Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Happy New Life for a Once-Rundown Home
Cost-saving ideas include substituting plants for shower glass, and using MDF for shiplap and to cover a popcorn ceiling
Kitchen. Woltz wanted to get the biggest island possible without losing too much space. The couple poured and cast the concrete countertops themselves. Jonathan made the ash legs on the island and the ash shelves above the sink.
Slate floors and a darker paint color on the walls (Calligraphy by Behr) provide contrast to the white cabinets.
MDF routed to look like shiplap wood was a less-expensive alternative to the real thing for wrapping the island. “It keeps everything nice, light and bright and adds a ton of character,” Woltz says.
Stools: Room
Slate floors and a darker paint color on the walls (Calligraphy by Behr) provide contrast to the white cabinets.
MDF routed to look like shiplap wood was a less-expensive alternative to the real thing for wrapping the island. “It keeps everything nice, light and bright and adds a ton of character,” Woltz says.
Stools: Room
Woltz and Jonathan had trouble agreeing on a statement tile for behind the sink until Woltz came up with the idea of doing something inspired by New York City subway stations. She did some photo research and came up with the design shown here that incorporates the house’s street name. “It adds character to the house but it’s not too personal that the next person wouldn’t love it too,” she says.
Faucet: Delta
Faucet: Delta
The opposite view in the kitchen shows how the room opens to a nearby dining room thanks to the removal of a wall.
Dining room. A walnut table that Jonathan built anchors the room. The couple refinished the small strip oak flooring and added a darker stain to hide imperfections. They also worked hard to remove plaster from the brick fireplace to add more character to the room.
Chairs: Burris spindle side in black, Safavieh, via Houzz; light fixture: World Market; Frank Lloyd Wright statue: Room
Chairs: Burris spindle side in black, Safavieh, via Houzz; light fixture: World Market; Frank Lloyd Wright statue: Room
Master bathroom. The original bathroom occupied the footprint only of what’s now the shower and toilet — everything after the end of the wall on the left. The couple gained the vanity space by incorporating an unused walk-in pantry.
Woltz and Jonathan liked the concept of walking into a shower without glass, and neither was thrilled about cleaning shower glass anyway, so they settled on this half-wall solution.
Woltz and Jonathan liked the concept of walking into a shower without glass, and neither was thrilled about cleaning shower glass anyway, so they settled on this half-wall solution.
Woltz came up with the idea of hanging plants over the half wall to catch any splashed water. “We planned the shower wide enough so there’s not much splash, and it never exits the shower,” she says. “I like how open it feels. And the plants love it.”
Hanging planters: Ikea
Hanging planters: Ikea
Here’s a look at the other side of the leafy splash guard.
Benjamin Moore’s Wrought Iron paint creates soothing contrast similar to the color found in the kitchen.
Sconce: Bendooragh, All Modern
Sconce: Bendooragh, All Modern
Jonathan built the vanity out of ash. Penny tile on the floor nods to the 100-year-old origins of the home.
White hex tile walls extend from the shower down the hallway leading to the master bedroom.
Woltz bought the buffalo head door knob years ago with the idea of one day using it in her home. She chose the bathroom door that connects to the kitchen because it’s the door guests use most.
Master bedroom. A sliding barn door closes the bathroom off to the master bedroom.
The shiplap here is planks of plywood cut, painted and nailed to the wall. Woltz chose plug-in sconces over hard-wired versions because of the difficulty in hard-wiring into the exterior plaster and lath wall.
Rug: Monaco woven in violet and blue, Safavieh, via Houzz; Lamp: Wray bronze metal plug-in, Lamps Plus
The shiplap here is planks of plywood cut, painted and nailed to the wall. Woltz chose plug-in sconces over hard-wired versions because of the difficulty in hard-wiring into the exterior plaster and lath wall.
Rug: Monaco woven in violet and blue, Safavieh, via Houzz; Lamp: Wray bronze metal plug-in, Lamps Plus
Living room. In the living room off the dining room, the couple stripped off plaster to expose the fireplace, in front of which lies their dog Milo.
Woltz said removing the painted popcorn ceiling would have been so difficult it wouldn’t have been worth the cost and effort. Instead, she covered the ceiling in MDF and two-by-fours.
Woltz added the same hardware as the kitchen cabinets to make a pair of Ikea units look more higher end.
Chairs: Pottery Barn; Lamp: Wray bronze metal plug-in, Lamps Plus
Woltz said removing the painted popcorn ceiling would have been so difficult it wouldn’t have been worth the cost and effort. Instead, she covered the ceiling in MDF and two-by-fours.
Woltz added the same hardware as the kitchen cabinets to make a pair of Ikea units look more higher end.
Chairs: Pottery Barn; Lamp: Wray bronze metal plug-in, Lamps Plus
A sectional sofa sits in front of a door that leads to the outside. Filling in that portion with drywall mended to the plaster wall would have been too much of a headache, Woltz says.
Sofa: Room; rug: Joss and Main; sconces: Lamps Plus
Sofa: Room; rug: Joss and Main; sconces: Lamps Plus
Floor plan. Here’s a look at the layout of the home, with the living room on the right, the kitchen in the top middle and the master bedroom on the bottom left.
The house is known as a “double” in Buffalo, a common setup that includes a standalone house divided into two or more residences. Woltz and Jonathan were able to stay in a studio unit upstairs while they worked on the renovation. They now rent the studio out. Although the DIY approach took twice as long as they had planned, the couple is happy they did. “It was really a rewarding process to do it ourselves,” Woltz says.
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The house is known as a “double” in Buffalo, a common setup that includes a standalone house divided into two or more residences. Woltz and Jonathan were able to stay in a studio unit upstairs while they worked on the renovation. They now rent the studio out. Although the DIY approach took twice as long as they had planned, the couple is happy they did. “It was really a rewarding process to do it ourselves,” Woltz says.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Designer Raelyn Woltz and fiance Jonathan, a high school teacher
Location: Buffalo, New York
Size: 1,200 square feet (111 square meters); three bedrooms, one bathroom
Designer: Raelyn Woltz of West End Interiors
Raelyn Woltz and her fiance Jonathan bought their home in west Buffalo, New York, after it had sat vacant and in complete disrepair for two years. “It scared a lot of people away,” Woltz says.
But Woltz, an interior designer, and Jonathan, who teaches high school wood shop, architecture and engineering, were confident they could tackle the renovation themselves. They stripped the home down to the studs and Woltz reconfigured the floor plan to get a more functional kitchen and a larger bathroom.