to this point we were aware that the house had Chinese drywall in it, but weren’t quite sure of the full extent. Ultimately the decision was made that the only way to remediate was a full gut. So that’s what we did. My goals for phase 1 -

#1 - Make the house livable within a non-negotiable budget

That included a total gut to get rid of the Chinese dry wall, new HVAC, plumbing, etc.

#2 - Create a large, eat-in kitchen

Many urged me to open up the space, but I wanted a true self-contained kitchen.

The hardest part was drawing the line between wants and immediate needs, with lots of difficult decisions. We know there's a second phase that will happen after we sell our current house. It was the project from hell, start to finish…for many reasons, number one being our choice of GC. But that’s behind us and we can catch our breath and hopefully enjoy what we’ve created before we start again.

We split that large “extra room” off the kitchen and now have what I’m calling a mudporch/pantry. Extra storage plus a place to put a countertop microwave. Not having to see a microwave in my kitchen is one of those things that makes me happy. The other half of the old room is now a 3rd bedroom.

And here’s my kitchen, waiting for a few finishing touches, but more than ready to host our visiting kids for Christmas dinner. I know it needs some color and some decorating, but that's definitely a want and not a need. Now we have to get ourselves moved in there and then it’s time to take a breather until we start phase 2…

Featured Answer

RedRyder

last year

I applaud your bravery (for taking on this house in the first place), your stick-to-itiveness and your design skills! Love the new floors. Enjoy your Thanksgiving in a nice, healthy, clean, redesigned house!

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Comments (20)

mxk3 z5b_MI
last year
Wow! What a transformation! What impresses me most is you could see the potential in that...mess (that's putting it gently, isn't it...) Really beautiful job, I especially like the floors and the mudroom -- I wish I had a mudroom that big (mine is tiny), and even better is the generous window in there, what a nice place to sit down and take off your boots :0)
Susan W thanked mxk3 z5b_MI
felizlady
last year
Omigosh….I’m sure it was worth purchasing the house just to get those pigs/hoarders out of the neighborhood. I can only imagine the interior of the garage! You did the rest of the neighbors a good deed. Chinese drywall OUT for a healthier environment. Lots of storage…I’m envious. Looks very good and fresh and clean.
Susan W thanked felizlady
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motupeg
last year
Love what you did. That was a lot of hard work!
Susan W thanked motupeg
Lynn Lou
last year
Wow! What a transformation. Everything looks great. Enjoy your new home!
Susan W thanked Lynn Lou
RoyHobbs
last year
last modified: last year
You have done amazing work! A few months ago, DW and I were house hunting and saw a lovely home (exterior) with a lovely view, but it was a hoarder's house too. We were overwhelmed when we stepped inside, and gave it a pass. It was built in the early 90s, so did not have Chinese drywall, but the smell was terrible, and there were things done like the garage door was removed because the clutter in the garage made the door impossible to close. There were a couple fish tanks too, empty of fish, but with green water. And every space filled with Stuff. You are so much braver than we, and also much better imagination and design sense. Congratulations!
Susan W thanked RoyHobbs
Susan W
Original Author
last year
Thank you for your nice comments - I really appreciate them.

As far as jumping into this project, one of my biggest motivations was that my husband really wanted the house, especially on it's decent sized lot. There were many times I might have cut bait and run, but I felt it was better to stick to the plan. Of course now that we're where we are, I'm feeling much better about it.

And while my neighbors are happy that we'll be staying and fixing up the place, they're actually thrilled that we were the ones to buy it and not a developer or someone looking for a fixer-upper to turn into an AirBnB. This is a resort town and there are a ridiculous number of vacation rentals. Everyone is happy to keep our block the way it is, with most homes being occupied by full-time residents. There was definitely concern that a developer might have bull-dozed the house, split the lot, and put up 2 little rentals. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but I know everyone around us is happier that we're renovating to live in the house ourselves. I love our neighborhood.

We did not have a good experience at all with our contractor. It was actually a nightmare as he was quite the bully. Unfortunately, once we were committed, we felt out best bet was to power through and get it done. I actually have not spoken one word to him since the project started. My husband has played "nice cop" and done all of the interacting. We keep saying to each other that we need to get this guy in our rear view mirror, and it looks like that time is almost here.

I'm not sure how good my design skills really are, but I do know what I like and what I need. I had my few very important, non-negotiables (eat-in kitchen with French doors to Living Room, floor space for a non-permanent island or work table plus a big dining table, and extra storage, including a countertop microwave, in the mudroom.) I kept an open mind to lots of other things so that I could stay within budget. I have zero interest in resale value, what's in style or out, or the latest, hottest trends. I had a picture in my head of the basic look I was going for and ultimately, I'm super happy with how it turned out.

