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Breakfast Room Before and After, Part 1

January 12, 2015

HometoCottage.com breakfast room part 1 collage

We recently sold our former house, and moved into a 100 year old home, and one of the major renovation projects we had to do was renovating the breakfast room. This post is Breakfast Room before and after, part 1…

 

HometoCottage.com moving into town

Parts of this antique house ‘looked’ pretty decent when we bought it, (did your mother ever tell you ‘looks can be deceiving’?)because honestly, looking back, I think we were seeing it through rose colored glasses. In reality we needed to update all the electric, plumbing, mechanics and renovate almost every room, including the kitchen, bathrooms, attic and the room I’m going to show you today. (Ha, just to mention a little of what we did) Reminds me of all the work we did to ‘The Little Brick Cottage‘ a couple years ago, but that cottage was much smaller than this big ole house!

But, you know what, with my background in interior design, I’d do it again, in a heartbeat. I loved every minute of it… (almost every minute, except when the heating guy unknowingly started a fire in the wall and a near catastrophe was barely avoided)

So here’s, what we now call ‘The Breakfast Room’, before we renovated it:

HometoCottage.com breakfast room before

Whew! I’m glad to say that was the before pic, because it was for sure one homely room! Dark and cavernous are two words that come to mind.

When this room was added onto the original home in the mid 80’s, the owner built it as a ‘hot-tub room’. For some reason, they didn’t add much for windows in this large room. Only one bay window on the North wall. They also had as the only entrance into this room, a patio door between it and the adjoining kitchen, but no doors leading to the outside even though 3 walls of this room are exterior walls. After the ‘hot tubbers’ sold this house in the 90’s the next owners apparently took out the hot tub and put in carpet.

Once I came up with a plan for this space, demo started. This picture showing the huge pile of brick rubble, is looking southwest into the room. (the bay window is now behind to the far right)

HometoCottage.com breakfast room before with a huge pile of brick rubble

We hired some great workers to help us through this project, and one of them had the horrible job of removing the brick 1/2 walls and pillars. The bricks were tough getting out, hideous as they were, they were built ‘right’. He had to literally smash them bit by bit with a sledge hammer and then haul the heavy rubble through the house to the dumpster in 10 gallon buckets.

But getting rid of the brick was so necessary. It was really ugly and took up over a 6″ depth on each wall. That means when the brick was removed, we gained a full foot of depth and width to our room!

 

HometoCottage.com breakfast room before with patio door in new place

After the brick was completely gone, we could install the patio door, which was still in perfect condition. So we removed it  from the wall between this room and the kitchen and built it into the exterior south wall, instantly flooding the room with the light it had been missing for the last 30 years.

We also added a pair of double hung windows on the west wall. I had originally thought about having windows all along this entire west wall, but reality hits quickly when one starts to shop for windows and sees the pricetags! I would have considered longer if there was a great view out there, but being in town now, it is just the neighbor’s yard, and the budget was getting pulled at from so many other projects for this house. I was fortunate to find this ‘top of the line’ pair of windows at Menard’s on clearance. Between these double hung windows and the south wall patio door’s new placement, along with the original bay window on the north, a lack of light is no longer an issue in this room.

HometoCottage.com breakfast room before with sheetrock done

Once the sheetrock went up, the room really started to look like it was progressing positively. There was still a lot to do, but it’s easier to see the visualized plan at this point.

Then it was on to painting, adding trim, installing wide plank laminate flooring, changing lights and lots and lots of details that will be in future posts to show you how we did it.

But here is the breakfast room today all finished:

 

HometoCottage.com breakfast room after new patio door

We really love this breakfast room. (it’s got a lot of ‘family room’ use to it as well)

The style is a slight nod toward Early American, in a lighter, cleaned up version, but for sure ‘New England’ feeling. I guess giving tribute to our beloved Maine coast. (even the pillow on the sofa, from our daughter-in-law and son for Christmas, features a map of our favorite Maine spots, and the print over the sofa is ‘Dock Square’ in our cherished Maine town)

If you look back at ‘Our Former House‘ posts, you’ll recognize many of the furniture pieces. Our stuff fit so well in this new setting, almost better than in the other place.

