House Crashing: A Family-Friendly Whole House Renovation: a house log
We have shared this glorious back porch on Instagram twice (during the holidays, seen below, and last summer, seen here), which belongs to our good friends Carey & Jordan. And based on the reaction to simply this view alone from you folks, we figured we should do a good old fashioned House Crash so we can show you folks more of their striking home. They’ve also got some truly strong pointers about what wears well with kids and dogs (and what they would not do again), which was especially helpful since we are right now mulling over some bathroom renos. But sufficient jabbering, let us get on with the tour!
similar storm door / similar black sconces / string lights
Carey & Jordan used to live right behind us (Carey was in fact one of the first neighbors to come introduce herself with a giant plate of cookies, which we in short inhaled while laying hardwood floors upstairs). But they lately moved to another house in our neighborhood because of their family of five needing a little more space. Jordan runs a renovation company here in Richmond called Spruce RVA, so it is no surprise that their own house went through quite the transformation. For instance, here is what that back porch area looked like when they picked up it. Now scroll back up for the after. I will wait.
Remarkable, AMIRIGHT? Sorry for the caps lock, but IT IS SO GOOD. We took these pics back before all the leaves left us in the fall (come baaaaack leaves) so I am thrilled to at last get this post together. Makes me all breathy and drooly all over again. Attractive visual, eh? That old garage that you see above was converted into a downstairs master bedroom since they frequently have both sets of their parents staying with them, so they needed more bedrooms. And the reason they did not mind losing that garage is because Jordan is excellent, and he knew he and his crew could design and construct a new detached garage nearby – with a second floor office for Jordan’s business.
At first glance, the exterior of the house (besides the new garage) does not seem wildly distinct from how it looked when they purchased it.
But upon closer inspection, you will notice the little details they brought in to amp up it is original charm. They built out the columns to be a bit chunkier than the original ones. They brought in some dentil molding along the roofline (I KNOW I AM SHOUTING AGAIN BUT I CANNOT EVEN HANDLE HOW GOOD THAT DENTIL MOLDING LOOKS). They also swapped the double doors for a single door with sidelights. Another neighbor of ours consistently complains about her solid double-doors making her foyer dark, so this is a strong solution to let in more light.
And no, Carey does not decorate with pumpkins year round, they are simply further evidence that these photos were from October. Nothing like getting into the Halloween spirit on the last day of February! UGH, BUT LOOK AT THE BLUE CEILING. AND THE BLUESTONE PATH.
similar black planters / door knocker / similar lantern sconces
The porch ceiling is Crystal Springs by Benjamin Moore, and the door is Poppy by Ben Moore by the way. The white siding is simply the stock white that comes with Hardiplank (Arctic White).
The detached garage also acts as a pleasant anchor to their outdoor patio area, which is what you see when you stand at that fairly back door I am consistently Instagramming. Jordan is a trained landscape architect and Carey studied urban planning, so we enjoy that they thought to carve out some space within the paver patio for greenery.
string lights / similar black sconce / similar lantern sconces
Since the back door is the family’s most used entrance, it opens into a spacious mudroom with a nook for each of their three elementary-aged kids. Picture this loaded with a lot more boots and scarves in the winter, except that it has been so unseasonably warm lately here in Richmond, it likely looks like this again.
rug / round baskets / hooks / rectangle baskets
The mudroom leads into the open kitchen & family room (that red door is also Poppy by Ben Moore). The previous owners had already put the family room addition on the house, so Carey and Jordan’s main challenge here was to update the kitchen to be more functional for their family.
stools / rug / faucet / pendants / dishwasher / sink
One of the coolest things was that they hoped to reuse all of the original cabinetry, but reconfigure some things a little. Well, they found the contact info for the original cabinet maker in one of the drawers, so they hired him to assist match some new stuff with the old stuff he built decades ago! It looks so strong and you’d never guess some is new but most of it is old!
Here are some of the before/progress photos that that Carey sent us. They were fairly glad with the overall layout, but simply hoped to make the stove and the island area work a little more seamlessly.
They moved the island overhang to the far side of the island in order to seat more people and make better flow to the fridge, and they traded their dark counters for a lighter granite (especially durable and not too pricey – it is truly close to the stuff we had in our first kitchen!). They also lightened things up by swapping the black appliances for stainless steel. Jordan does not like to send a lot of stuff to the dump, so he sold some of the old stuff that they replaced (old appliances, some old windows, etc) so others can use them instead of trashing them.
stools / pendants / mixer / flour & sugar jars
It was so smart of them to make that a lovely little accent with some tile laid in a herringbone pattern over the stove. And yes, that excellent original cabinet maker made that remarkable hood for them! Those thick corbels look like one of those giant blocks of cheese THAT I WANT TO EAT. I WANT TO BITE THEM. I CANNOT STOP.
stove / kettle / mixer / knives / cabinet knobs
The bright and cheery kitchen also leads to the nearby dining room, which is painted with a moody greeny-teal color above the wainscotting (Rookwood Sash by Sherwin Williams). The hutch is a cool secondhand find from a local place called Epoch.
