We are renovating the first floor of an existing home. The plan is to open up
the family room to the kitchen, allowing the two spaces to feel as one.

Here is the existing floor plan. The dark walls are to be removed.
The big activity is to demo all the walls around the existing staircase.

The proposed plan shows the new kitchen and open layout. Note now
that the stair is surrounded by only a railing, giving clear views across
the entire space. We also reconfigured the laundry and powder rooms.

Here are a few photos of the existing house, before we started.

The original u-shaped kitchen. We’re relocated this window and enlarging it.

The far wall of the kitchen will be removed to open up the floor plan.

This wall will also be removed back to the corner,
creating views from the kitchen into the dining room.

Looking from the family room, back to the kitchen. The walls in
the middle of the area surround the stair. They are all being removed.

All the brick here will be demolished. We will replace the fireplace
with a new insert and add a new mantle & tile surround.

Demolition is underway! Here are the last of the kitchen cabinets.

And now they are gone. Cabinetry is out and that
mess is cleaned up. Now to move onto the walls.

Still in the kitchen, looking at the stairs. You can see we’ve
stripped the drywall off this side, but left the stair side intact.
This allows us to limit dust going downstairs at this point.

On the other side of the stairs, looking from the fireplace wall. Both
the wood paneling and the false beams will soon be removed as
demolition moves into this area. Flooring will also be replaced,
which is why there is no protection here or in the kitchen.

The wall between the laundry and the kitchen has
been demoed. This will be rebuilt further back,
allowing space for the pantry and refrigerator.

Lots of work done here. The new LVL beam is installed and all
the walls have been demoed around the stairs. We have
also put up new ceiling rafters, creating a central vault.

The brick wall and hearth has been demolished. A new
metal stud wall will be built in-front of the existing for
proper fireproofing around the new fireplace insert.

Framing has continued. New studs are up to separate the kitchen
and the family room. The niche will house the pantry and the fridge.

We are installing a new 9′-0″ doorwall in the family room. To
insure a good watertight installation, we use house wrap,
followed by continuous line of silicon caulk around the opening.

Here the doorwall is in place, with two fixed panels to the
right. A matching door will installed in the left opening.

Inside, the metal stud wall has been installed at the fireplace.

Rough plumbing for the kitchen sink. We pulled up the floor to install from
above, in order to not remove drywall in finished basement spaces.

This is the duct for the hood, to give proper
ventilation to the cooktop on the island.

The gas fireplace insert is installed.  There will be a tile surround
around the unit, with a wood mantle above.

We used three different insulation products, based on what best
worked in each application. The yellow is fiberglass, put behind the
fireplace because it is more heat resistant. The gray is cellulose, easily
packed into the base walls. The white is spray foam, which sticks nicely
in between the rafters.

Here you can see an upclose view of the spray foam going in. The
yellow ruler is used to determine how much foam needs to go in.

We also insulated in the basement. The spray foam seals up
the bond joists around the perimeter, closing a common
weak link in the insulation of a house.

Drywall is going in. We’re looking into the future kitchen.

Two new skylights will bring lots of light down into the room.

Since the new lights are not in, we installed temporary ones to light the
space during drywall.  Putting them on the posts keeps them out of the way.

The new vaulted ceiling, giving the space good scale while
still preserving a higher than standard ceiling.

In addition to the main project, we are upgrading the
master bathroom. We have removed all the old wallpaper.
The drywall will be patched and painted.

We also replaced the old, tired cabinet with a fresh, maple
vanity. The countertop is solid surface, with an integrated
sink.  The extension over the sink is removable, allowing
for maintenance on the toilet.

New exterior siding has been installed and painted.
The new front door is going in as well.

This frosted glass door allows light in the hall from
the laundry room window, while hiding any
mess from guests walking by.

Anne is hard at work installing all the kitchen cabinets.

The front door is being painted. The plastic you
see outside allows the painter to warm the exterior
of  the door, which means a better finish.

Alex carefully installing door casing.

Quartz countertop installation. The machine you see pull the two
pieces together, creating a tight, barely visible seam.

The maple guardrail. It will be stained
to match the kitchen cabinets.

Looking at the kitchen from the family room, across the guardrail.

Up-close at the island. Countertops and appliances are installed.

Lead carpenter Anne, in the finished kitchen.

At the sink, looking toward the oven.

Facing the other direction, looking at the fridge.

The open view from the island, across the stairs, into the family room.

The new powder room.

Custom maple stair railing.

New gas fireplace.

Happy clients, ready to enjoy their new and improved spaces.