We’ve been working nonstop—between project work and plenty of beach trips—to finish and photograph rooms in our duplex so we can list it for weeklong summer rentals on Airbnb. There are still several rooms left to complete (two kitchens, two living rooms, two laundry rooms, and two more bedrooms and bathrooms), but it feels huge to be completely finished with the four rooms shown here.
Below I’ll walk you through the two finished bedrooms and their adjoining bathrooms, sharing the design choices and a few lessons we learned along the way.
This is the finished main bedroom on the right side of the duplex. Each side of the house had its own quirks and measurements; this bed wall was a touch narrower than the matching wall across the duplex, so we chose accordion sconces that swing to either side and can be controlled from the bed. We also planned the electrical so there’s an outlet beside each nightstand—an easy convenience for guests to charge phones.
Function was a priority, but we also leaned into the house’s character. We exposed the original brick chimney hidden behind the drywall and added a window behind the bed to brighten the space. That window required approval from the historic review board, but the extra light and visual interest made it worth the effort. Below is a photo from the framing stage when that window went in—proof of how far the room has come.
We’re fans of placing a bed in front of a window when the bed visually reads as part of the room (a metal frame is a great choice because it lets light flow through rather than blocking it). This approach makes the layout feel layered and welcoming rather than heavy.
We also added a full bathroom off this bedroom to create a proper main suite—another change approved by the historic review board. That addition improved both the function and the value of the house.
The bathroom feels airy thanks to tonal tile and the greeny-gray doors (Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay) used on this side of the duplex. We kept the walls crisp and bright with Spare White by Sherwin Williams, the paint used throughout the house. Because we tiled the floors ourselves, the process was labor-intensive, but fitting and accessorizing the room—mirror, towel hooks, shower curtain, hardware, and a few framed prints—came together quickly and felt like a big win.
We chose a hinged chrome mirror that works well over the sink even with a window right behind it. The glass was frosted for privacy, avoiding awkward blind configurations while still allowing light to come through.
We preserved some original quirky doors in the main bedroom and used them to create built-in closets that flank a large window. Keeping those original doors felt like a small act of honoring the house’s history—an authentic detail that adds serious charm. Inside the closets we installed hanging space, shelves, luggage racks, and wood hangers for guests.
Across from the bed we added a dresser and a large mirror for folded storage. A beachy, affordable rug anchors the room and keeps the palette calm and inviting.
The transformation of this room feels surreal—when we purchased the property it had painted plastic paneling hiding mold, a drop ceiling covering rot, threadbare carpet, and nonfunctional baseboard heating. We replaced the heating, cooling, electrical, and plumbing to bring everything up to code and safe. The image below is an early before shot that shows just how much work this renovation involved.
The window seen above sits where the door to the new bathroom addition now opens; the new window behind the bed was added closer to the chimney to bring in light without sacrificing layout.
On the opposite side of the duplex is the finished front bedroom. During renovation we removed drywall that was covering an original window with diamond grills, which restored natural light to the closet and the whole room. That side uses a softer trim color (White Truffle by Sherwin Williams) for a slightly different but cohesive palette, and the refinished original floors made a big visual difference.
This front bedroom is furnished with a cozy Ikea bed and greeny-gray nightstands with brass hardware that complement the accordion lights mounted on the wall. Those particular sconces appear in both of the bedrooms shown here because we only had two sets available—future rooms will feature different fixtures.
There’s another small closet here with a dresser for folded items; we haven’t photographed that little space yet but plan to soon. Across the hall are the two hall bathrooms—one on each side of the duplex. On the right side we used tonal tile with natural accents like leather vanity pulls and a floating wood shelf, plus classic pieces like a round gold mirror and a simple white vanity.
Originally each unit had only one full bathroom, but now the upstairs of each side has two full baths plus an extra powder room downstairs—much more practical for rentals and family stays. We had fun creating two similar but distinct bathrooms; one has a bold blue floor tile and the other a pink-and-green patterned hex tile. John is team blue, I’m team pink—maybe we’ll let you vote when the whole duplex is finished.
We get asked a lot which side of the duplex is our favorite. The honest answer is we can’t pick—each side has details we love. There’s a slight preference for the kitchen with pink tile and blue cabinets, but overall we’re just thrilled to be in the home stretch and excited to share the rest when it’s done.
P.S. You can follow the entire duplex renovation—from purchase and plans to setbacks and progress—on our project archive for the full story. This post contains affiliate links.