similar china cabinet / rug / cabinet pulls / cabinet knobs / microwave
Carey used an eclectic mix of furniture in the dining room, which simultaneously seems grown-up, but not too serious – and works for her three young kids. When I asked her about how the rug held up with kids and food she said it is been strong. It is wool and has that faded weathered look so that helps.
rug / table / end chairs / white chairs / similar gourd lamps / similar chandelier / gold mirror / sideboard
I enjoy how the bamboo frame of the mirror over the sideboard ties into the lattice on that chair in the corner. It is all a mixture of stuff that she either picked up secondhand or found in accessible stores like Pottery Barn, Target, and even PB Teen, yet it all totally goes together without looking too matchy.
rug / end chair / similar corner chair / acrylic table / similar gourd lamp/ gold mirror
Beyond the dining room is a more formal living room that I like to call Carey’s “White Rabbit” because she pulled this room out of a friggin’ hat. It essentially only had legos on the floor right after they moved in (I do not have a before picture but you folks can picture that, right?!), and then I visited a little while later and boom, it looked like this.
acrylic console / gold lamp / gold mirror / rug / similar pink chair/ stick accent table / gold frames
She said she literally did not buy a single thing except for the woven ottoman under the acrylic console, and the rest of the stuff was all things she already had (in the attic, or borrowed from other rooms that did not need them as much). She simply dragged them all in here, moved stuff around a while, and it worked. Gotta enjoy an nearly free makeover.
As part of the make-it-work effort, Carey repainted this old dresser, which works so nicely with the gold accents around the room (she forgets the paint color, but September Skies by Sherwin Williams would be similar). Girl committed to not spending a lot on this room and using her wits and what she had around, and I ENJOY that about her.
similar dresser / similar hardware / gold mirror
Also you’ve likely noticed all of the live plants around the house. Carey is the plant whisperer. And I am quite quite jealous. She makes me LOL when she calls me and says “I went to the greenhouse and the guy there introduced me to my new go-to plant!” Although now that I think about it I am kinda like that with paint brushes. Also: they built these built-ins and are gradually filling them up with books. Standing ovation. Enjoy the brass pulls that tie into the little wood table-turned-plant-stand.
plant stand table / brass knobs / similar frames
I also enjoy that Carey and Jordan are brave. They could have painted their bathrooms, but they opted to try some lively wallpaper in there instead. They are a smart place to dip your toe into the wallpaper waters because it is much cheaper than doing a big bedroom or living room – and small rooms like these are strong candidates for doing something a little distinct. This is their downstairs powder room, right off the main foyer.
wallpaper / toilet / buffalo print / similar foyer rug
Upstairs the hall bath, which is shared by two of their kids, sports this lively graphic chevron wallpaper, which strikes a pleasant balance of formal and playful. I also asked how the wallpaper is holding up in the bathrooms. Carey says it has held up perfectly (no peeling from hot showers or kids spilling on it or scratching it). She said the only issue has been that she’s scared to hang pictures on it because it means making a hole that will consistently be there – ha! But it is fairly strong on its own. She also mentioned that the dark granite counter in here works so well with kids (it was a remnant so she saved a ton of money that way).
wallpaper / floor tile / hardware / mirror
One pointer Carey has for anyone else redoing their home is that although she was warned that marble can stain and be high maintenance, she thought it would not be too bad in the bathroom on the floor (nobody even has shoes on in there!), but if she could do it all again she’d go with something else. Turns out toothpaste spills and any other liquid that gets on the floor can soak in and stain or leave a mark, which she does not enjoy. Good to know!
Off of their oldest daughter’s room is an ensuite bathroom since it was the original master bedroom. For that room they chose this glad cherry wallpaper and the counter in here is a Cambria quartz remnant so it holds up especially well (no staining issues like the marble floor tile) and again by finding it as a remnant at a local stone yard, she saved a lot of money.
wallpaper / similar hardware / faucet / similar mirror /
Perhaps my go-to room in her whole house is their new master (remember, this is where the garage used to be). They were able to carve out this striking nook for a big soaker tub along with a pleasant bright walk-in shower that is off to the right. ALSO THAT BASKETWEAVE ACCENT TILE. HUBBA HUBBA. (*wolf whistle*)
cast iron soaker tub / basketweave accent tile / main floor tile / similar vanity / tub faucet
John was talking to Jordan and fishing around for some reassurance that perhaps a bath tub was not truly that useful (podcast listeners know we have been wrestling with the tub-or-no-tub debate for our own master bathroom reno) and John thought he’d get a helpful answer when he asked “So do you folks in fact use that quite much?” Jordan said “Oh yeah! Carey uses it simply about every day!” Pleasant try, Johnny boy (insert laughing face emoji next to a bath tub emoji here). I am back on the I-want-one train btw.
So there you have it. A lot of rooms, nooks, and crannies in Carey and Jordan’s lovely home. They are especially inspiring renovators and excellent friends and neighbors, so we are so grateful they let us slip through and take these pics while our kids ran amok in the backyard (they left some fairly epic chalk drawings behind since we were there a lot longer than we thought! ha!).
If you want to see more of our House Crashing adventures, you can check out the whole collection of ’em here.
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