How one family learned through trial and error—popping off baseboards while using floor jacks and sawing a hutch in half to get it in the front door—to turn a 1909 wreck into their dream home
Almost two years in, and we hadn't yet gotten to the upstairs master bath or the kitchen! Still, we needed a break from studs, trusses, and planks. So we settled on drawing up a list of small tasks, like "replace carpet" and "add crown molding to bedrooms." It ended up being 80 items long.
It took three years to get to the bottom of that list, so we could finally tackle the the kitchen and the master bath. We knew it would be cheaper and easier to put down a hardwood floor in the bath and refinish the one underneath the linoleum in the kitchen at the same time, so we gutted both rooms right away. For an entire month, we hauled particleboard kitchen cabinets, sinks, countertops, and more to the road for trash pickup.
We salvaged the original beadboard walls and installed a heart-pine floor in the new master bath, which comfortably fits his-and-hers sinks.
Contribute to This Story Below