HometoCottage.com breakfast room after black cupboard

The plan I drew up, called for a closet to be built in this corner, to house a vacuum and necessary cleaning supplies on the main level, but I found this wonderful old cupboard on Craigslist for $100, before closet construction began… that was way, way less than it would have cost to build a closet, and so much more charming. (I’ll feature this cupboard and details about it soon too)

HometoCottage.com breakfast room after sofa area

 

 

The Pottery Barn ladder found a new home here. (It was in the dining room of our former house)

The black bench is from Ballard Designs (Dorchester 3-seater) and used to be at our dining room table, the vintage braided rug it is sitting on was a ‘find’ while I was shopping for a cupboard for the bathroom, and just happened to notice it on the seller’s floor. (Always ask… most times people will want to sell!) and she did, and for only $25!

Well, that’s half the room, and the end of this post.

There is a whole other half to this breakfast room and tons of details, (not to mention the whole rest of the house). Hopefully, this ‘wet your appetite’ and you’ll be back to see more…

 

 

Please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest and Flipboard and Houzz the more the merrier!

I appreciate you stopping by.

 

Yay!! Featured here:

Serenity Now

 

Linking up with these other great blogs:

Funky Junk

Under the Table and Dreaming       A Stroll Thru Life     The Charm of Home     It’s Overflowing

Between Naps on the Porch Monday       Coastal Charm     My Repurposed Life     DIY Showoff

Skip to My Lou       A Bowl Full of Lemons      My Romantic Home     Funky Junk Interiors

I Should Be Mopping the Floor       Uncommon  Slice of Suburbia     The Shabby Nest

Uncommon Designs       Savvy Southern Style     French Country Cottage     Serenity Now

Thrifty Decor Chick       DIY: by Design       Too Much Time on My Hands     The Girl Creative

StoneGable       From My Front Porch To Yours      Chic on a Shoestring    Be Different Act Normal

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sherry says

    January 21, 2015 at 6:42 pm

    Beautiful changes! Thanks for linking up with Home Sweet Home!

    Reply
  2. Pondside says

    January 16, 2015 at 8:45 am

    I’m so glad I’ve visited from Charm of Home. We have recently bought a 1927 cottage and I think we also had Rose Coloured Glasses on when we made the purchase. No broom closet, no linen closet and no hall closet for coats. I like the idea of an armoir for cleaning supplies and vacuum and will unashamedly copy you!
    I am your newest follower.

    Reply
    • HomeToCottage.com says

      January 16, 2015 at 9:23 am

      Thank you so much. Glad to have you following!

      Reply
  3. Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says

    January 15, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    I love it ! It looks beautiful but also comfortable as in easy to live in…would feel at home right away! 🙂

    Reply
    • HomeToCottage.com says

      January 15, 2015 at 4:39 pm

      Thanks Deb!

      Reply
  4. Stacey says

    January 15, 2015 at 6:32 am

    Amazing! I know the work that goes into those houses. My dad recently sold his house that was 104 years old. Man I loved that house!! The work was never going to end though and he’s 75. He’s moved on to working on a much smaller house now. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Kristin Brice Salazar says

    January 13, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    WOW it is gorgeous!! So much work but so worth it! Thanks for linking up to Inspire Me Monday. XO

    Reply
  6. Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says

    January 13, 2015 at 9:45 am

    Wow, what a difference. I am totally impressed. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Tuesday.

    Reply
  7. Linda@Coastal Charm says

    January 13, 2015 at 5:54 am

    Thanks so much for sharing your new room at my party this week…it’s very charming.

    Blessings,
    Linda

    Reply
    • HomeToCottage.com says

      January 13, 2015 at 8:39 am

      Thank you Linda. Your party at Coastal Charm is always great and I love participating! Liz

      Reply
  8. Bonnie says

    January 12, 2015 at 9:32 am

    Unbelievable transformation! Love it!

    Reply

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