Designer Brick Dollhouse

Restored and Family Ready Again

We keep saying no to renovating larger houses because bungalows, as you know, have always been our favorite. And then something like this just falls into our lap. From the first day we met, this home was screaming …”Love Me Please!”

And like any seasoned historic renovator knows, you can’t let plans get in the way when a good opportunity presents itself. So, this little baby got a facelift and even more than it was bargaining for inside.

Every time we turned a corner, it needed more and more help with something. We thought we could give the bathroom a facelift, yet we had to gut it to its studs. We thought we could keep the floor in the laundry, yet we found ourselves rebuilding the foundation to support and all new flooring. You simply, never know what is going to be thrown your way in these old houses. The only thing for sure is to know that plans will change and you’ve gotta take your hands off the wheel sometimes and just go with the flow. The house will talk if you listen!

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Before Photos

What was the inspiration for this reno, Christina?

We knew we had brick walls in one of the bathrooms and a long skinny kitchen offering minimal light. We knew the master was long and needed its own walk-in closet and en suite. We knew the front windows needed desperately to be replaced. And we knew we wanted to use some blue/grey subway tiles that we had leftover from a previous job.

Other than that, we went in with an open mind.

What’s your favorite room?

I’d have to say that my favorite room is the kitchen and the living room. They are both right next to each other and both are so air and open. Before, the dark kitchen cabinets were weighing the house down, but now with the new kitchen window, mirrored backsplash and reflective countertops, the kitchen is all about being the center of the home. Just as it should be.

What was the biggest challenge with this project?

This quick renovation took a bit longer than expected because of things like the addition of a master bathroom, the replacement of post on the back porch (which were not projected in our original thoughts, the replacement of 1/4 of the exterior back rotted siding and wiring on the shipment of the sun room windows. But once it on the market, we had competing offers in less than three days. The house sold to a sweet couple who, I can only imagine, are happy as clams in their new digs.

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