Colonial on the Creek

Just days after completing the last of what seemed like hundreds of projects on our second home remodel (which took us years to complete because we worked on it on weekends, after work, and in between taking care of little ones), and breathing a giant sigh of relief, my husband and I purchased our third home to remodel: The colonial on the creek.

The colonial went up for auction in the Spring of 2013, and after discovering the tranquil creek in the backyard and scoping out the sweet little neighborhood, we fell head over heels for the property.  The house itself, however, was a bit dated and took some imagination to see its full potential.

The house was built in 1977, and I’m fairly certain many of the features in the home were original.

Even though I immediately thought the fireplace was screaming for a makeover, it still took lots of convincing (of someone else in my household) before I was given the “go ahead” to paint the fireplace brick white.  I know many people feel strongly about not painting brick, and I would love to avoid the task if the situation allowed, but I just couldn’t stop myself from wanting to cover over this dated fireplace.

Some of you love the look on the before picture and that’s ok.  Just look away for a moment while you scroll.  No offense taken.

My husband actually used a jack hammer to remove the hearth and brick on the floor so we could just have a small, rectangular hearth, and have the wood floors come right to the base of the wall.

Our contractor custom-made the mantle to hide bricks that were jutting out on the fireplace design (you can see them holding up the oak board in the before picture).  We didn’t want to cut them out if someone down the road would want them there.

In the next pictures you can see that we got rid of the dated spindles along the stairway and added a full feature wall in its place.  We eliminated several doorways to make the area feel more open instead of so closed off, and we also removed the little pantry area.

We doubled the opening into the living room, and removed the wall in between the kitchen and dining room so that it all flowed together as one space.

Of course all new paint, woodwork, and floor coverings.  Recessed lighting and new pine ceilings were added to the design as well.  The front door is new, but we just painted the existing side lights.

Again, you can see in these next pictures the walls we tore out to transform three rooms into one.  Don’t you feel like you can breathe better when looking at the after picture?  That kitchen was so teensy tiny before.

Our kitchen cabinets were custom made for the space.  I just love that island!  I don’t think I could ever go back to a kitchen without one.  I use every square inch of that walnut top on a daily basis.

***UPDATED 2020**** And then we updated our dining room again…

This picture is rather blurry, but it gives you a better idea of just how small the kitchen was before.  Don’t you love that brass light fixture?  Wink wink.

Below is the dining room.  A floor-to-ceiling pantry was designed for the corner of this room.  When you open the doors, large trays roll out for all of your canned goods and such.  My contractor recommended this feature and I love him for it; wonderful storage space.

It’s difficult to see from this angle, but we also designed a little desk area underneath the window as well.

Our craft room is right beside the fireplace, off the kitchen.  This little corner gets used by my kids more than any other area in the house, and it’s wonderful to be able to watch them create while I’m working in the kitchen.

The living room didn’t get much updating other than new paint, woodwork, ceilings, and floors.  Ok, actually it changed quite a bit too.

I have attached several more photos of the house from different angles so you can get an idea of the home’s floorplan.

Please feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comment box below and I would be happy to answer them.

I would love for you to pin any of these images to your Pinterest boards.  I use images from Pinterest daily as inspiration when I am designing homes.  It is an invaluable resource.

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Thanks so much for reading!