We were thrilled to share an update of sorts yesterday, and we’re back today with our first round of plans for the main living area, and our general plans for our new abode in Franklin!
But first we thought we’d refresh the memory with a little tour of sorts. Because we didn’t really share in detail before, so much as telling the crazy story of how we found our house.
We’d like to start by saying that this is a total rehab. The house will be taken down to its studs, as it has a wonderful footprint that we can’t wait to make our own. This {the main living area} is the area that will be going through the most drastic changes. Oh wait… maybe that’s the basement? {Scary, y’all – seriously you should see the crawl space = hidden bodies} But we also want to preserve some of its original charm and vibe as we go.
Our home was built in 1976, and according to the records, the last remodel took place in the early 80’s… though we can tell it’s received some fresh paint and flooring {carpet and linoleum-no, those hardwoods aren’t real, and they aren’t underneath} since then.
When you walk through the front door, there’s a small foyer area, and a formal living/dining room.
And off the now-existing formal living/dining room area, there’s a small kitchen.
At first glance {since photography tends to make everything look better and to each their own} some of you may be wondering why the great lengths. But the home is in need of a major update. {And basically, because we want to.} We took a big loss on our last house, but were able to get this house at a steal as it had been sitting on the market for some time which is unusual for Franklin since they basically have the opposite market. We were able to take out a rehab loan so that we can do the major stuff and get it taken care of, first. From old wiring and plumbing to faulty insulation and a sloping roof, it’s waaaaay overdue. And that’s not even touching cosmetic: The flooring isn’t really our style, and the walls bow in certain places, for starters.
The initial redo will include the main living area, basement {currently the garage} and upstairs. It’s a true ranch/split level home, with a lot of potential. As it stands, it has 1700 existing square feet, so it’s a definite downsize for us. However, once we finish out the basement, we will have 2485 finished square feet. And we think that’s a nice size as we’re not the McMansion types. We’re anxious to get our hands on it and give it a fun new look that’s our very own.
We don’t plan on going anywhere after this, and we’re taking the time to do it right, from the bones up. This is something that matters to us, to get it fully up and running again, as unlike most of the homes in this neighborhood, our house has been through multiple owners and was neglected for some time.
I know, “this is our last house” – that’s what they all say. But we’re big nesters, and stayed in our former home for ten years. Only relocating completely rather than moving across town. We have big plans to keep the projects going for years a-la improvements, so this is just the beginning. We’re ready to make memories here, and really make it our home.
It’s a bit of a squeeze right now for a family of five, and there’s even a tiny pantry to the right, with our only access to the attic. On this part of the house, that is.
The “den” is on the other side of the formal living/dining area… where the paneling was painted at some point.
We hope to salvage most of the fireplace with a fresh look for the brick in a heavy mortar wash and new mantel. There’s something charming about that little fireplace we want to preserve.
And here, the staircase that leads to the second part of the house.
There are a lot of things we’d like to salvage for a hint of charm in the finished house, like this old door. It has sweet little touches in the handles, and I’m going to try my hand at stripping it down {with precautions taken toward the whole lead paint thing} We’d like to repurpose the quirky things that bring charm to this little house, and a nod to the past.
So here’s the existing floorplan in a quick mockup we put together:
Here’s the new {quickly mocked} floorpan for the main living area:
The walls will come down, for an open concept. The house is a classic a-frame, and we plan to raise the ceilings as well, so we’ll be running a false vault for support. This might be what we’re the most excited about, as it’s a major change that will give the home a whole new, not-so-dated feel. We hope to do hardwoods throughout, even in the upstairs area, for a nice, clean, classic feel and really unify the space visually.
We plan to stretch the kitchen all along that back wall, with the removal of the existing walls for a larger space.
In the center, we want a nice large island for a good gathering spot. We plan to do a lot of entertaining in this house, and as you can see, we will have ditched the dining room and separate living room completely, so we’d like to fully utilize this space.
