Vocabulary

The Modern Coastal vocabulary is coming into focus. White on white suits the north-facing house, and refinishing the existing hardwood floor fits, as well. We'll add in some Modern furniture pieces (the white leather couch, the glass Noguchi coffee table) and emphasize cotton/muslin fabrics. Muted blues and greens, almost pastel, here and there.

Coastal is generally white, but the overall vibe is easy and informal. Muslin slipcovers on furniture for easy cleanup after a day in the sand. Props like starfish and shells imply lack of concern for messy "nature." Against the white, natural materials--unpainted wicker, jute rugs, macrame. Today I learned that muslin is a light cotton fabric from India that dates to prehistoric times.

Examples often show coffered ceilings and parallel lines of wood--bead board or shiplap.

White paneling, coffered ceiling, muslin slipcovers

Lots of white; pale blue and green accents

White beams on off-white ceiling

The existing house has a lot of gloss white woodwork. The 2.25" red oak flooring should clean up nicely. Most of the existing windows and sliding glass doors are brushed aluminum. The fireplace is gloss white painted brick.

Existing color and architectural vocabulary

Walls.I've tried a number of colors in Chief: Spatial White (SW 6259), Snowdrop (SW 6511) for subtle contrast with bright white trim. Faintly blue: Atmospheric (SW 6505), Mild Blue (SW 6533). Faintly green: Sea Salt (SW 6204). Bath 1 is currently painted Silverpointe (SW 7649), with Pure White (SW 7005) trim and the base cabinet in Billowy Breeze (SW 9055). I believe that the Kitchen is Zircon (SW 7667).

Sherwin-Williams has a lot of whites: White Colors (Cool).

Dining Room

Tough one. I had thought of this as a symmetrical, roughly square room. Two things are axial in the room: the circulation path from living to kitchen and the dining room table. If I give the table primacy, the circulation will have to go around the table. On the other hand, to keep an aisle up the middle of the room, I'd have to have two lunch counters on either side instead of a table.

A similar conundrum is the relationship between this room, the kitchen, and the living room. There are two extremes here: I could have walls between the three rooms, with a central door, like a railroad flat. Or, I can pretend that the whole 36' width is "open plan," from the back of the couch in the living room, across the dining table, and on to the kitchen counter. 

Expensive Design Within Reach steel table

The other question is dining room chairs. They will be clutter in the circulation. The table pretty much fades away, but the chairs say a lot about the target style and design consistency. What kind of chairs are they? 

Simple parsons chairs--four legs, solid back in same material as the seat--works. Any kind of traditional look (Windsor, cross back) leads quickly to "farmhouse." Likewise, a stained wood top on a white painted frame is farmhouse. Wayfair has a wicker chair with a muslin cushion that is very "coastal."

Coastal chair by Wayfair

Or, just go with muslin

Espiye by Wayfair. 4 parsons chairs, simple table

Or, we lean in to the modern side. An outre design complements the living room couch.

Orren Ellis Weldon chair by Wayfair

I'm thinking that the way to handle the table vs circulation path issue is to have the table near the window with a chair at each end and two at the window. No chairs in the circulation, which arcs south from the living to the kitchen. We can build in a lowboy hutch on the south wall and give it a quartz countertop that matches the kitchen.

This is working, modulo better furniture choices (I don't like the table base, for example). The lowboy hutch-slash-kitchen cabinet can act as a buffet or a bar. It encourages circulation into the kitchen. The table gets out of the way of circulation, but it can be made more symmetrical and formal if need be.

24" hutch could be 18". Add wall cabinets?

I have to keep reminding myself that we're staging an open house, not making choices for my personal nest.

For the benefit of further Dining Room design, here's the reverse pov:

Hall and Laundry

The current plan closes off the hallway by moving the laundry there. We want to remove the last of the popcorn ceiling and fix the rough texture on part of the hallway walls. We'll keep the doorbell chime niche.

There's an FAU vent that will be blocked by the new laundry room; we'll need to solve that. 

There's one boob light; we need more lighting (two downlights should do), and I'd like a sun tunnel, too.

I wonder if carpet would be a good idea to minimize traffic noise in the hall?

I wonder if BA2 needs a 6-panel door to match the rest of the interior doors, or if the authentic single-panel is better?

Laundry. I'm not sure we need a tile floor under the washer/dryer. I'm planning to get one of those lipped mats, so I think it can rest on hardwood to match the rest of the house. The existing door works. We'll want to add more lighting and tidy up the power, water, and drain connection points.

As for the dryer vent, we can go down into the basement, but the vent would need to be under the deck (or it would be too long and with too many turns). I think it's better to go up through the roof. For those playing along at home, that 4 new roof penetrations--two sun tunnels, the BA1 exhaust fan and now the dryer vent.