Thanks again.
Architectural Notice
last year
It looks nice.
Susan W thanked Architectural Notice
PRO
FrameMyMirror
last year
This is such a beautiful transformation - it looks like a completely different home! Great job!
Susan W thanked FrameMyMirror
cpartist
last year
congratulations on a beautiful redo of what was definitely a difficult house.
Susan W thanked cpartist
cawaps
last year
Nicely done! You were clear about your wants and stuck to your vision, and it looks great and very functional (high praise in a kitchen).
Susan W thanked cawaps
Susan W
Original Author
last year
Again, I'm very appreciative of the comments.

Not to offend anyone, but sometimes this site can be a little rough. I was sort of scared to even post my pix for fear that I'd be told things I should have done differently or reminded of guidelines I might not have followed.

But again, we are truly happy with what we've created and I guess I'm old enough to know that ours are the only opinions that really matters. But let's face it - everyone loves positive feedback on a project like this. So thanks again.
anna_682
last year
It looks great, Susan! I can understand the desire to have an eat-in kitchen, My inlaws had one and it was quite nice.
Susan W thanked anna_682
coray
last year
Slight improvement 😂😂😂, yikes! Glad you stuck it out.
Susan W thanked coray
JP L
last year
last modified: last year
Please keep posting! I love your approach of making this your home on your terms! And I'm impressed you powered through with a difficult GC (having done that myself, I feel your pain!). You have an amazing attitude and an impressive result in your project!

I too appreciate a closed off kitchen, and love a non-permanent island/work table (and also hate a visible microwave!)! :)
Susan W thanked JP L
PRO
Badeloft
last year
It looks great!
Susan W thanked Badeloft
PRO
Norwood Architects
last year
Definitely an improvement.
Susan W thanked Norwood Architects
Susan W
Original Author
last year
Thanks to the new commenters.

We've been in the house for a few days now, and I'm happy to say that so far the kitchen is working for me exactly as I hoped it would. We're moving over from right next store (who would have thought a 50' move could be do difficult!) so there's still some stuff at the old house. But really very little. I know my kitchen isn't set-up the final way I'll want it, but I'm slowly getting everything in its place. The mudroom/pantry is wonderful to have - I don't even have the words to describe how happy I am with it.

Counterdepth refrigerator seems to be plenty big enough - I think this Frigidaire has a pretty good design.

My slightly too big kitchen table makes me smile every day.

We added a quick backsplash because I decided a needed a little protection behind the range.

The workbench/island is literally perfect. Some storage in the drawers. A place to display some of my baskets and cake plates (both of which I use) underneath. And nice large workspace on top. We've already had overnight house guests and discovered it not only makes a great food prep area, but it's a heck of a bar too!
Susan W
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Maybe this post will help someone else out there feel good about their project - especially if they've had a particularly tough time of it.

We've been in the house for almost a month, and I'm just back to say that I don't think I could love my kitchen more. Is it something you'd see featured on a design show on TV? Definitely not. If money were no object would I have done some things differently? Definitely so. But still...

I guess I'm at the age when I realize that at times difficult decisions need to be made and that's when you have to dig deep and figure out what's really important. These are the things I pushed for because I knew they'd make me happy:

Taking a large (12 x 21?) wasted room on the back of the house off the kitchen and dividing it in 2, creating a 3rd bedroom and a mud room/pantry. Best use of space ever.

I especially like that my microwave is out of my kitchen and that I have all of this extra storage -

Yes, our yard is still a hot mess and the entire house needs new windows, but one step at a time.

We also decided to keep the original bathroom floor - I love the old school look and it saved some money.

I love my French Doors -

I love my too-big-for-the-room kitchen table -

I love my used FB Marketplace workbench island -

I love having plenty of totally clear countertop work space - for me I need a place for everything (and yes, everything in its place.)

I love the fact that I went totally neutral - I'm going to take my time bringing in color. Or maybe I'll stay neutral and stick with seasonal decorating. Who knows?

I guess this is a love note to my new house - still a work in progress. The kitchen especially is not fancy and it's not high-end. It does make me smile every day, and that's really what it's all about! Thanks for indulging me...
coray
last year
Susan W: you are so right! It’s not necessarily about having “the perfect space”, the “best of the best”, but about living in reality (let’s face it, most of us have a budget that doesn’t allow for a magazine-worthy kitchen) and making things work for us. Many of us keep tweaking spaces over several years and go room by room, and there’s nothing wrong with that; I’ve also seen spaces done professionally that I thought were really odd, so doing things your way is not necessarily a bad thing. No matter what you do (to make things work for you), I’m sure there’s somebody who’ll critique it….microwave’s too high, too many steps in your work triangle etc…..just don’t worry about it.