Time to take down walls

Older ranch homes have a lot of small rooms that just d0 not make sense. That is exactly what this home had when I first walked through it. I had to come up with an idea to connect the kitchen, dining room, mudroom, and living room. If I could bring these all together it would open up the space and give the home the open concept that we were looking for. Go back and look the architectural plans I posted showing how many walls we are talking down for reference.

Kitchen wall connecting to the dining room that will come down.

Dining Room area. There are 2 walls that are coming down in this room.

Wall separating the dining room and mud room.

Mudroom area with the wall separating the dining room.

The mudroom area is very unique since it is a large area and is sunk down from the original home. I think this was a breezeway that they converted into a permanent room at some point. It has vaulted ceilings that are 12’ high and an old Velux skylight that brings in great light. By taking down this wall I can flood the rest of the house with a ton of light. It also has a second entrance into the home the is in the front and a sliding door in the rear.

30 year old skylight from Velux and sliding door leading out to the rear.

Wing wall separating the the dining room and kitchen will open up wider.

The entrance into the kitchen will be closed and the closet that blocks the living room area will come down.

Many people think you need a lot of sq.ft. to have the room and that is not the case. Many large homes have so much wasted space. Since a ranch home is long and wide it allows you to have the open floor plan and combine all of the rooms. A smart space plan can make a home feel much larger than it is. This home is only 2,000 sq. ft. and with the proper space planning it will feel much larger then that. With demo complete lets see what it looks like now!

Kitchen Area

Standing in the mudroom looking into the dining room area.

Standing in the living room looking at the dining room.

Standing at the front door looking into the living room, dining room, and mudroom.

The overall plan and vision I had was that when you walked through the front door you could see all the way through the house into the mudroom. The same would go for when you enter through the mudroom you could see the front door all the way through the living room. By sharing the light of all these spaces the home will look and feel much larger. When family and friends come over I want everyone to be able to interact with each other no matter what room they are standing in. You can define spaces with lighting and other design elements that give each individual space their own feel. That is what I will be doing when it comes time to add lighting fixtures. The kitchen area will be bleed into the dining room with a 10’ island and then into the mudroom area. I can already feel the space coming together with just the drywall down. Now it’s time to take down the walls and really open the space.

Standing in the Kitchen all the walls are down and you can see all the way into the mudroom.

Standing in the mudroom you can see all the way into the kitchen and these 3 rooms are now one!

Standing in the mudroom you can see all the way to the front door.

New Versa-lam beam is installed in the dining area and mudroom area. The structural wall is in the center of the home.

Kitchen wall is closed up, closet is down, and you can stand at the front door and see all the way into the mudroom.

The light that floods into the space is just incredible! Before I had 4 rooms that were separate and closed off. Now I have interconnected all of them and shared all of the light from the front to the back. It is really incredible to walk through the home and see how much larger it feels. The hard wood floors will be patched and new hard wood will be put down in the kitchen area. Having a cohesive floor will make all the rooms flow together. Before these rooms felt dark and closed off now they feel open and twice the size. The vaulted ceiling in the mudroom is one of my favorite areas of the home. This is going to be such a cool room when I am done designing it. I have also added another skylight from Velux and I will talk more about this in my next blog about the roof.

2 new Velux skylights double the light into the rest of the home.

Great progress has been made so far and there is so much more to do. I cannot wait to put on the new roof! All the rough work is going to start very soon as well. When a home is down to the studs it really is my favorite part of the job. You get to see the home for what it is and it is so raw. This home was built extremely well and has so much more to go!

The Power of Paint!

It has come that time to finally start the process of painting the exterior of the home! I cannot wait to do this because this is going to be a HUGE transformation for the home. The large bushes blocked so much of the home hiding the mid-century style of this ranch. Once peeled back I could finally see the lines that I knew were always there. I think you call the color of the home puke yellow LOL! Not something we would want to keep.

Mid October 2019

For this ranch home there are 3 types of surfaces to paint which are cedar, brick, and metal. Since these materials are very different I had to make sure I was using the correct products. The first call I made was to my contacts at Benjamin Moore paint. I have been using their products for years and they are my go to when ever I am doing a painting project. Not only do I love their colors, but the product is high quality that enhances the life of the home. Jenn and I chose to paint the home true white for the main house and true black for all the trim, under the eaves, and windows.

First thing we did was power-wash the entire house and get all the dirt and dust off.

Power washing done. This the end of October 2019.

The masonry was very important and I wanted to make sure that I put the correct materials on it. Brick is porous and water can get through it over time. I had to make sure whatever I was putting on top of it was going to seal the brick so I did not have any issues in the future. I was told to use Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec Masonry which is an acrylic masonry sealer.

Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec Masonry sealer.

The primer for the cedar shake is different. This product is called Benjamin Moore Fresh Start for exterior wood. This will protect the wood and make the paint adhere to it really well. One of the most important steps in the painting process is the primer. If this is not done correctly your finish paint will not adhere and will brake down a lot faster from the weather elements of hot and cold. Living in the Northeast this is crucial and cannot be overlooked.

Benjamin Moore Fresh Start primer for wood.

Now that the priming process is complete it is time to start putting the finish paint on the home!