Eventually, we plan to add a master suite off the kitchen, but that’s probably a year or two down the line because we wish we were millionaires and this is real life. So in the meantime, the kids will be in a shared space upstairs and we will be right next to them. They don’t mind {right now} as they have a big yard, pool and an entire basement that we’re finishing off so we’re milking it for all it’s worth before the oldest gets too old to want to roll with that anymore. We’ll be playing it aaaaalllll by ear. But more on that next week…
Of course this is just covering the basics: Both sets of staircases will be brought up to code as part of our initial redo, along with wiring, insulation, the entire nine yards. We also need new windows as the entire home is currently covered with storm windows and I’m terrified of fires and a plan for getting out because it’s how I’m wired and garden stools can and will kill you.
Tada! This is just the beginning.
We have big plans for the other areas, and can’t wait to share those as well, as we go!
So these are our first set of initial plans for the main living area. We’re busy picking out finishes, and the DEMO STARTS THIS WEEK!
{Psst: to keep reading about the renovation and see all the amazing after photos go here and scroll tot he bottom.}
Looks like a great plan! I am curious about that sink right next to the stove and the fridge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that anywhere else.
April! I read your comment, and I was all… sink next to the stove? WHAT?! And that WOULD have been interesting because I missed a word “sink” when changing the file over. How very professional of me. It’s repaired now. ;} Thanks so much!
Too funny! Looks like a great plan!
you will LOVE LOVE LOVE franklin. i grew up there (when it was the sticks!) and my parents still live there! when i was in high school there were only TWO! page high (where i went) and franklin high…and now where are SOOO many! can’t wait to see all of the demo! 🙂
Awe thanks so much Hannah!
So exciting! We just built a new house but I would like to reno a house like this one day. Your plan reminds me of House Tweaking blogs reno.
Oh my word! I know exactly how you feel. We are on old house #2. It is scary but so so fun! We did a basement last year…asbestos, lead paint, linoleum and all. We tackeld a bathroom this spring and have plans for the kitchen this summer. I will be following along on your blog. Don’t be discouraged if there are days that you say “I hate this house!” Bc you will but in the end you will persevere and you will love it all the more.
Awe, thank you April. Your words are so encouraging! Props you you guys and all you’ve tackled – that’s amazing!
How wonderful and exciting for your family!! Thank you for sharing your adventure with us!! Your home will be beautiful and what an awesome opportunity to really make it your own. You’ve probably have already considered this, but (since I’m seriously coveting your bay window in the kitchen) what about flipping the banquette to the back of the house in the bay window? Of course then the master bedroom access and floating shelves would need to be flipped too. Just an idea! It will be gorgeous either way!
Awe thanks so much, Linda! And thank you for the suggestion. Things like this are why we share – you guys inspire us as much as we hope we maybe inspire anyone who stumbles across our site. We are definitely going to re-check everything, and I think things will be even clearer {and hopefully we’ll feel even more inspired} once the inside is demoed and we can see exactly how it will lay out. Unfortunately, that is the only possible access to the eventual master addition, but we may be able to fine tune some things in the future. Totally excited about the bay window, though no matter what we do with it. Aren’t they great? Even if the floor does slope there HA!
I’m so excited to see what you guys do! So far I’m loving the ideas! Also our oldest is almost 13 (Eek! Where has the time gone?!) and still wants to pile in with his younger siblings. So you may have a few more years left of shared space.
That makes me happy! We don’t HAVE to put them together, but we kind of want to, to maximize the space for now until we split them up. Memories, right??? Seriously… don’t blink. It’s killing me.
I’m so excited to watch this renovation! It’s gonna be great. A few questions….Do you plan to DIY most of it or did you hire a contractor? Just wondering if finding someone while new to the area was hard. Also, do you plan to keep your same decorating style as your old house or do you plan on using something different?
Hey Amy! That’s a great question and I realized we totally didn’t address that in this post. My brain is fried ? We took out a rehab loan after weighing our options with all this, and that requires us to hire a contractor in Williamson County. It’s actually a federal regulation. It’s a bit of a special situation though because he understands what we do and we will be working side by side with him- it’s complicated because of laws and it will be touch and go with what we’re allowed to do. It’s the best of both worlds in the way we get to approach it and We’ll explain more in detail later this week in the post where we discuss upstairs plans.
I believe our style will always evolve but we’re not about to go all mid century mod meets trendy contemporary or anything too off from what we’ve always done – we love a classic asthetic with our own colorful touch that tells a story… as always. Stay tuned ?
