Most all renovations begin with a
tear out. It's funny, but things have to get worse before they can get better. That principle ringing true again, we have begun the interior renovation of our NeighborHouse office at 1104 Jefferson. The fun has begun, and we'd love any of you to come by and see the BAD before we get into seeing the GOOD that will come. Give either Walt or me a call, and we'll meet you there. The transformation process is fun, and I think that I actually grow to like it more each time.
In the picture to the right you can see that we've torn the ceiling out so that we can move the HVAC system up into the attic. It was weird, but the hallway had several different false ceilings. It was very peculiar, and smacked of several repetitive mini-rehabs.
The interior has been architecturally ignored for decades, and it's time has come - Walt will make it shine. If you know Walt well, you know what I mean. His uncanny sense of space and his knowledge of architectural and historical accuracy culminate to generate a product so recognizable that his work is easily picked out by simply stepping into one of his renovations. Walt's style is bound in a decisive ability to interpret the flow of design, compliments of texture, and technical expertise. All these attributes come together to make
The Look.
As you can see in this picture on the left, we've torn out the cabinets, and my little helper is having fun trompin' around in a big dirty house. We're tearing out the cabinets to rebuild them taller, and compliment the new windows we'll be putting in around the office. The kitchen will be fully functional, so that we can host open houses, and serve lunches from the office for meetings and parties. It will be complimented by new counter tops, appliances, flooring - you know the routine. In the end we should have room for a small breakfast table and a few chairs. It will be a good spot to sit down for a cup of coffee and a phone convo. The kitchen will be a great size with a useful layout. And, I imagine we'll keep it a little cleaner than we've got it in the pics.
As normally happens in any good renovation, you've got to move a few doors around to open up the flow of the house/office. Jefferson is no exception. It needs several walls moved, and we've torn most of them out that are going to
go. We've nearly moved a door or a wall in every room in the building to create a better, more livable/workable flow. You know, its also fun to take out walls and open things up because in the process you naturally allow in more daylight, and sometimes into places it may have never been. This doorway to the right has been cut in and is the access from one of the offices into the hallway. Most of the building is complimented by nice high ceilings, and is going to have a very accessible feel and flow.
High ceilings, and better flow just make me feel like I can breathe better. I'm sure it's just an illusion, but I feel like my eyes just open a little wider and easier. Maybe its more ideas for thoughts and ideas. As you can see on the photo on the left we've moved a few walls. You can tell how boxed in this hallway felt by the differing floorings from room to hall to room, and it would just almost make you dizzy turning around so many times to get out of the room leading from that doorway. Solution:
rip it out and push the ceiling height as high as possible. Surprisingly, the electrical wiring in the house is Romex, and therefore we won't have to rewire. Whew! That's a relief, and a real time and money saver in any renovation. What a blessing, because this is no small house/office conversion. It made us rest a little easier after we torn out and found it that way.
So far in the rehab this is my favorite part. Allow me to explain: If you were to look at the house from the street you would see a room on the right side that was previously a porch in it's original construction. This is easily recognized for several reasons like slanted porch flooring, etc. Well, if you walked in the front door and turned to the right you would see
this (picture above). Now, in essence you're standing in our Greeting Room right now, and you are (envision this) looking into what will be our conference room. I love it! We are going to blow that opening up into a double glass or french door opening with a glass transom window above the doors, but here's the kicker - We are also glassing all three walls in the confernce room with a tinted commercial grade glass. It is going to be stunning, and I'm getting excited.
