Renovation plans created in one afternoon

We left our summer house in Sweden in slightly better shape than we found it in…

In case you missed the disaster I’ve dealt with you can check it out here.

You can see what the house looked like when we came home in June and I burst in to tears here.

The renovations are in full swing and I’ll handle it from the other side of the earth via images, e-mails and Face time. I’m really looking forward to restoring our beautiful house to even better shape than before the water damage.

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The new wood beams went in the last couple of days we were there and it was amazing how fancy it felt to get rid of the dirt floor!

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All the crazy items shoes, pots etc. from the 1800’s that we found below the original beams were collected and stored in the attic.

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I can’t help bu wonder if this old leather boot from the 1800’s that we found below the bathroom floor belonged to any of these people?

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The first owners of our home sometime in the late 1800’s.

When the plywood floor was installed we really felt we were living in luxury after a summer with the dirt floors.

Imagine that….to have a floor! We were seriously all smiles.

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Hans a contractor and friend of my brother’s since grade school has taken on the job. He did the first round of renovations when we first bought the house 13 years ago so he knows it well.

Now, how do you come up with renovation plans in one afternoon?

I visited two home stores with tile, faucet, flooring selections, a paint store and grabbed paint chips, then I grabbed a pen and paper and paid down on the foyer floor.  When you have no free time and under time pressure things can happen fast. Aaahh the luxury of doing it for yourself…old school style.

First off the Bathroom.

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The marigold seventies toilets that I bought from my brother’s recycling center set the tone.

The happy & fun toilets and sinks served as inspiration for the bathroom. I felt depressed when I forst arrived and saw all tha damage so the toilets put a smile on my face, why not orange toilets?

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Orange sinks?

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I drew layouts directly on the floors and walls. Moved walls for better space function and left instructions handwritten.

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At the local store I found the only cement tile they had and went for it.

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I found faucets that would bridge the gape between classic and modern and fit the sinks.

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Black and white subway tile for the shower cabin. White with two black stripes.

Next step will be to hunt down two old mirrors and wall sconces for the wall, and of course a shower curtain.

Now on to the kitchen…

Having the beams installed in the kitchen was the most luxurious of all. We could now walk in there and get to items in the top cupboards. The lower cabinets were salvaged and stored in the barn and will be put back in as well.

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How incredible to have a floor!

Try living without a floor for a while and you’ll come to appreciate the simple things in life!

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The kitchen needs:

–New flooring

— New Paint

–New tile  back splash

—New Light fixture

I picked them out in a flash at Stuvbutiken, Colorama and IKEA.

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I decided on plastic flooring for easy to clean surfaces. They have really great vinyl flooring options here and the actual plastic tile squares are not easy to clean.

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I have never installed a vinyl floor before, but this one looks refreshing.

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Tarkett from Stuvbutiken.

I would prefer to paint a wood floor like this below, but we have no floor at all so this is an easy and affordable solution.

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I’ll share pictures when its done and you can be the judge.

Have you ever used it?

The 80’s lamp above the kitchen table that I’ve been too lazy to change for so many years, will be replaced by this modern one from Ikea.

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I hope that mixing in some retro vibe with all the old school stuff will be good.

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I’ll be renovating from afar, with picture updates every Friday from the contractor.  The big project in Virginia is going ahead full speed and the guest house renovation back here in LA is beckoning.

For daily updates and design adventures you can follow me on [email protected]

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16 thoughts on “Renovation plans created in one afternoon

  1. Hejsan , fina bilder . Köks golvet fick en stark stomme. Kul med dom som bodde i huset från början. Det kommer
    bli fint när allt är klart. Hälsningar Stig.

  2. Det här kommer att bli så sjukt snyggt !! Helt otroligt hur du ofta väljer ut olika, annorlunda lösningar i starka färger och mönster med otrolig tidspress och det blir alltid så bra !! Inget "playing safe" här inte 🙂
    Kram på dig och lycka till !!
    Monica i Rom

    1. Hej Monica!! Vad kul att du kommenterar här! Jag hoppas det blir bra. Det är ju alltid lättare att välja själv ingen klient som slår bakut när man får en galen ide!! Hoppas allt är bra, läste om jordbävningen! Kramar!

    1. Jag har en hel del gamla bilder jag kan maila dig. Jag fick dom av någon som bott i huset. Jag vet inte vem som ager "rigths' till dom dock. Kram!!

  3. We sat down together at our little table for about five hours one Sunday afternoon and hashed through our plans. We drew up countless layouts until we arrived at one that seemed to truly make sense. However, while we had a general plan in place, we fell short on the details of the cabinetry and really making the space efficient.

  4. Nice design solution with a yellow accent. I have some controversial thoughts. It`s a shame an old house like this cannot be standing alone waiting for the end but on the other hand you have a place to live and no need to build another one and pollute the Earth.

  5. Gain information, could you thoughts updating your blog with a notable deal greater information? It’s very useful for me.

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