It’s on! We’re into the super-exciting (and super-messy) part! The covehouse has been completely stripped inside, right down to the studs. We couldn’t save the old plaster on the walls, it was breaking off in our hands and way too damaged in most rooms to even try, plus we wanted (& needed) to know what was under those 130 year-old walls. Mission accomplished! We found nests of various types, and a ton of this very cool live edge lumber:
A few non load-bearing bits & bobs have also been removed, but the bigger interior walls won’t be removed until we have a suitable beam in place to support the weight.
Here are a few “afters” (check out my earlier blog posts for “before” shots).
This is the kitchen looking into the living space. The powder room wall is down & getting moved. (Who needs a cast iron tub next to their kitchen, anyway? That sucker is getting refinished and re-homed upstairs.) The most impactful change came from my decision to remove the old “maids’ stairs” at the back left corner of the kitchen, which will allow us to maintain a wide opening into the living space. See the hole in the ceiling? That’s where they were. No more narrow, dark hallway!
Looking the other way back into the kitchen from the living area, you can see my attempts to lay out the cabinet and island configuration. The plan is to remove the door on the front wall of the kitchen (in front left of photo, below) and replace it with lower cabinets & windows straight across the front of the kitchen to maximize the view. We’re also going to remove the two side windows (dead ahead in photo, below) and add one door connecting to a new screened-in porch/sunroom area which will also have views for days.
I’m bound & determined to restore the old existing floors but there is a ton of patchworking to do. I’ll be crushed if we have to lose them!
This is the main living space. The chimney and all the walls you can see are all going to way of the dodo once we get a beam in place. It’s going to be huge & light-filled. I am crazy excited about the potential of this open-concept multi-use area. Windows, windows, windows!
The bedrooms & attic (yup, you read that right — there’s a huge windowed attic space we’re converting to a bedroom!) are also now all stripped, including the lathe that’s visible here. Let the planning begin!
Our little cedar shaked bunkie reno is happening in tandem with the main house demo and it’s going to be SO pretty! Shiplap walls are in progress. Stay tuned for the big reveal!
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