So excited to follow along! We are about to buy my family home (1978, two-story with a rustic-farmhouse vibe, complete with lots of wood trim) from my dad. We’re going to do cosmetic updates but don’t have funds for a major rehab, though I’d love to take out a wall between our kitchen and our front room (supposed to be dining room, it’s like a sitting room with computers in it.) So looking forward to seeing how it opens up your space.
Q: Will you have an actual dining table? It looks like the banquet has seating only on one side?
So fun Elizabeth! So excited for y’all! Yes, as this is our only actual table in the house for dining, {though we plan to have plenty of outdoor dining options in the future} we will have a dining table – the banquette on one side, and chairs on the other. The idea is to have storage in the banquette as well, underneath. We shall see how all that pans out. ;} We also hope to have storage in the window seat area with the bay window. I’d like to do built in shelving around the window itself. The house definitely came a little short with dining and storage so we are creating all that we can! ;}
I’m anxious to watch your remodel project…..we are getting ready to go through the same thing. Selling our 2800 sf home and moving to a 1700 sf home – but it’s actually a FARM with barns and room for animals. Oh, and we will be adding on a small apartment for our adult daughter, so it’s not that drastic a downsize. Hoping it will be a downsize in the right ways, and an upsize in the right ways!
Love, love, love ALL of your plans. I can’wait to see it all come together. 🙂
I am so excited to watch this transformation unfold! We have been on a similar adventure but dragging ours out over a longer period. Will you be sharing your future additions plans and how it will impact the curb appeal and exterior elevations? Also, what are you considering for hardwoods? We too have a pool and can tell you inevitability water is always brought into the house – wet towels, bathroom breaks, retrieving snacks, etc. I wish I could blame it all on the kids/guests but my husband and I are just as guilty. We need to eventually replace all the flooring on our first floor and I would love hardwoods but we are strongly considering a waterproof laminate that can handle the wear and tear of a family and a pool. Would love to hear what you are considering when making your selections! Best of luck!!
Absolutely! We have a rough plan in place for the addition, and will be fine tuning that more. We believe the addition will actually bring more balance to the outside, since right now it is a split level, and the addition will also be two story to make room for our studio above our bedroom. We are beginning the official process a year out {BECAUSE CODES and INSPECTIONS, OH MY GOSH they’re KILLING us right now} once we’re officially in the house.
One of our main concerns with the pool has been that there is not a bathroom on the main or lower level, so for now when people are in our home {and our kids} we will literally lay down a path of towels to the upper level. Lame, but also real life. We’re a shoes off kind of family and that’s how we roll, so we will just need to be cautious. We just put all this money into a rehab so we don’t mind having requests for visitors and family for now. There’s a fine line between hospitality and reality and being cautious… I know. The addition will accommodate the bathroom issue in the master, as it will offer direct access to the pool from a mudroom type of configuration. So the towels are the in-the-meantime plan. This addition probably also involves another septic system. All of these issues are interlocked and oh so tricky with an older home so it will all take time.
But in the meantime, I still want those hardwoods because we wanted a consistent finish throughout the home, as it’s not very large. :} That means, we are looking at prefinished floors as a solution, rather than engineered or laminate or wood floors finished the traditional way. They hold up better to dogs and children and wear and tear as they have a nine coat finish in factory rather than the two coat finish they offer in homes when finished on site. {We’re honestly more worried about Rigby + Fitz than pool wear, and we aren’t making them outside dogs over flooring since they’re members of our family – I know people all view that differently, too.} We also have the option of sanding them down later down the line when they have become too weathered for wear, and have the option for lasting through multiple re-finishes. I believe twenty? It’s crazy. This is an appealing feature for us. They last for years and are a great, viable option. I will be sharing more on this in detail down the line.
For what it’s worth, we have also considered wood-look tile but feel like that’s so trendy, we hate to invest in something and then grow completely tired of it in a few years, since it’s just not our thing. Though they and the laminate really come in some beautiful finishes.
So that is what we are leaning toward. Clearly, this is a post on its own. Lots of pros and cons and considerations even down to what ages our kiddos are. Since they’re no longer toddlers, we can definitely get away with more ;} I hope all this makes sense.