Home Depot dryer vent

Bath 2

Writing this blog post made me reconsider the design. Now I think the toilet and shower can stay, but I want to move the vanity the right. Coming through the door, instead of the vanity, we'll see a freestanding bathroom/linen cabinet, as in BA1. 

Also, I think we should replace the door with a milk glass panel (still pocket). I'd like to put a sun tunnel into the room.

Wide angle. Milk glass doesn't seem translucent in Chief. Sun Tunnel simulated.

The Previous Design 

The shower and pocket door stay, but we need a new vanity. 

Current plan moves toilet; restricts leg room.

The new toilet location means that the shower is more inviting and there is wall space for towel bars and a toilet paper dispenser, but...the toilet leg room is tight. We'll want a model that is more compact (but I hate "round" models that are not "elongated," so it's rock and a hard place time). Finish-to-finish is 50.5". The toilet now in BA1 is 30.5, leaving 20" leg room. Code is 21".

Glacier Bay (Home Depot) has a one-piece model that is 29.6, leaving us 1/10" of an inch shy. From the wall to the front of the base, however, it's 28.2" which gives us 22.7". A standard two-piece from Glacier Bay is 29.1" (12" to drain center), leaving 4/10" to spare.

Along the wall, code wants 30" for the toilet. We have 57.5", but the east wall is new, so we can adjust it. Our vanity cabinet needs to be 27.5" or less. 24.5" is a standard Home Depot width, so maybe we should move that new wall to be just 55" finish-to-finish.

Okay, wait a minute. Maybe the existing layout is just fine. The vanity is 31" W and the toilet has lots of leg room. It's in the way of the shower, but...so? It's 38" from front of shower to wall--the centerline of the toilet is 16" from the wall, leaving it 22" to the shower. That is, it's trying to give the shower room.

The sink looks like crap because it's tucked into a 31" gap between walls. It's cheap cultured marble and they didn't push it back against the wall, nor did they caulk the gap. The glass shelf above it was broken in the listing photos. We can replace the vanity with something nice.

Everdean vanity 30.5" W, 18.75" D, 34.48" H, 4" faucet

Hardly luxurious, but it would be a huge improvement. 

Bedrooms 1 and 2

The basics: Refinish the wood floor, add the crown molding, In BR1, the casing was installed backwards on the sliding glass door. Wrong casing on BA1 door. Drywall seams are showing; other drywall repairs needed, mostly in BR1. (Refinish the patch on the fireplace wall, for one thing.)

The baseboards are simple quarter-round at top with a quarter-round shoe--maybe replace with the 1x4 used in BA1?

Windows. Replace (2) windows: Awning over fixed. 34" W x 43.75" H. I'd prefer hopper, or hopper over fixed, but that's harder to find. Awning has problem with interior screen, and at BR2 it sticks into deck airspace. Casement has the same problem. Hopper, while solving the screen issue, conflicts with interior window treatments.

Windows to remain are aluminum-colored (like the north-facing windows), making it hard to replace the east-west windows with white vinyl.

Both bedrooms have southern exposures--I think the window treatment needs to be blackout-ready. (On the other hand, that doesn't show up in an open house, and buyers can easily imagine adding blackout curtains.) Color panels over white sheers (voile), floor to ceiling, looks good. Panels can be patterned--shades of blue on a white background, perhaps.

These are actually blackout curtains. Designer: Clarissa Hulse

Doors. The doors in BR2 are single panel, old-fashioned, but original. Replace them with newer 6-panel doors to match the rest of the house? Replace door handles to match matte black lever "standard?" (Kwikset Halifax square bezel, Schlage Latitude round bezel). 

The closet sliding doors in BR1 are clunky slabs, too wide at BR1a and too narrow at BR1b. Seattle Custom Closet Doors. Mirror doors for BR1a? 63" W is harder to find.

Closets. The BR2 closet is tiny, dark and old fashioned. The BR1 closets are similar, except that BR1a is large. All three closets are cedar-lined. Painting the cedar eliminates the benefit, but it's gloomy.

Provide wired-in, motion or door-activated lighting in all three closets. Ikea Oversidan strips are 38" long.

BR1a: Replace shelf and pole with some kind of organizer--stack of shelves, full-height pole and double row of shirt poles. Shoe organizer. Can we do better on the doors? Milk glass sliders like Ikea? Bi-fold? Internet suggests incorporating Ikea dresser into closet scheme. Also, driftwood grey looks better than bright white, I think.

Could widen the opening if I want--leave a 4x4 at either side, add a new 4x8 header. Existing door: 63" W (32 5/8" panels). The closet is 86.5" W, so the opening could be 79.5".

