The “Before” Tour
This blog post has been a LONG time coming. As we await the last permits to be approved and construction to start, it’s fun to look at these pictures , make plans, and dream about what this house will be!
Our house was built in 1919 and with that, comes lots of charm and also … problems (as in no A/C, bad wiring, & rotting floors kind of problems) We plan to sloowwwlyy renovate every inch of this home (including the exterior) but for Phase 1 we are focusing solely on the first floor. Scroll on through to see all the never before seen pictures and design plans for our forever home.
okay - so let’s talk exterior!! This is going to be a project for another time and another financial budget (lol) BUT we have big plans for the exterior of our home. Although we do love the traditional colonial vibe, I really imagine this as more of a “French Chateau” look. We’re talking white painted brick, cedar roof, and copper gutters - **sigh** Someday!!
Welcome to our (cramped) entryway! Right now, David can barely turn in a circle in this space but soon, those vestibule walls will be torn out to make a much more open and welcoming entry. In addition, that little closet you see in the right-hand picture is going to be busted through to create a nice long hallway to the back of the house.
that brings us to the dining room! This is such a sweet little room and mostly, the work in here is just cosmetic: new floors, new light fixture, paint, crown molding, and lots of wainscoting - yay!
This is our living room that leads to an office space in the back. FYI, we plan on keeping all of the radiators in the home - radiant heat is SO cozy and it definitely adds to the vintage charm. I would love to add beams and wainscoting in here for added character and I cannot WAIT for you to see the floors we picked out.
You can’t tell from this image, but the fireplace is HUGE! I’ve never had a true wood-burning fireplace and I cannot WAIT to light this baby up (we’re going to move in mid-August and I’m STILL going to force David to make a fire for me lol.) Unfortunately it needs to be refaced. The mantle is original to the home and we will be keeping that but the surround is ugly and super damaged. We will also be ripping out that black/gold atrocity.
Our pretty office and the future headquarters of We’re the Whites! Besides adding a super cool light fixture in here, we plan on closing that left wall and adding a floor-to-ceiling built-in!
This the back-end of the house where an extension was built sometime in the early ‘90s (don’t you love that track lighting?!) The far blue rectangle on the left represents our future mudroom and the rest will become a cozy sitting room with shelves, comfy reading chairs, and a beautiful view of the backyard. The cracked tiling will also be replaced with new wood flooring.
Remember when I said we were going to create a hallway? This is the other side of where that hallways is going to be. A huge beam is going to be put into the ceiling, allowing us to open this wall up and make it so much more open and AIRY. Also, check out that light fixture!
The kitchen!! This is going to be the biggest and most satisfying transformation in the whole house. The left-hand cabinets will be ripped out and that entryway into the dining room will be closed allowing an entire wall to be available for a range and hood in the center, a paneled fridge on the lots of storage.
Along the wall straight ahead, we are putting in a brand new window with a sink underneath, a paneled dishwasher, and pull-out garbage can (whoo hoo). The peninsula sticking out on the left is being ripped out and a very large island with storage will be in the center.
The back exterior of the house! This is a hodgepodge mess — a result of many years of renovations, tear-downs, and someone’s love of red paint. Like I said, we are not touching the upstairs yet so that weird door to no-where is going to exist for a little while longer (can you spot it?). HOWEVER, the extension is being re-built, painted a gorgeous black, and eventually the brick will be white with copper gutters - it’ll be fantastic!
The reason we fell in LOVE with this home - the YARD. Any of my local friends know how hard it is to find a good yard in Evanston. This yard is so special (Ruby is already a huge fan) and I can already see our future kids running around bare-foot in the grass! I can also see a fire pit, bluestone patio, and hot tub - but hey one can dream!
That’s it! I’ll save the upstairs pictures for another time - but for now, let me know what you think! What’s your favorite part? Do you have any questions for me? Let me know in the comments below!
