Dorsey Designs

DIY and Interiors by Sarah + David

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House Tour | Lower Level

Thanks so much for your kind words on yesterday’s post. You all are seriously the best!!

We bought a house! Here’s the details!

1. It was built in ’81 and is a post and beam construction. 
2. It has a geothermal heating and cooling system. We’re still learning about it, but the entire home was built with the intent to be energy efficient, it’s situated on the lot so that the majority of the windows are on a southern exposure (great for sunshine all day) you’ll notice that almost all of the windows are on one side of the house. I won’t go into the entire heating/cooling system, but it’s located in a chimney stack that runs from the foundation to the roof. There is a wood stove in the basement, but no fireplace. 
3. We also, know that there has been a history of designers and artists that have lived here, the first owner was an engineer, there was also a photography dark room and pottery room at some point too. Neat, huh?  
Want to take a tour of our new home?
  
Come on in!
The front door is on the deck and enters into a mud room.

There’s a large coat closet to the left.

And a second exterior door (the mud room isn’t climate controlled) before you enter the house.

The mud room opens to large a living / dining room and the kitchen.

We’re thinking, the living room by the windows and the dining room by the kitchen. The amazing windows will be a little tricky with furniture, but I’m thinking maybe a clear lucite console table behind anything that it’s in front of a window?? Maybe, I haven’t drawn a floorplan or space planned yet.

Moving into the kitchen ..

 
The kitchen is a little small and awkward. I’m not a fan of the wood/tile cut at a 45 and it’s closed in. We’d love to open it up, turn the island and make it larger and extend the hardwood into the kitchen. The hardwood is beautiful but faded from the sun in spots and would look best refinished (still need to research the best option ..) Hardwood can be tricky in kitchens because of potential water damage, but the floorplan is so open that a break in the flooring would look awkward. 

To the right of the kitchen, looking down the hallway, there is a bathroom to the right, two bedrooms at the end of the hall and a closet.

There is a sink at the front of the bath. 

and then a second door with a toilet

and shower.

The bedroom to the right has great natural light. Look at those windows!! We’ll probably use this as a guest room.
Looking from the window wall ..
The closet is a little odd – opening into the bathroom too.
The bedroom to the left has one smaller window, and is a good bit darker. We’ll probably use this for a second office.
Moving back into the main room, you see the tall chimney stack (part of the heating/cooling system), I think it’s screaming for a lower mantel and faux fireplace.

The photo below is a good example of the sun damage on the floors. You can see where a table and/or rug was and a bookcase was against the chimney.

To the right of the chimney. Annabelle loves looking through the bottom of the stairs so that should be covered somehow- we might put the TV there, but it will be tight, so maybe not. 

and looking up the stairs. Annabelle will easily go up the stairs but is scared going down .. Maybe because she has less control going down and she knows there are openings?

I’ll pick up tomorrow with the upstairs tour!!

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Comments

  1. Oh my goodness, Sarah, this house is going to be FANTASTIC! I love quirky homes with a story and character…there is so much potential there! And all of the wood ceilings and beams? So much character, I really can't stand it! I can't wait to see what you do with it.

    Reply

  7. What a special place with so much potential. It's already amazing. And I so agree about running the wood into the kitchen. I never get why people do those odd angles and have two separate floors. Don't like the look.
    I adore the floor tile and color in the bathroom!

    Reply

  14. I can't wait to see what you guys will come up with for this beautiful home. Can you please start renovations today? 🙂

    Reply

  15. I cannot wait to see what you guys come up with! I love all the quirks and character of the home. I would love to paint all those wood ceilings and beams a bright white!! Ohhh, some people would kill me, but I think it'd look fab!!

    Reply

  17. What a beautiful space! I love the natural lighting and the wood floors. I heard of someone who had wood flooring in their bathroom and kitchen and used a varnish finish that would be used on boats to protect from water damage. Maybe something like that would work?

    Reply

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