Church Hill History: Part 2
A few months ago we introduced you to the mother-daughter team who hired us to renovate a historic beauty in Church Hill. The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity, but the home is finally completely restored and on the market and we're excited to walk you all through the renovation process and how we helped to bring back this piece of Richmond history.
While this home wasn't the worst we've ever seen, it certainly needed a lot of work, especially in the kitchen and in the bathrooms. The bones and character of the home were what we and the investors loved, so we kept as much of that as possible while also making the home work for a modern family.
The home lacked a master suite, which modern buyers demand, so we enclosed a rear porch to create a master bathroom that is luxurious while adding livable square footage to the home.
While the back porch was a nice feature, we think that that a full master suite is a lot more enticing for a buyer, plus the home boasts a spacious back yard and welcoming front porch that still allow for plenty of outdoor space.
The other major issue was the kitchen. For of a home of this age, the kitchen was a pretty good size, but it was outdated and in bad repair. We were able to salvage the original heart pine flooring, but everything else went and was replaced with new cabinetry, countertops and backsplash. The kitchen feels spacious but not too modern.
The rest of the house was a matter of cleaning up the existing features and bringing them back to life. In the formal dining room we restored and painted the wainscoting to its original glory.
In the living room we kept the existing fireplace and mantle and just cleaned up the space. A fresh coat of paint can go a long way!
We also did our best to use and reuse all of the wood in the house that we could salvage. We restored original pocket doors and reused trim wherever we could.
We love working on homes like this. It’s exciting to help restore a home that has such a great history and to know that our work will help keep it alive for another generation to enjoy.