Transforming problem houses into Dream Homes

Project in Progress: Sunnyvale Project Nears Completion

The Sunnyvale remodeling project is nearing completion. The clients moved in on Monday, so I dashed down to Sunnyvale last Friday to take some pictures. The contractor was working to finish up all the finishing details. There was a lot going on. These are not “pretty” pictures, but they give you an idea of what the house looks like.

Using the window trim to make a single "window unit" out of the two windows ganged at the corner. Photo (c)2013 David Locicero
Using the window trim to make a single “window unit” out of the two windows ganged at the corner. Photo (c)2013 David Locicero

The house was built circa 1945 and hand not been significantly altered or updated since it was built. We replaced all the windows, all the plumbing and upgraded the electrical to 21st century standards. We rebuilt the kitchen and the bathroom and installed new floors throughout the house. We also repainted the interior and will be repainting the exterior.

The cabinets and counter are from Ikea, the hardware and back splash are from Home Depot. (c)2013 David Locicero
The cabinets and counter are from Ikea, the sheet vinyl flooring, cabinet hardware and back splash are from Home Depot. (c)2013 David Locicero

The old kitchen only had a counter on either side of the sink on one wall of the kitchen. By rotating the orientation of the refrigerator, we were able to make an L-shaped counter, adding 50% more counter space and base cabinet storage. The cabinets came white and the owner wanted to keep the counter light as well. So we used glass mosaic tiles for the back splash in a color that coordinates with the bronze finished cabinet hardware and the bronze finished ceiling light fixture (not pictured).

We installed new bamboo floors throughout most of the house. We painted over the badly repaired mortar and stone fire place. The kitchen is to the left, the hallway and remodeled bath are to the right.
We installed new bamboo floors throughout most of the house. We painted over the badly repaired mortar and stone fire place. The kitchen is to the left, the hallway and remodeled bath are to the right.

The fireplace has a rustic stone face. The stone itself was fine, but the mortar joints had been badly repaired some years ago. The budget would not allow us to replace the stone nor repoint the mortar. So we decided to paint the stone and mortar a single color that coordinated with both the new bamboo floors and the wall paint color.

The house feels completely new, fresh and clean. We removed the old, original underfloor furnace and replaced it with a wall furnace. Between the new double paned windows and having upgraded the attic insulatio, the cost of heating the place should be significantly less than it used to be. I’m sure that they will enjoy the modern kitchen and the entire refreshed house.

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