Do you remember the Lake House? You might have to dig deep into your memory for this one. It’s been a while since we’ve visited it! In fact, the homeowner moved in before Christmas! Somewhere, in the busyness of life I forgot to share the final product with you.

So, finally, here it is…

Just in case you don’t remember, because it’s been forever, these are the changes we made.

You can see the original kitchen off to the left. Most of that wall was closed in and that became the laundry room and a pantry.

This is the new kitchen! The original sliding glass doors remain. (You can see them just to the left of the sink.) The door adjacent to that is the new laundry room, formerly the kitchen.

I’m not sure what this open area was in it’s previous life, perhaps a dining room and/or another living room. We converted it into the new kitchen and dining room. You can see just a little bit of the fireplace in the next room.

Removing the wall that used to divide the two spaces shown above really opened things up. The garden window above the sink was a new addition.

The homeowner opted for birch butcher block countertops. These were ordered from Home Depot and you can get them in a variety of sizes. When Ikea discontinued their solid birch tops, it wasn’t easy finding a suitable replacement. I just wasn’t happy with the quality offered by some of the other companies. To be honest that made me just a little nervous when I ordered these. Because Home Depot has a great return policy, I decided to give them a try and boy was I glad! They turned out beautifully!

We sealed them with pure Tung Oil mixed with odorless mineral spirits. I like the Real Milk Paint company’s tung oil, but to be fair, it’s the only pure tung oil I’ve ever used so I really don’t have anything to compare it with. I order it through Amazon because I have a Prime account and the shipping is free. After the oil has cured, the tops are completely food safe.

I prefer tung oil to polyurethane because it can be touched up so easily. If one little area is scratched, burned or otherwise damaged, it’s easy to just reapply oil to that section. A polyurethane finish would require the entire top to be stripped and sanded before applying the new product. Hardwax oil would have been a good alternative to tung oil as well. You can read about hardwax oil here.

For this project, I simply applied the oil with steel wool, let it sit, then applied more to any dry spots. Eventually, the wood couldn’t absorb any more oil and the oil just sat on the surface. When that happened, I’d wait half and hour and then wipe it dry. After 24 hours, I’d do it again. Somewhere along the line I lost count, but I think I applied 5-6 coats of oil. The homeowner will need to re-oil it when it starts to look dry or when water fails to bead. I love the way the countertops turned out!

The homeowner, Amy, chose these stones for the master bath tub surround. Each little piece is an actual natural rock! For ease of installation, the stones are attached to a mesh background 12″ x 12″.

Though she’d never done anything like this before, Amy rolled up her sleeves, donned latex gloves and went to work hanging stone. Impressive!

In order to enlarge the master bedroom, we removed a bathroom and closet. An adjacent bedroom was used to create the new master bathroom and walk-in closet.

I wish we had pictures of this new master bedroom with furniture in place so you could get a sense of just how big this space is. Eventually that opening to the bathroom will get a custom barn door. We just have to finish building it!

This is one of the two new bedrooms that used to be the garage. Again, without furniture, it’s difficult to get a sense of just how big these rooms are.

When it came to the flooring, Amy chose the Life Proof Walton Oak luxury vinyl plank from the Home Depot. This is a great choice. At only $2.99 a sq ft it provided the look she wanted with the following features:

• 100% waterproof planks have rigid PVC core and durable wear layer
• Pre-attached underlayment; No Acclimation Required
• Can be installed over Concrete, Tile, Vinyl, or Wood
• Click-lock, installation
• Lifetime residential warranty.

I think it was the perfect choice for this house!

When I started this project, I’d known Amy for a while. We’d visit at soccer games and chat briefly if our paths happened to cross. For me, one of the best things about this project was developing a new friend. Amy is an amazing, strong, resilient woman. I’m blessed by her friendship and thankful that it won’t end with the end of this project!

A few weeks ago, I told you I’d be starting a new project for a client. I am so excited about this project and equally as excited to be working with the homeowner. Amy is a beautiful, strong lady and it’s my privilege to be able to create an inviting home for her and her daughters. 

Though the house is not located on a lake, I’ll call it “The Lake House” because a picturesque lake lies just to the west. 

Here’s  a peak at the list of things we’ll do to transform this house:

• Upgrade the electrical service
• Remove a wall to create a great room.
• Move the kitchen
• Create a new laundry room where the kitchen used to be
• Remove an existing bathroom, a walk-in closet and another closet in order to combine two bedrooms and create a larger master bedroom
• Creat a new master bathroom and a walk-in closet
• Convert the garage into two bedrooms (after leveling the garage floor)
• Build a new detached garage
• New exterior and interior paint
• New roof
• All new flooring
• New appliances
• Some new lighting
• New hot water heater
• Update the existing bathroom

Whew!

It’s a big project, but I’m confident we will create something amazing for Amy and her family. Keep scrolling to see the progress. Just keep in mind, it gets worse before it gets better! 

See this wall? It’s nearly gone. The drywall has bee removed and the electrical wires that used to be contained within the wall have been disconnected.

Below is a photo of what it looks like now. The framers will remove the 2 x 4 framing  and support the expanse with a beam. An engineer calculated the load requirements and specified the size and type of beam as well as the necessary support posts.

While we’re at it, did you notice the floors? The carpet was removed, then the floors were thoroughly cleaned, cleaned again, then sealed with BIN primer. This house had strong pet odors, but that stuff is amazing. I recently wrote about it here.

Here’s another view of that space.

This is what the kitchen looked like when we started. This space will be converted to a new laundry room and the kitchen will be moved.

This is what the old kitchen looks like now.

The master bedroom and another bedroom were separate by a bathroom, a walk-in closet for the master bedroom and another closet. These walls were removed to enlarge the master bedroom. The plumber will finish removing the old plumbing visible in the photo below.

This is a picture of the smaller bedroom, looking into the closet. Obviously.

And this was taken from the same bedroom, looking into the space where the closet used to exist.

The green arrow points to the smaller bedroom. A new bathroom and walk-in closet will be created in this space. The blue arrow indicates the former location of the smaller closet. The old walk-in closet is indicated by the red arrow, and the black is pointing to the former bathroom.

Finally, this gives you an idea of what this will look like when it’s done. In the second photo you can start to feel how open the main living space will be.

If you’re wondering what’s next, the plumber will demo the old plumbing, the electrician will start the service upgrade and we are waiting on the framers to come and create the new walls. The exterior is being painted now and the new roof will go on in 10 days or so. So often, with construction, we just hurry up and wait, or start and stop. Much like raising children, it develops patience!

Next week I’ll give you an update on the Adam’s house rental. It’s really coming along and should be able to hit the market in just a couple of weeks!