« April 2005 | Main | June 2005 »
Remember those lovely interior shots?
Take a look at the interior now:
This is the living room, with the plaster stripped away. All of the lath you see also is coming down, as is the trim. We thought of saving it, but it's too damaged. We'll have similar but slightly narrower trim put in, probably with similar rosettes.
Take a last look at the stairway, because it's going. It will be replaced with a slightly wider pine staircase that will flare at the bottom. I'm going to have them put in a wooden railing, pine stained to match the floor and treads, with metal balusters in a wavy pattern.
Here's the bathroom now. Actually, all of this is coming out, too. The walls in a typical rowhouse are not loadbearing, and they're installed on top of the floor. So, moving walls is relatively easy. The new bathroom will be wider, and will have Bisazza Italian glass tile ('crepe' mix), a jacuzzi, a separate glassed-in shower, and a Toto UltraMax one piece toilet (you have to work extremely hard to stop one of those babies up).
Here's a shot of the living room ceiling, showing the original wire and insulators (not currently used, but left in place). This house was originally had dual gas and electric fixtures . . . once the walls were stripped away, we found gas piping. This was common in the early part of the 20th century, when electric service was (presumably) more unreliable than it is today. Or, perhaps folks just liked gaslight.
Partial demolition of the second floor. When I visited yesterday, this was all gone, and the debris was being carted out. Do you have any idea how dusty it was in there? My hair was actually gummy with plaster dust after a couple of hours.
Old linoleum, underneath the current floor (and now both consigned to history).
Gosh. The wallpaper folks used to put in their kitchen. Actually, this was throughout the entire first floor at one point, apparently.
And that wallpaper wasn't even the original . . . there was a different pattern underneath.
Carl and Sharon were here! We bought the house from them. When they remodeled the bathroom, they signed their work.
We found a pocket door inside a living room wall (as our contractor had predicted). However . . .
It was badly damaged. Out it goes.
The original kitchen window was much larger and lower, too low for modern kitchen cabinetry and countertops. Somewhere along the way, a replacement window was put in, and the extra space bricked in. We are planning to put in new replacement windows . . . this IS a replacement window, but it's kinda flimsy.
Another upstairs shot. All of this is history, as is the ceiling. I hope to get shots of the empty upstairs before rebuild starts.
Next . . . the walls start going up; more ugly wallpaper.
We own a second house . . . a rowhouse in Baltimore. (Yeah, we're weird. Some people have second homes at the beach, or in the mountains. We have one in a city.) While it was not in terrible shape, it was outdated -- especially the kitchen. So . . . it's renovation time.
This rowhouse was probably built around 1920. It has, of course, had several owners, but is somewhat unique in that it hasn't been over-renovated. Some of the original architectural features are still intact. We are keeping: the stained glass windows, plaster cornices, the gingerbreading between the living and dining rooms, the two columns between the dining room and kitchen. The upstairs will be totally gutted, but I will keep the original spirit of the house by installing stained glass fixed transoms over the bedroom doors.
Demolition of the house interior began Wednesday. Come along with us and experience a Baltimore rowhouse rebirth! This will be fun. (Painful to the wallet . . . but aah, in for a penny, in for a pound.)
Before the Big Boom!
This is the rowhouse exterior. It's in pretty good shape -- iron spot brick, marble basement and steps. Bay window with the original ornamentation.
Shot of living room, before demolition. That ceiling fixture is GONE. Ugh. The window stays, though. It's original, though slightly damaged. I may get it fixed at some point.
Picture from the entry foyer, up the stairs. (Stairs are soon to be history; they are not overly sound, and they slant to the right.)
Another shot of the stairs, from the dining room. Notice the column . . . it and its mate are staying. They may be original to the house.
Entry hall, looking back toward the front door. This glass panel is not original, but was made by a former neighbor of the former owner. Nice window; we're keeping it, but removing the door.
We're keeping this cool gingerbreading. It will be removed and stripped, so it can be repainted nicely. (And that stupid out-of-place ball can be moved back into position.)
This was the primary reason for the renovation. U.G.L.Y. Avocado green appliances, vinyl paper-covered particleboard cabinets. Rest assured the new kitchen will be MOST deluxe. Nope, no granite, but a midcentury modern feel, primary colors, and track lighting.
A close-up of one of the U.G.L.Y. cabinets.
And, of course, the kitchen sink.
These archway cornices will be kept (they are plaster), but the archway will be rebuilt.
This is the main bedroom, with the bay window. I love this room, and it won't be too much different when renovated. The mantel (see below) will be gone, and a real closet will be added, but otherwise, it will be just as light and airy.
View from the front bedroom, toward the rear of the house. The door to the left is to the hall; to the right is to a windowless interior room. Houses are no longer built like this, of course, and the room really isn't useable for a bedroom, these days. We used it for an office, and replacing it will be an open atrium area. Notice the skylight. There's also one in the bathroom. We are keeping these; they are watertight. Also note the transoms, for ventilation. This was very common in these types of houses.
This is a lovely oak mantel that, unfortunately, we are not keeping. I thought and thought about it, but it takes up useable wall space.
Rear bedroom. The transom to the left is to the bathroom, for ventilation. Doesn't do much to dampen bathroom noise. Those are going, of course.
This is the tiny bathroom.
Another shot, of the ugly yellow tub.
Sink and original built-in medicine cabinet.
Rear shot of the house. The siding will be removed, the entire rear will be stucco'd, and there will be a bi-level deck from the second floor up onto the roof, connected by a spiral stairway.
Next: The Big Boom!!!
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
Recent Comments