Just so you know, this is kind of long post, but it has lots of good pictures so I hope you can take the time to read it through to the end. Today we're going way back to a project we completed 8 years ago. It involved the total restoration of an historic home at the top of Lookout Mountain. Here's how it looked upon completion. From start to finish restoration of this house took about 8 months.
Isn't she lovely? This home was built in the 1920's. When we bought it, it had the original slate roof but it was in poor condition. We replaced the slate shingles with a asphalt and then we replaced the original terra cotta accents to stay as true to the original design as possible.
Here's a small, not-so-great photo of the house when we purchased it. Not our most horrific beginning, but definitely a house in need of a little love. The biggest change we made was returning this house to a single family home. When we purchased it, it was divided into an upstairs apartment and a downstairs apartment.
You can't see it in the photo above, but the window on the far right of the lower level had been replaced with a door that led to a stairway to the upstairs apartment.
Another big change we made to the exterior was the redesign and replacement of the front porch. We removed the obsolete brick columns and rebuilt the porch with wood columns, balusters, newel posts and steps. The windows and other architectural details were given more depth with some strategic painting in a cream, olive and black color scheme.
Yikes! Check out the mold from the old leaky windows and leaky roof on the right side wall. This is what the staircase looked like upon entering from the modified door on the porch. The steps led to the upstairs apartment. We opened up the wall to the left and turned the bottom portion of the staircase, as it was when the home was built in the 1920's. Here's what it looks like now - with the staircase restored and put back in its original location.
Most of the other rooms looked like the "before" staircase photo above in terms of damage and neglect. I'll spare you the agony of looking at a bunch of ugly before photos. Instead, feast your eyes on these "After" photos of the completed downstairs rooms.
The walls in the main living area are painted Benjamin Moore Grant Beige, one of my favorite neutral colors!
The mantel and tile seen here are original to the home. Most of the lighting is antique - it was restored and rewired for safety. Can you see where the original pocket doors slide out of sight in between the living room and dining rooms?
Here is the dining room with it's bank of four giant windows. Although these windows are replacements, they are wood and they were custom made to fit the original openings. Using wood replacement windows in the same size as the original maintains integrity of the home's architecture while making it a little more energy efficient. Isn't the natural light gorgeous in here? The walls are painted Benjamin Moore Hollingsworth Green. I love this color!
You can catch a small glimpse of the kitchen through the doorway. More kitchen photos below:
The kitchen was completely redesigned with a new layout, cabinetry, flooring, counter tops, and appliances. As you can see the wall oven had not yet arrived when we took these photos. To the right is a small addition we put on the back of the house with a pantry, mud room and laundry room.
In the photo below you can see where the addition begins by looking at the floor of cased opening. Lindsay replicated the original woodwork for a seamless look throughout the house. Walk-in pantry is on the right.
In the photo below you can see the addition on the back of the house. Rafter tails, windows, and trim are painted in contrasting earthy colors to bring out the outstanding architectural details.
Back inside the kitchen, antique lighting coexists with recessed lighting, modern cabinetry and appliances. Walls are painted Benjamin Moore Man on the Moon.
Upstairs, the biggest change we made was the creation of a huge master suite. We redesigned three rooms to include a master bedroom, a master bathroom, a walk-in closet and a sitting room.
Seriously. This is the "Before". (#ohmy!)
A wider shot is of the space is seen above. This is taken from what is now the master bedroom looking into the master sitting room. The arched opening was eliminated in favor of a wider cased opening. The photo below was taken from the same perspective, after renovation was complete.
How's that for an improvement? Floors on the upper level are Heart Pine.
This shot was taken inside the sitting area of the master bedroom. Another spectacular original mantel and original tiles were restored.
See those windows across the front of the house? Here's the view from this room:
The photo below was taken right inside the entrance to the master bedroom from the hallway. The name of the color I used in the Master Bedroom and the Sitting Room is Benjamin Moore Sweet Dreams. I think it's a perfect name for a perfect bedroom color! The entrance into the master bathroom is on your right. The sitting room entrance is out of range on the left. The chandelier is antique and I bought it on eBay.
And below you see the master bathroom we created from another room, which if I recall was being used as the upstairs apartment kitchen when we bought the house. The entrance to the master closet is just out of view on the right.
The bathtub is antique and is not original to the home. The sinks are reproduction and sadly no longer available. Lindsay did all of the tile work in this bathroom and throughout the home. This floor tile is available at both Lowe's and Home Depot. It's budget friendly and looks great with gray grout. I use this tile all the time! The lighting is antique and was rewired before it was installed. I love those big antique milk glass shades on the sconces.
The final shot from the Master Suite was taken from the entrance of the sitting room through the Master Bedroom and looking into the Master Bathroom.
And here's one last exterior shot:
I hope you enjoyed this little house tour as much as we enjoyed transforming this historic beauty!
I wanted write this post to demonstrate how much change is possible and to show of some of the work we have done, the quality of that work, and what we are capable of doing. If you live in the Chattanooga area have a renovation, home improvement or decorating project you're thinking about - large or small - we would love to talk to you about it! Call Kim at 423.653.3186.
