Before & After
If this old house could talk…
it would surely be pleased with its current condition.
When we purchased the chalet in May 2021, we knew that there was work to be done.
Built in 1974, the home had undergone many transformations over the years. Some were very welcome, like an updated kitchen. Others were less easy to love, like the carpet-covered storage locker in the middle of the living room…
In the past, someone had “fixed” a malfunctioning chimney by dropping a woodstove inside the hearth! This unique fireplace-with-a-woodstove was unsafe (there were burn marks on the carpet!) and had to be remedied.
In addition, the peculiar storage locker and wall-mounted TV were awkwardly-placed and uninviting, resulting in a really challenging layout for the remaining furniture.
Before our first guests checked-in, we removed the carpet, storage locker, fireplace, and mantle, installed matching wall panels, new flooring, new wall sconces, and a local granite hearth, in preparation for our new EPA-approved woodstove.
Dingy carpet and jumbled furniture made the sunroom feel dark and crowded, especially because the layout effectively blocked the floor-to-ceiling windows in the corner.
That carpet had to go! We wanted to keep it simple in the main living area, with the same flooring throughout.
We went to work, honoring the home’s past while building for its future.
The fireplace, stone hearth, and mantle all had to go to make way for our safe and efficient wood stove.
The remains of the storage locker and the old carpet.
(You wouldn’t believe how many industrial staples were used to attach all that carpet to the wall…)
Replacing the kitchen plugs with the proper GFCI outlets
Preparing to remove the fireplace and storage locker, once and for all, with the subfloor exposed.
Within several busy and tiring weeks, we were ready for our first guests.
The late nights, the tense moments, the careful planning — it had all really come together.
We found more of the same flooring that was already in the kitchen and dining room, and we replaced the sunroom’s faded carpet.
A new granite hearth for the upcoming wood stove, and a new floor for the living room
Out with the old… (That huge dumpster was only about 1/3rd of what we had to remove from the house!)
But our hard work had paid off,
and in with the new!
New beds, mattresses, pillows, mattress and pillow encasements, linens and towels, light fixtures, electronics, and countless homewares… the deliveries didn’t stop for several weeks.
And the results are clear to see.
We hope you find the chalet as inviting and comfortable as we do.