BJÖRNÖYA doors from Ikea--79"x79

BR1b: Pole is hanging from ceiling, no shelf. Shelves over brick are impossible to get to, and the rough wood is unsuited for fabric, like folded sweaters. White melamine would be a big improvement. Need lighting.

Door is 41" W (21.5" panels). Replace with swinging door (41" is too wide, though). White bifold with 3 panels would mimic look of 6-panel doors. Need two 1' 8" doors.

BR2: Shelf and pole are in good order. Leave them for authenticity? Need lighting.

Note on closet poles: Leave as natural wood, since any paint will rub off. Ikea has vertical oval (racetrack) poles--less bearing area for easier sliding. Natural wood is cheapest, easiest (cuts to length) and fits with "Coastal."

Lighting. Rewire so switch controls lamps--1/2 hot, not full. Add outlets, not downlights or boob lights.

On door handles. Maybe we could use what we have now, instead of going to matte black straight levers. Kwikset Commonwealth in Satin Nickel in 3 places (all were installed upside down, which is maybe why I don't like them).

Bath 1 Design

This worked out pretty well, except that Chief doesn't have the wall or floor tile patterns that I was trending toward. So these renderings have only approximate colors. The cabinet at the door is from Wayfair, so it exists, but another design--especially one with feet--might be better.

That's vertical fluted glass in the window. It shows up better in the reflection in the lower photo. Also, Chief doesn't seem to have towel bars. Odd.

Bath 1

I need to be specific about plans room by room. Let's start with BA1.

Demo the existing whirlpool bath, tile surround, and stub wall. Remove the tall skinny door.

I like the new crown molding, but it will need to be patched and modified for the new layout. As for base molding, the current simple rectangle aids the forced perspective--it's smaller, so the ceiling seems higher. We can move the existing downlights.

I want a walk-in shower, but I think a tub helps resale. The shower head moves to the BR2 wall, but the drain can stay roughly the same. This is a studs-out project at least at the exterior wall. 

Tub. The new tub space: 60.5" stud to stud, 59.5" finish-to-finish. American Standard Cambridge 60" Americast soaking tub. 60" x 32" x 17.75". Tubs come in White or Arctic (also white). Princeton 60" is less expensive and only 14" high. (The current whirlpool tub is 22.5" high, a real pain.)

Window. The existing door is 8.6 SF of ventilation. I assume horizontal slider, but I'm not sure how tall. 42-48" wide. The current shower head is +75" so it will splash a little on a window sill. From the exterior, the window will want to be OX (O near the shower head). 42x36 is 10.5 SF, but only half is operable. Half of 48x42 is 7 SF. (Max. height 46" to stay above ext. chair rail.)

Tile surround at the tub is an art opportunity. Should tie in with the overall house theme and the vanity in particular. I think we'll want to tile to the ceiling, and around the window. Maybe 1" x 3" in an ashlar pattern. By ashlar pattern, I guess I mean stacked, but with random color variations.

Tub and shower surround (maybe less tan, more gray?)

We can tile niches near the shower head and on the opposite (BR1 closet) wall, but it increases shower noise in BR2. Maybe a tile shelf on the BR2 side instead.

Exhaust Fan (replace existing round unit). Let's vent this one to the outside for a change.

Toilet. Toto Drake II 2-piece elongated toilet with Washlet bidet. Requires GFCI outlet at +12" to left of toilet.

Accessories. I like the plain chrome towel bars, but maybe there's something more thematic. They should tie in with the tub/shower controls. Matte black might be a nice theme--simple bars don't make a room seem dark.

Vanity. What kind? Mirror? Medicine cabinet? Keep existing medicine cabinet (white painted woodwork)? Remove two wall sconces--replace with other fixtures? A mixing valve for pete's sake. Maybe a large mirror framed just like the living room? Medicine cabinet on the side wall? Existing cabinet is 16" W x 5" D x 30" H. Quartz counter. Tile backsplash to echo tub surround?

Something like Ikea's Godmorgon cabinet and Odensvik sink

The Godmorgon cabinet is 39.375" W x 19.25" D. It is to be mounted with the top 25.375" to 29.875" from the floor, and Ikea sells ~1" diam. legs for the front. Without the legs, it seems unlikely to hold up without more structure. The Odensvik counter is 2.375" thick. Current counter is 33.375" high, which seems little higher than average..

Keep the glass-front cabinet I added? It's 20.5" W x 6" D x 24" H, with a paper towel roll under it.

Faucet. I was thinking chrome, but black is an option. Perhaps the Moen Rizon or the Pfister Kenzo?

Floor. I like a slate look. Maybe a 12" x 24" or just 12" x 12" in a brick ("Greek") layout.

