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Beginning in the Middle

Before: The Blonde Vic 1st Floor Tour

Kitchen· The Blonde Victorian

13 Feb

Hi Friends! We’re excited to share more about our newest renovation project, #theblondevic.  (If you missed our intro post on the house, you can check it out here.)  The 3 story home was built in 1900 in King Lincoln District and will have 4 bedrooms/3.5 bathrooms when we’re finished. We’ll take you through the home one floor at a time and show you what we’re workin with.  We’ll start on the first floor.

Here’s a drawing of the existing floor plan.  The dotted lines represent walls that we’re going to be adjusting/taking out.

This is what you see when you walk in the front door.

On the left, there’s a room with a turret, fireplace, and gorgeous original woodwork.  Our plan is to make this room into an office/library.

So. Much. Potential.

To the right of the entry area is the living room.  We’re going to keep the slot machine and repurpose it.  Jk, jk!  We are, however, going to restore the two sets of pocket doors in this room – one between this room and the dining room, and the other between this room and the front entry.

Behind the living room is the dining room. The kitchen is through those doors on the left.

Here’s another view of the dining room from the old kitchen.  The living room is on the right.

From the dining room, we make our way toward the kitchen.  This wall between the two rooms will be coming out, and yes, we’ll be saving that woodwork 🙂

The house has two sets of stairs parallel to each other, which we’ve never seen before.  At first, we assumed that the one on the right was an old servant’s staircase, but it connects with the main staircase at the landing and doesn’t lead anywhere else.  If anyone has theories, we’d love to hear them!  (P.S., the height of the archway is interestingly low.  We both have to duck when walking down the stairs to avoid hitting our heads – and I’m 5’4″!)

Here’s the good ol’ kitchen, looking toward the back of the house.

Here’s another look at the second staircase in the kitchen.  On the other side of that wall is the main staircase.

And last but not least, here’s what the main staircase going up to the 2nd floor looks like.  The doorway at the top of the staircase leads to the second staircase in the kitchen.  Unfortunately, the guys who used to live here stole the original balusters and banister (along with a lot of other stuff), so we’ll need to rebuild it.  We have some fun ideas up our sleeves.

Here’s another view of the two sets of stairs from the landing.  Interesting, right?  If you turn right at the bottom of the stairs, you’d get back to the front door.

So, what are we going to do?  We’re leaving most of the walls exactly where they are, with two exceptions: 1, we’re removing the 2nd staircase and 2, we’re opening up the wall between the kitchen and dining room.

Our first thought was to try to keep both sets of stairs, because why not?  They’re unique and fun and add a sense of history to the home.  But, after we started digging into design planning, we realized that the space where the second staircase is would be the best spot for a 1st floor powder room.  2 staircases vs 1st floor powder room? We chose the powder room.

As for the kitchen/dining room swap, we started off with our kitchen in the kitchen and were super excited about the design we came up with.

We had been working off the preliminary measurements on the auditor’s site + the ones we took when we first saw the house in December, so we went back to double check that everything was correct.  It wasn’t.  There was a large chimney that we hadn’t accounted for, and the overall size of the room was smaller than we thought.  We tried to rework it, but it felt like we were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.  We scrapped our plans, started over, and experimented with moving the kitchen into the dining room.  The dining room has a really nice, long wall that’s perfect for cabinets and appliances.  We’re still making tweaks, but the layout could look something like this. (Update: just kidding, we changed our minds!  Read about our final kitchen/dining plan here.)

Or this.

Or maybe neither, because we like to change our minds a lot 😉  Either way, it’ll be an improvement over this.

Here’s the view from the soon-to-be kitchen into the new dining area, without the wall there.

This wall.

It’s gonna be good, guys.  If you’re curious about the rest of the house, you can check out the 2nd floor tour here, and the 3rd floor tour here.  We’ll be back soon with more.  Follow us on Instagram for updates in the meantime!

B + C

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17 Comments

Previous Post: « Renovation Progress: Pearl Guest Suite
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. helenwk says

    February 13, 2017 at 9:38 am

    The Victorian (1890’s) I grew up in had a stair case just like that! The servants stairs to the kitchen met the regular stairs at the landing, then one set of stairs up to the second. I agree that ditching it for a powder room is the way to go! I really like the darker if the two kitchen plans ( without the waterfall countertop.) looks like a huge project, but fun!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 13, 2017 at 11:13 am

      Thanks for sharing, Helen! So fun.

      Reply
  2. Kim says

    February 13, 2017 at 10:51 am

    So gorgeous!!! Me and my hubby are starting our first flip next month. I’m so excited/nervous. What site do you use to create the virtual design?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 13, 2017 at 11:16 am

      Woohooo! That’s exciting. We used Chief Architect for this, but have heard great things about Sketchup. Good luck w/your project! If we can help at all, let us know!

      Reply
  3. Karen says

    February 13, 2017 at 11:01 am

    Can’t wait to see you do your magic on this classic lady!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 13, 2017 at 11:14 am

      Thanks Karen. We’re excited!

