Floyd Avenue: A Historic Renovation Part 3 - Rethinking a Space
Over the past two months, we’ve been tracking the renovation of a historic home on Floyd Avenue in the Museum District.
We discussed why we choose certain investment properties and walked you through the demolition process of a historic home. This week we will be talking about rethinking the space and layout of this home for the modern buyer.
We love historic homes, and we love to salvage as much as possible from them such as hardwood floors, trim or mantles. But one thing older homes do not usually have going for them is their layout. Older homes tended to be choppier - with each room being able to be shut off from the rest of the house. This made sense in a time when central heat and air were not an option and heating one room that was in use was more efficient. Older homes also generally have small closets and one bathroom - two, if you’re lucky. Kitchens are also generally smaller and sectioned off from the rest of the house.
Modern taste, combined with more efficient heating and cooling options, demand a more open, spacious living area, additional bathrooms and open kitchens for entertaining. That’s why we decided to take this house back down to the studs and rethink the entire layout.
By opening the space up entirely, we were able to visualize it for the modern buyer and make areas of the home more functional. The kitchen is no longer hidden in the back of the house, but will be open to a dining area, which now flows nicely into a living area on the front of the house. The downstairs will now also have a half bathroom so guests do not have to trek upstairs to use what originally was the only bathroom in the home.
Upstairs we took the bedrooms back down to the studs and rearranged the walls to make space for a master suite on the front of the house, which will include an en suite bathroom.
The closets in the other spare bedrooms will also be somewhat larger than they originally would have been. The upstairs full bath remained where it was, but a pocket door that had been closed into the wall was unearthed and put back into use as a space-saving, functional feature that speaks to the home’s past.
Down in the home’s basement, we added spray-foam insulation to all the walls and will drywall the entire space to make it a comfortable, usable room for storage or living.
Finally, we took what is a small backyard patio area and decided to build both a first and second floor deck and balcony to essentially increase the living space of the home. Adding a deck and balcony turn a nearly unusable outdoor space into real living areas that can be used at least two to three seasons of the year.
The design/build process makes renovations like this easy and seamless. Being able to visualize a space, map out the workflow and complete the construction expedites the process and keeps the vision in check.
Keep checking back with us to see how all of our plans for this home fall into place and to see the final product later this year.