Busy Family Remodel

My heart fluttered when I saw this beautiful old Tudor home for the first time! I’m a sucker for the craftsmanship and details of old homes, and this house was packed with them.

This busy family was busting at the seams in the existing layout. Mounds of laundry greeted you as you walked in the back door. The kitchen, dark and dreary, did not invite you to sit and stay awhile. The sunporch, piled with toys and athletic equipment with no place to go, needed serious reorganization.

We incorporated the sunporch into the kitchen and, wanting to keep the windows streaming light into the space, we added french doors opening to the backyard and raised the windows to sit at counter height. We opened up the wall between the dining room and kitchen so that we could create a giant wood island to seat the whole family. In keeping with the style of the home, a limestone hood became the focal point of the kitchen. Together we chose a soft pewter color for the cabinetry complimented by the sage island. These colors work well within an older, dark Tudor home.

The back door entrance was relocated so that you walked into a usable mudroom space with storage for each child. A giant chalk paint wall for important family communication updates this hard-working space. An original arch window returned to its former glory, now exposed above the mudroom bench seat. It had been cut in half in a previous remodel  – half of it in a pantry room and the other half in the laundry space.

Pocket doors now close off the laundry space as needed, but it’s full of charm to enjoy from the kitchen when the doors are open. Brick herringbone floors contrast with sage cabinetry which houses helpful, hidden laundry room features. A window transom salvaged from the original sunporch is now installed above the pocket doors in honor of the original home architecture.

The remodel really transformed the way this old home feels and is used by this family. It’s a friendly space that makes you want to pull up a stool to the island to sit and linger while you catch up with family and friends!