      Reply
  4. Stephanie Hagerty says

    February 13, 2017 at 11:19 am

    Looks great! Im also a fan for option 1 without the waterfall. Much husband is going to hate that I saw this now because it’s giving me all kinds of ideas for our kitchen/dining remodel
    Swapping them makes so much sense!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 13, 2017 at 11:35 am

      Hahah, love it. Thanks for your comment, Stephanie!

      Reply
  5. Jill Kostolanyi says

    February 13, 2017 at 11:48 am

    Your ideas look amazing, like you said there is so much potential! I can only guess that the second stairs was some sort of attempt to divide the place into two separate units – maybe for renting out? Also, what software do you use for your renderings? Are you using Sketchup? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 13, 2017 at 3:37 pm

      Thanks Jill! We used Chief Architect for this but have heard great things about Sketchup.

      Reply
  6. greyorgreenseattle says

    February 13, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    This home is so outrageously charming, I can’t wait to see the in between and end results 🙂 Also, I think this home calls for the use and overuse of the word “parlor.” Don’t you!?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 13, 2017 at 8:08 pm

      Yes!!

      Reply
  7. Gloria says

    February 13, 2017 at 9:23 pm

    You guys are doing great things. Love you!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 13, 2017 at 10:17 pm

      Thanks Gloria!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Before & After: The Blonde Vic Kitchen Reveal | Beginning in the Middle says:
    July 19, 2019 at 9:05 am

    […] Getting a little closer, this was the old kitchen space in all of its messy glory.  (psst, you can find the rest of the first floor before tour here). […]

    Reply
  2. Before & After: The Blonde Vic Kitchen Reveal - Sinkology says:
    October 3, 2019 at 7:53 am

    […] Getting a little closer, this was the old kitchen space in all of its messy glory.  (psst, you can find the rest of the first floor before tour here). […]

    Reply
  3. Before & After: The Blonde Vic Kitchen Reveal – Sinkology says:
    October 3, 2019 at 8:04 am

    […] Getting a little closer, this was the old kitchen space in all of its messy glory.  (psst, you can find the rest of the first floor before tour here). […]

    Reply

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Instagram post 2191854243859055567_1502027285 One of the first thoughts I had when walking through The Vic was how perfect this turret would be for a Christmas tree. The twinkling reflection in the windows is my favorite!🎄 #theblondevic
Instagram post 2191123193541418885_1502027285 The majority of our home isn’t finished, which used to make us feel like we were doing something wrong as designers who are in the business of making homes beautiful.  This year, we’ve embraced the imperfection… why wait until everything is decorated to make it cozy? Our mattress is still on the floor, but a few really comfy pillows, our incredibly soft & fluffy @buffy comforter, and this little lady on the bed are all we need for now. Sharing more on the blog - link is in our bio! #theblondevic #sponsored @buffy
Instagram post 2190414620356014675_1502027285 This is the first year since 2013 that we have a finished, not-mid-reno exterior to decorate for Christmas!! It feels like a treat. Garland, red bows and white lights coming soon ♥️💚 #theblondevic #victorian
Instagram post 2189646221799632577_1502027285 Thankful. Very, very thankful. 🖤 || 📷 @aaconnphoto for @wsj
Instagram post 2188672949738111857_1502027285 Plans for the day: do a little online shopping on the couch, stay out of the kitchen, and watch @ohiostatefb beat Michigan 😉 || #theblondevic #614 📷 @thewonderjam
Instagram post 2188002363114424415_1502027285 Lots of GREAT sales going on today!! #ad In addition to Black Friday sales, @loweshomeimprovement is running another set of special deals for Pros on lowesforpros.com (including 10 days of deals that each last for 1 day only!) Power tools (inc. Dewalt), appliances, ladders... the list goes on. Linking our favorites in Stories!

#lowespartner  #toolsofthetrade #designandbuild
Instagram post 2186039495691276356_1502027285 Bryan & I are coming up on six years of hosting in Columbus!  When we moved from New York, we didn’t know what was in store for us here, but we knew it felt right.  We spent our first year fixing up our house and listed our spare bedroom on Airbnb to make some extra cash.  The income we made helped us pay off a whole lot of personal debt and buy our first investment property (... and the next, and the next). It helped us quit our corporate jobs and have the cashflow we needed to grow our business over the years.

In a few months, we’ll be welcoming guests into our fourth rental and be one step closer to reaching our goals.  So very thankful for this life we’re creating, that gives us freedom and flexibility and allows us to spend each day doing things we love. 🖤 #hostlife #sponsored @airbnb
Instagram post 2185294283758925963_1502027285 We haven't shown you our guest bedroom at #theblondevic because it’s been the designated storage room since we moved in almost a year ago. Not anymore! We worked with @valuecityfurniture to finish this space and get it guest-ready before the holidays. Loving how the mix of modern & vintage artwork plays off of the brick fireplace and traditional furniture pieces. All about the mix in this house. Scroll to see more angles and for the before! #sponsored #VCFStyleInsider

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