12" x 12" in a brick ("Greek") layout

This is pretty cool. Do you have to fly artisans in from Europe?

Walls. Colors? Off-white with bright white trim. Coastal blue accent wall? Beadboard wainscot?

New door hardware?

Project Scope

I keep returning to: What am I trying to do here? I'm investing in this house to improve its sales price in 2024-2026. That it's more comfortable for me in the meantime is a bonus.

Goals

• Add significant square footage. 1600/3/2.5 goes to 2100/4/3.5. The price per square foot stays relatively low. 2.5 kitchens, full 2-car garage. Try to meet the future market: extended family, aging in place.
• Improve consistency. Design details are scattershot now. Moldings, door hardware, paint, other details should support "architect-designed" marketing.
• New fixtures/appliances. Range is important (refrig, w/d, don't sell with house). Sinks, toilets, showers are touchpoints--they can raise initial impression of buyers.
• Landscaping. Simple, low-maintenance. Fight the impression that nature is taking over. Fenced yard for a dog? That's ~160' of fence that we don't want to interfere with the canyon view. Work around existing gazebo, preserve rimwalk if possible.
• Curb appeal. The house needs to present as a member of the neighborhood, unapologetically 75+ years old, but surprisingly up-to-date and in excellent condition. Fresh paint, new car holes, minimal landscape, and an excellent front door.
• New roof. The existing roof will last until 2027 or so, but a new roof adds to curb appeal and eliminates a worry of buying a 75-year-old. Consistency with new addition roof.
• Flooring. The hardwood can be refreshed. Replace the tile in BA1, Kitchen, Breezeway with something more stylish.

Maybe something like this 12x12 in a "brick" pattern

Maybe an eye-catching range like the Viking 3 Series

Dining concept: Ikea Danderyd - Coastal meets Farmhouse meets Modern?

Living Room

• New front door
• More operable window?
• Replace cracked mirror
• Make fireplace work (flue damper)--insert not required
• Refresh hardwood floor--leave tile hearth
• Add crowd molding, maybe wainscot

Dining Room

• Add crowd molding, maybe wainscot
• True-up light fixture and dining table

Kitchen

• Quartz countertops
• New range - induction?
• New sink
• New dishwasher
• Mix new cabinets with old? Ikea cabinets?
• Keep corner window

Bedrooms

• Refresh wood floor
• Replace awning windows with hopper?
• Consistent moldings, crown molding, door handles
• Improve closet interiors--why not mirrors?

Bath #1

• Replace door with real window
• Replace tub, turn 90 degrees
• Replace tile floor
• Replace toilet with toilet/bidet
• New vanity, sink
• Exhaust fan
• New accessories?

Bath #2

• Tile, not plastic shower
• New vanity, sink
• New toilet
• Replace exhaust fan
• New tile floor

Hall / Laundry

• Figure out what to do with carpet area--pref. extend hardwood
• Skylight/sun tunnel?
• Add lighting

See Also

• 3-Family Residence (March 13, 2022)
• Front Yard Inspiration (March 3, 2022)
• Trees House 2022 (February 26, 2022) - $200,000 budget offers great ROI
• Clearing the Front Yard (September 23, 2020)
• Front Door (April 8, 2020)
• Gutters and Paint (April 8, 2020)
• Process Going Forward (March 27, 2019) - This post is that, 3 years later
• Remodeling in Stages (May 18, 2018)
• Where do we stand? (May 27, 2017)
• Starting up Trees House 2017 (April 5, 2017)
• Comparable With Healthy Asking Price (March 23, 2017) - 18% over the Zestimate. $365/SF.
• Moving Forward (September 22, 2016)
• Going Minimalist (August 4, 2015) - Interesting plan; worth another look?
• Your Basic Houselift (February 9, 2015)
• What is a living room? (December 11, 2014)

Back to Exterior Colors

Closing in on this, but I want to settle it. Because the front faces north and we're surrounded by shade, I think the body color should be quite light, with white trim. That leaves a lot of room for subtlety, however.

Sherwin-Williams suggests these palettes that seem to suit.

Colonnade Grey, Panda White, with Roycroft Copper Red door

Labradorite, Nacre, with Artifact door

Sensible Hue, Extra White, with Dress Blues door

The last palette is my favorite. I'd be tempted to mix and match, but the lighter Colonnade Grey (SW 7641) with Extra White (SW 7006) trim might not work as well. I like the crisp contrast between the blue door and the bright white--Dress Blues (SW 9176), but I thought 'Artifact' was an interesting choice.

Bland city. But maybe that's okay.

• Grays (April 20, 2020)
• Choosing Exterior Colors (April 8, 2019)
• Paint Samples (April 6, 2019)