Main Floor Renovation

Spring is fast approaching, and we’re getting excited! This just might, with a little luck, be the year we do some major renovation work on the first floor. The last demolition work that got done on this floor was pre-Trissa, and pre-roommate (I removed a wall with a silly-low archway between the living and dining rooms). The roommate is leaving later this spring, and Trissa and I are starting to dream of what we might actually get done.

Here’s what we’re basically starting with. This is the floorplan of the main floor when I moved in three years ago. All that has changed to this point is that the archway between the living and dining rooms is gone, and we have a fireplace in its place that straddles the two rooms, against the exterior wall.

The main floor needs a lot of work. We intend to open up the floorplan a bit, with a new counter separating the kitchen from the dining room in lieu of a full wall, and a new half-height built-in that will separate the foyer from the living room. The plaster will very likely come down (this has been a long and tough decision) and we’ll rewire, insulate, and re-plaster. The windows will get refurbished and we’ll add French doors out to the back yard (and a future deck). The fir floor will get torn up, and radiant heat and a new floor will get put down. (shhhhhh - don’t tell Trissa that I’m now thinking of salvaging the fir floor for re-use upstairs, rather than for my basement shop downstairs. We’ll have to see how much of it is salvageable after we take it up…)

All this, and I haven’t even mentioned the kitchen remodel or the new powder room.

Here’s the proposed floorplan:

I thought this would all get started two years ago. But that was before The Wedding, a job change, and my dad’s retirement (we now hope to benefit from his services for more than 1 week per year). So, keep your fingers crossed on our behalf, and we’ll keep you posted.