November 25, 2019

This Old(ish) (Town)House - The Afters

November 25, 2019/ kaitlin rothstein

3 months of work;
1 epic flood (5 inches of rain in 1 hour!);
2 times renovating the basement due to said flood; (basement before/after coming soon)
Countless lessons learned in home renovation and remodeling;
1 stunning home; and
2 very happy homeowners.

I’ve been asked multiple times how the project went, I can honestly say it was nearly flawless. If you don’t count the flood, which no one had any control over, it went exactly according to plan and schedule. I would totally do it again, I just don’t ever want to move!

July 03, 2019

This Old(ish) (Town)House - Styling 500 SqFt

July 03, 2019/ kaitlin rothstein

If you were to break up our 500 square feet of main floor space now, you would have 200 square feet of kitchen/entry and 300 of main living but I don’t see how you can actually divide the space. While each space need to function on it’s own and for it’s intended purpose, because of the lack of walls and the small footprint they all need to flow into each other without constraints.

On top of that this is our main living floor. This floor is our do everything floor. Yes we have a basement that is utilized as a play room/big TV space but this floor is the family hang out spot. It’s the Magnatile and monster truck central, its LEGO engineering HQ, it’s also where I cozy up with the dog and read and relax, and where we eat and cook. So let’s see how we are going to cram all of that into 500 square feet of space in a (I hope) stylish way.

June 28, 2019

This Old(ish) (Town)house - Kitchen Style

June 28, 2019/ kaitlin rothstein

So far the upstairs work has plugged along without any major delay - I did not say without any surprises or major change in price - and we are on schedule. As of Monday everything was drywalled and just awaiting cabinetry (another 3 weeks - yay custom!)

While all of this has been swirling around I’ve been finalizing the style and design of the main level. It’s not really just the kitchen because with only 500 square feet for the whole level I have to create a cohesive design for the kitchen, entryway, and living space.

June 25, 2019

This Old(ish) Townhouse

June 25, 2019/ kaitlin rothstein

You buy the PERFECT house. Perfect location. Just adorable. Just enough space.

You live in the perfect house for 5 years.

You have a kid,

The walls of your perfect house start closing in on you. WHY DID THEY MAKE SO MANY WALLS IN HOUSES IN THE 80s?!?!?!

You realize you still love your house in spite of the tiny kitchen and lack of laundry room and tiny living room and huge fireplace.

It’s time to renovate.

We are embarking on our own HGTV show, so come on and join us for the ride!

Below are the initial renderings of the before and after for the 2 main floors we are renovating.

First Floor

Fingers crossed, we will be removing the wall separating the kitchen and living space, creating an open living space and better flow for the small 500 square space main floor. Also we are removing the huge, imposing, wood burning fireplace and repla… — Fingers crossed, we will be removing the wall separating the kitchen and living space, creating an open living space and better flow for the small 500 square space main floor. Also we are removing the huge, imposing, wood burning fireplace and replacing it with a sleek, thin, electric fireplace.

Basement

I’m referring to this part of the project as “Zach’s Bathroom and Kait’s Laundry Room” This is where the big work is taking place as we are moving the bathroom from one part of the basement to another, and creating a dedicated laundry space out of w… — I’m referring to this part of the project as “Zach’s Bathroom and Kait’s Laundry Room”
This is where the big work is taking place as we are moving the bathroom from one part of the basement to another, and creating a dedicated laundry space out of what was part of the old basement bath. This part of the project will involve a lot of plumbing and busting up concrete but fingers crossed not a lot of surprises!

In following posts I’ll give you updates on what finishes I’m choosing and how progress is or isn’t (eek) going!

Which part of this rehab are you most looking forward to seeing - the upstairs transformation or the creation of the basement laundry and man bathroom?