Last week we shared all the details about the exterior of our duplex renovation, but today we’re shifting focus to a major interior milestone: drywall.
Drywall is one of those moments in a renovation that suddenly makes everything feel real. Rooms go from being undefined spaces to actual rooms. The floor plan starts to read correctly, and it’s easier to visualize the finished spaces. It brought back that same feeling we had when the pink house reached this stage last summer.
Sherry filmed a room-by-room video tour where she explains what will go where — from beds and couches to cabinets and appliances — but first it’s worth taking a quick look back. The photo below shows the living room on the left side of the duplex (the right side is a mirror image) when we bought the property last September.
The initial step was a full demo to assess the condition of the framing and structure. Not surprisingly, we found a fair amount of rot, water damage and even mold that had to be addressed. That phase was extensive, but necessary to understand what needed reinforcing and replacing.
We also did exterior demo because we’re installing new siding and roofing. That work lets us add insulation, reinforce framing, and prevent future leaks. During that stage the living room felt incredibly open — in the literal sense.
Most of the past several months have been spent rebuilding and refitting the inside with new plumbing, updated electrical, and modern HVAC. These are the systems that need to be installed before walls can be closed up — not glamorous, but vital.
So it feels huge to finally have walls again. Ignore the stacked boxes in the room below — they’re our bathroom vanities that arrived early. They just happened to land in the living room during drywall.
If you prefer video, watch Sherry’s tour where she walks through one side of the duplex, points out changes, and explains upcoming steps and furniture placement choices. The clip was shot vertically in Instagram Story mode, so apologies for the orientation, but it gives a clear sense of the layout and design thinking.
For those who can’t watch right now, here are some highlights and photos. The image below looks toward the kitchen. I’m standing near the boxes in the living room half of the main room. The dining area will occupy the other half, with a powder room off to the right and the kitchen beyond.
We were able to preserve the brick chimney, which will serve as a striking kitchen accent. The sink will be centered under the rear window, the stove will be centered on the right wall, and the refrigerator will sit in the corner just out of frame.
On the left of that photo you can spot one of the diamond-pane doors leading to the mudroom and laundry area. New pocket doors will allow that space to be closed off from the kitchen when needed.
Below is the view back toward the front door. That half of the main room will be the living area — imagine chairs and a couch facing a TV mounted near the stairs. The closet under the stairs will house the HVAC and hot water heater, and it will function as a locked owner’s closet so guests never need to access those systems.
We’re thrilled with how much brighter and more open the entryway and staircase feel. Previously a wall hid the bottom five steps and made the stairs feel tunnel-like. Removing that wall, raising and widening the doorway, and exposing the transom window transformed the whole space.
The photo below shows the original narrow opening, which made the entryway feel small and dark. The new, wider opening lets in so much more light and makes circulation feel natural.
Upstairs is still a collection of boxes (bedrooms) for now, but a few details are starting to stand out. We exposed brick in the back bedroom and plan to add shelves that will create a brick-backed niche for books. We also added a window at the top of the stairs that brightens the landing considerably.
Half of the exposed brick chimney sits in the main bedroom on each side. We plan to build shelving into that nook and have positioned the bed on a wall that may feel unconventional, but avoids other drawbacks. Sherry discusses the layout choices in the video.
One doorway leads to the en-suite bathroom, and the other opens to one of the two closets we added to each main bedroom. These closets add useful storage and create room for a window bench. We even installed a fixture box above the future bench so we can hang a pendant in front of the window.
You might notice the closet openings above differ from the ones Sherry showed in the video. We found two original doors that are shorter than modern standard doors, so one side will keep those vintage doors while the other will have taller, new wood doors. Each side will have its own distinct personality: one side gets the mint X-paned back door, the other gets an all-wood X-paned door that’s a real showstopper.
Next up is priming, painting, and installing trim, which will make the duplex look even more finished. After that we’ll move on to tile — we plan to tile both laundry rooms, both kitchen backsplashes, and all six bathrooms ourselves — plus other installations and the Ikea kitchens, which we’ll assemble and install when ready. All of this should make for an exciting fall as the design choices start to come to life.
P.S. You can read more about the duplex, how we bought it, and the renovation timeline in our previous posts.
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