The house 100% primed and now we are ready for the white paint and black trim.

Jenn and I just wanted the home to be bright white and for that we used the stock white by Benjamin Moore which is the truest white they have. The same went for the black we wanted a true black and that meant we would use their stock black. If this is something you want for your home all you have to do is get the color right off the shelf. There is no mixing of the paint at all and you know that you are getting a solid true color. For exterior paint you want to use the Regal Select brand by Benjamin Moore. This is their middle of the road product and it does an excellent job for the exterior application. For the white paint I am going with a flat finish and the black is a soft gloss for all trim.

Regal Select white flat finish.

Regal Select soft gloss black.

As soon as the painting was finished I was in shock! I could not believe that this was the same home! All of the mid-century details and the roof line just pop off the home and came to life. I always tell people never underestimate the power of paint and what it can do to exterior and interior of a home. This home does not look at all like the same house and it really stands out now. The exterior is not finished yet, but it has changed drastically. Still to come for the exterior are the new windows and doors from Renewal by Andersen and exterior lighting from Barn Light Electric. In the spring I will finish the landscaping in the front as well. A huge step in the process is complete and I was able to get it done before the winter weather came. Make sure you go to your local Benjamin Moore store to check out all the new colors they have. You can also go to their website to see more about the new products they have for 2020 https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us.

All the products I used for the exterior painting by Benjamin Moore.

Check out the house now! It looks nothing the like the first picture at the top of this blog.

Exterior painting complete mid November 2019.

Check out those mid-century lines on the home.

Is this the same home! Every time I drive up I am just shocked!

3D walkthrough

Walk through the current home and check it out! It is going to look very different from this in a couple months. I will be posting the rough stage and finish as well so you will be able to see each transformation along the way and do the same walk through. Enjoy!

The Floor Plan

I have always loved the layout of a “Ranch Home”.  I have told clients and homeowners for years that if you are looking to renovate a home the ranch style is the best to do this with.  Mid-century homes have small rooms that are compartmentalized making the home feel smaller then it should.  Design today is much more of the open floor plan and since most the load bearing walls are on the exterior of the home it makes it easy to take down many walls within the home.

Current Floor Plan just over 2,000 sq.ft.

That was the first thing I realized with this floor plan is that I could open up the entire home and make everything flow together.  The Kitchen, dining room, mudroom, and living room all become one in the new design of the home.  That is why it is so important that the design choices all flow together and they look seamless.  It is not always easy to do this and the design can become more difficult.  Open floor plans are tricky because you are taking down all the walls and there is not much to work with. That is why things like paint, tile, lighting, and feature walls play a key role in the overall design.

Dining Room

The bedrooms and bathrooms are the tricky part of the home.  They are not huge bedrooms, but I am ok with that.  I like smaller bedrooms and bathrooms it makes you think outside the box more and depend more on design then space.  The key to these areas is going to be the closets.  How can I make walk-in-closets for everyone?  When designing and space planning I am always looking to make the closets larger.  That is what people want and it increases the value of the home so much!  I am going to brainstorm a little more about this and see what I can come up with.

Master Bath

Powder Room

Master Bath

As soon as I closed on the home I had to pull back the carpets since they are everywhere!  I had a feeling and I was right! Jackpot!! I have red oak hardwood floors throughout the entire home!  This is such a huge win and will save us a ton of money in our budget.  I cannot wait to start taking down the drywall and walls to see what other goodies I might find!  Things are starting to move quickly and we will need to decide on some design choices.  I want to get the exterior of the home painted, roof on, and new trim work complete before it gets to cold.

Look at that gorgeous red oak in perfect condition

Onto the next week!

It Begins...

It has come that time again that my wife and I take on a new build project for the Colaneri family.  This time we are starting a renovation of a 1960’s ranch that is very outdated!  When I first walked through this home I had to look beyond the wall-to-wall carpet and small rooms.  As soon as I walked down in the basement saw 2x12 joists and not a crack in the foundation I knew this house was built well and was a diamond in the rough. 

Our first home was from the ground up, very large, expensive to build, and had property taxes that would make you want to puke!  This home is nestled on a 1-acre piece of property.  The street is a cul-de-sac only a couple towns over from our first home and the taxes are much realistic for North Jersey. 

A renovation project comes with so many different issues and problems that you do not deal with on new construction build.  Who knows what you will find behind the walls and what unexpected issues you will have.   I know this home will come with its challenges, but I am so excited to take something so old and make it into a house of today. 

The home has great mid-century modern style and it can be expanded on.  Since this is a ranch and all the rooms flow together I want to make sure the design bleeds into each room and a constant theme stays throughout. My wife and I love rustic elements mixed with contemporary design so that is where everything will start.  In this home lighting is going to be a HUGE part of the design and I want to bring in some industrial elements. I think this will play really nice with all of our other choices.

My first priority is to get the exterior work complete before the weather gets too bad and snow makes it way to the Northeast.  Jenn and I have decided to paint the home white with black trim. This is going to make a huge impact to its current exterior. I will be showing you progress pics as the process moves along and what materials I am using every step up the way.  I cannot wait to kick this off and to see the transformation take place over the next couple of months!