PORTFOLIO

The house and what the owners wanted

The owners bought a 3,048 square foot house on a hillside lot above Ashland and wanted it remodeled before they moved in.

They came to us with a room-by-room list, each item marked by priority. The kitchen came first. They also wanted the wall between the living and dining rooms gone, a gas fireplace, wood floors through the main level, and a real front entry with room for coats and shoes.

Most of the house changed in one project in 2020.

What was built

Kitchen

The kitchen has alder cabinets in a dark stain and green granite counters with a textured matte finish. The layout is built around a peninsula. Copper pendants hang over the peninsula, and a hammered copper farmhouse sink sits under the corner windows.

There are two wall ovens, a 36-inch gas cooktop under a stainless wall hood, and a counter-depth refrigerator set into tall cabinets. The backsplash is white tile with a panel of small round tiles behind the cooktop. The floor is stone-look porcelain tile, and it runs on into the pantry and laundry room.

Great room

The wall between the living and dining rooms came out. The main floor is now one open room under the vaulted wood ceiling.

The new gas fireplace has a stacked stone surround, a stone hearth that wraps around three sides, and a wood mantel. Wide-plank European oak floors run through the living and dining room, both offices and the hall. New wood handrails lead up and down the stairs, and the baseboards are stained wood.

New entry

A 103 square foot addition gives the house a proper front entry. The old entry got new tile, baseboard and a closet shelf.

The rest of the house

Downstairs, we remodeled the guest bathroom and updated the guest bedroom, the entertainment room and the exercise room. The exercise room has a new window.

The primary bathroom has a heated tile floor and a new toilet with a bidet seat. The work also covered new upstairs carpet, a finished garage with storage in the rafters, paint throughout, rot repair, and the fixes from the home inspection report.

What made it interesting

The entry addition and the new lower-floor window went through a City of Ashland building permit in 2020. The new entry roof sits on engineered lumber beams and rafters, each sized in its own report.

The kitchen layout changed during design. The owners first planned an island. It did not suit the space, so the plans were redrawn around a peninsula.

Cost context

Whole-house remodels in our area run about $200 to $450 per square foot today. This one kept much of the house as it was, so it came in below that range. See our cost guide.