The little house that could.  St. George, DE

One of my favorite projects has been the rehab of this small tenant house in St. George, DE.   Nothing fancy and done on  a shoestring budget and short time table, it stretched my creativity and proved that ingenuity, a great team and vision can carry the day.  

Little House before

Built in the early 19th Century, it had seen better days.  In fact, a family of snakes had taken up residency in the cellar!  Little House was sad indeed.

It's sole saving grace was it amazing views of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Looking to this as our inspirational starting point, we reconfigured space to maximize livability and reoriented the house to capture the view. The bathroom was gutted, closets installed and kitchen reworked.   We even moved the laundry upstairs, just in case the snake family returned!

Work in progress

Kitchen before

New lighting, windows,  reconfigured appliances and a coat of paint on the cabinet. 

Neutral carpeting, fresh paint and a new view of the marsh.

No room should be without one.

I recommend this look to all my clients.

Walls removed, new windows and a reclaimed space becomes a breakfast room with a view to die for.  Chalkboard paint turned the short wall on the left into a family message center and art gallery.                                                                                       

The access to the second bedroom was across this hatch.
 (no kidding)

Reworking doorways and this ingenious removable banister,
 (thank you Jimmy you're awesome!) allows safe passage and makes it possible to move furniture up these little period stairs.

Opening up the main floor, eliminated the dark cramped feel and provided a great view of the canal, pulling the eye through and providing visual space.

View from the new deck

Little House, Happy again. 

You probably can't tell, but we had to mirror the window on the right, first floor.  It now is in the much needed first floor closet. The best part of the project is knowing that it was rented to a young family.  Their first home.

Little House's friends on the street.  Also homes I've had the privilege to worked on.  But that's a story for another day.