shut the front door

Over the weekend, John got his stain on.  



french doors



On Monday, the contractors hung the front door, and John attached the hardware.



Gorgeous, no?

a referral :: door maker

unstained

We were inspired by the front doors made at Urban Front, so we had a similar one made locally.

We were extremely happy with our door maker, and we highly recommend him to anyone in the area. He was professional, highly-skilled, and had reasonable prices.

His contact information is
John Alvarado
(805) 235-1411
Los Osos, California




He also made our french doors.



ch-ch-ch check it

On Tuesday, the contractor started framing out the new front entrance and the additional space in the back of the house. I went by the house on Wednesday and again today, because I couldn't stay away. Can you blame me?


This is how the back of the house is coming along.

And here is the front entrance.

75 days to go.

curb appeal :: a new front door

Even though we haven't actually started the renovation yet, that doesn't mean we haven't started dreaming about new looks for the house.

Since we are going for a more contemporary look, we have been eyeing these doors.






both images from Urban Front

Aren't they gorgeous?


***See this post to see how we plan to bump out the front entry.

3 big changes

We have a lot in store for the little blue house.

Obviously, we have a lot of cosmetic changes, "lipstick and rouge" if you will. However, it is the structural renovations that are more important to us right now.

#1 Bump out the front entry

The plan to bump out the front entry came about as we were talking with the architect. Although we have many ideas about *modernizing* (is that a real word?) the rest of the house, John and I were stumped as how to change the front. The curved section pictured here threw a wrench in the works. The architect suggested that we push the front door out several feet and create a hip roof. We already had plans to convert the fireplace to a gas insert so the need for the chimney stack went away.

#2 Relocate stairs to the back of the house



As mentioned earlier, we will be removing the spiral staircase in the center of the house and the exterior staircase. The staircase will be relocated to the back of the house, as pictured above and below. The above elevation shows what the upstairs will look like, and the elevation below shows what the downstairs floorplan will look like.

#3 Push the kitchen back approx. 10 feet.

We will push the kitchen back so that it lines up with the second story bedroom wall. This is what it looks like now...



so imagine those walls closed up.

And there you have it. Wish us luck.

house tour, part II

Like our previous house, there is no *formal* entry to this home. Once you step inside, you are immediately in the living room/great room. (Changing this and adding a small front entry is in the plans.)




To the left is a small hallway to 7's room, 4's room, and a bathroom in between the two.



Don't mind the avant garde mirror that came with the house. It will be soon be looking at the inside of a dumpster.

But don't you just love the recessed shelf?


7's room faces the street, aka the concrete oasis that we call the front of our house.

a view from another angle

This is the downstairs bathroom, that lies between the kids' rooms. The true beauty and craftsmanship of this room is not totally evident in the photo. Even the kids commented how ugly it was. But whatever. It's functional, and that's all you really need in a bathroom. (There are future plans to renovate it, but it's not a current priority.)


Next is 4's room...


another angle




4's room currently has two closets; however, closet #2 is going to go away.

See that curved wall in closet #2? That is the backside of the spiral staircase. When we remove the spiral staircase, we will also close up this second closet -- all in the name of gaining more living space for our home.

house tour, part I

In October, we bought a house. We didn't intend to buy a house so soon after moving to the central coast, but that's another story for another day. The point is, we bought a house. In our dream town!

Because I don't want to overwhelm this first post with an avalanche of photos, I'm going to show the entire house in a series of posts. Also, the layout of the house will make more sense once I get John to upload a blueprint of the house. And then later, I'll have him upload the blueprints for the planned renovations.

But first things first. Come on in...

Upon entering, you are greeted with this *warm and inviting* oasis of concrete. A view to your left,

and to your right.


At least there is some greenery down the side of the house... It goes without saying that there will definitely be some changes made to the front entry of the house.

Open the front door, and you are greeted with this monstrosity of a staircase.

Guaranteed, all kids will love this spiral staircase. It's like an indoor play structure. The staircase leads up to a landing/loft area (John's future office) and the master bedroom suite.

***Spoiler alert: the spiral staircase is the first thing to go.

Part II of the tour
Part III of the tour
Part IV of the tour
Part V of the tour