Modern House Dallas

Master bath nip and tuck

   

The top photo shows the master bedroom as it appeared on our pre-purchase walk-through.  The bottom photo shows it as it appears today. 

The stubby wall has been removed as have the closets on the far wall.  The new walls and openings are framed out.  To the right of the door opening will be walk-in closet, to the left will be master bath. 

Here are some more images of the slightly funky and very dated original bath/dressing/closet arrangement:

On the back side of the short wall was a very dated grooming/make-up area.  (View from inside the master bath looking out).

The original master bath itself was TINY!!! 
Rather than replace the tile, someone painted it white...

The new layout should give us much more practical, usable space.  No granny vanities or painted tile either...

The Plan

So what's the plan you ask?

Well, I can't say that we're restoring, but we are renovating with respect for the original design.  We're basically updating/upgrading finishes, fixtures and mechanical systems, and doing a tiny bit of reconfiguring spaces.  The original floor plan is excellent and will stand the test of time--we are just tweaking the bathroom and utility room layouts and boosting the quality of the fixtures and finishes.   Of course we are  undoing some of the "country-fication" that had occurred and upgrading systems with an eye toward health and efficiency.

Here's a quick  outline:

• New flooring throughout
  • Solid walnut (low-VOC finish) everywhere except baths and utility room
  • Porcelain tile in baths and utility
• New windows
  • Custom clear anodized aluminum windows with double pane glass in thermal breaks in frames.
  • These are being done by Thermal Windows.  They have done many if not most of the new modern homes in Dallas.  If you went on the recent AIA Home Tour you saw their work.
• Upgrade electrical system
  • New panel (moved)
  • Rewire as necessary, move a few outlets, switches, etc.
  • Add CAT5 networking cabling
• New lighting plan with upgraded fixtures. 
  
  • We have a friend at Solavanti Lighting and will probably be sourcing most of our fixtures from them.
• Replace water heater with tankless and move to attic
• Replace HVAC with more efficient units and move to attic
  • Remove old uninsulated ductwork in crawlspace and replace with insulated flexduct in attic
• Remove dropped ceiling in entry and hall
• Reconfigure utility "core" combining utility room, pantry and coat closet into single space (water heater and HVAC move out of these spaces to attic)
• Reconfigure baths and adjacent closets
  • Gut renovation for these areas with new layout, fixtures, finishes
• New kitchen
  • Sounds nutty, but we are installing a temporary kitchen until we can give this room the attention it deserves!
• Paint and trim
  • Getting rid of anything chintzy and going back to the modern.  Haven't even thought about paint other than thinking that we need to find a good quality low or no VOC product...

Progress?

(Standing in the master bath, looking towards the closet)

A post on our progress is long overdue. 
Let me see if I can summarize...

• We bought the house
• We spent a couple of months figuring out what we wanted to do in terms of renovation.  This was the hardest and most time consuming part, as we never seemed to have more than a couple hours a week to even talk about ideas. 
• Somehow we hatched a plan (more on that later). 
• Dear Wife (DW), an architect and now General Contractor, set about drawing everything up in AutoCad, interviewing contractors, and sourcing materials.
• DW found a demo guy to come and tear things up (in a good way).  This guy is a character.  Not only is he exceedingly proud of his bobcat, but he drives a dump truck.  Always.  He has no other car!  The man is dedicated.
  
• DW has assembled a dream team of subs and we are beginning to get this jewel polished.

Now I need to find the time and discipline to post!