Andrea Schlett and Jeremy Muenz will tell you they were delusional when they bought their so-called “home in need of repairs” in 2018. We think they Brave!
This Washington, DC couple embarked on their renovation adventure shortly after they got engaged, and their families joked that the project might be finished before married life even began. (We laugh about it now, but it wasn't!) In all seriousness, it's easy to see why some people might have such fears: Renovations are notoriously stressful, and Andrea quickly admitted that the 100-year-old rowhouse, which had once belonged to a group of collectors, was just too much to handle.
“It was in terrible condition when we first toured it, but somehow we both were able to look beyond the clutter and see the potential beneath the surface,” Andrea says.
The kitchen was dirty, very small and only had a hallway leading to the dining room, and it certainly wasn't going to win any design awards (there were too many cabinets in the galley layout and a heavy use of beige-brown tones), but Andrea and Jeremy loved the high ceilings and large windows that are so common in older homes, plus there was a lovely little sunroom off the kitchen.
They decided to take a leap of faith and do everything they could to bring out the best in this home. They lovingly and painstakingly (mostly DIY) renovated the entire house over the course of 18 months, including 4 months on just the kitchen. (Want to know more? We blogged about that process here!) Of course, as is often the case with older homes, they made sure to preserve as many of the original features as possible. The current kitchen strikes what Andrea calls a high/low balance: high-end luxury and affordable convenience. This approach brought the total budget down to just under $30,000.
First, the house was literally (and legally!) uninhabitable. Also, the previous residents had a habit of hoarding things. do not have The house was left in good condition, which, oddly, was a positive in some ways. “The irony is that, because they were big collectors, they didn't repair anything,” Andrea says. “So everything is still as it was in 1920, including the original doors and window frames,” Jeremy says. This unexpected gift enabled them to restore and preserve a lot of the home's original elements; it was great to be able to bring the second-floor closet doors down to use them.
Renovate in 11 “easy” steps
Before the real work could begin, the layout needed to be reconsidered. The kitchen was galley-style, with everything you need in a kitchen in a row, which wasn't very conducive to fun or functionality. Andrea did some research and decided on a classic triangular layout. But first, two words: open concept.
Yes, yes, we've heard it a hundred times. But this wasn't some dogmatic slogan to tear down the walls. Opening up the space was the single best decision they made, the couple says in retrospect. They planned to remove load-bearing walls to get all the space they needed to create the layout they knew would work best. This allowed them to add a massive 10-foot island (also high on their list of best decisions!). It also meant that a cute sunroom flows naturally from the kitchen, which also has views into the beautiful dining room. Going open concept nearly quadrupled the total space they now call their kitchen.
So they started with the walls. Before calling in professionals to draw up plans, remove the old walls, and add support beams, the couple dismantled the plaster themselves and hauled away 10 garbage bins' worth of debris. No wonder, they joke, it was the best shape they've ever been in of their lives.
Once the space was cleared, things started to take shape. We did most of the work ourselves, but brought in professionals where there was a risk of serious injury. An electrician came to prep the appliances and lights, and Andrea and Jeremy came to get the house ready to put down new drywall.
Unfortunately, the flooring was beyond repair, so they installed affordable birch flooring throughout the house—but only after laying a new plywood subfloor. Andrea says it was worth it, as it saved her some knee pain.
With the help of IKEA's kitchen planners, they planned out their kitchen and ordered budget-friendly cabinets. Because the kitchen is visible from almost every corner of the house, they wanted it to look luxurious. They achieved this by having the cabinet fronts be semi-handcrafted wood.
Andrea wanted the cabinets a deep, rich blue, so they needed to be painted (this was before Semihandmade was released and there were more color options, she says), which may have been the most difficult part of the entire project.Until now“I spray the door and then move it around to let it dry,” she said. “It's not an hours-long job, but weekAlthough she loves the gorgeous color (Benjamin Moore's Champion Cobalt), the finish is starting to show signs of wear.
Contrasting sharply with the deep blue cabinetry are light quartz countertops with dramatic waterfall edges and a subtly textured white subway tile backsplash (complimented by a herringbone pattern that was unexpectedly tricky to install but that we love).
Yeah, but the island. They discussed making a really big island. Ten feet. dedicationeveryone! — but everyone is ecstatic about the decision, because the kitchen is, after all, the center of pretty much everything that happens in it.
Continuing the “go big or go no big” theme, I also went big on my appliances. LG's giant refrigerator was the right choice after experiencing the limitations of other people's small refrigerators. I also love to cook, so I wanted a 36-inch stove. Going with a relatively unknown brand like Zline was a risk, but it was the only way I could get a stove big enough for a good price.
