THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT
Today I’m excited to introduce you to The House On Victoria Court, my latest renovation project.
As I do for all of my Fixer Uppers, I prepare what I call my “House Book”. It’s my design bible, the place I organize all of my design inspiration, photos of each room for reference purposes, paint and fabric swatches, copies of invoices for everything I purchase for the home, and the to-scale drawing I produce for every room in the house. This book lives with me 24/7 and goes with me everywhere until the project is complete.
Today I want to give you a tour of The House On Victoria Court, BEFORE RENOVATION. This way you can see what it looked like when I purchased the home. So come on in and let me show you around. I really like the front door, a newer addition added recently to this 1930s charmer. It’s sturdy and attractive, made from a reclaimed style wood. It’s a keeper!
The weathered gray finish will fit perfectly into my design plan for the renovation. I also like the black iron hardware and am actually drawing my color scheme cues from this door, making gray the foundation of the palette, with bright white to lighten things up and tans and caramel as accent colors. I think these colors are warm, cozy and perfect for a vintage mountain cabin. What do you think?
As you can see in the photo below, the front door opens into the living room. The unattractive sofa has since been donated to a local charity thrift shop. The cowboy motif pillows are goners as well. But you’ll see the vintage floor lamp in the future, however with a new shade. Now, let me show you the room from several different angles so you can get the full effect.
Across from the couch is a wood burning fireplace. The gray stone will work beautifully into my color scheme.
And the stone chimney on the exterior of The House On Victoria Court is a nice feature as well.
The living room also serves as a dining area. The previous owners placed a small table and chairs in a far corner, which was not convenient to the kitchen. I plan to change all that. And see the larger of the 2 windows in the photo below? I will replace it with a door which will lead to a back deck I’ll be building. Currently there is no rear deck on the cabin, so there is no way to enjoy the outdoors, BBQ or dine alfresco. There is a nice forested view off the back which cannot currently be appreciated without such a deck.
Here’s my design inspiration for the Living Room. I plan to paint the walls gray, leaving the wood-beamed ceiling untouched. The existing hardwood floors will be refinished.
On an opposite wall there were 2 big lounge chairs, comfortable but dated. They occupy the area where there should be a dining table, as this area is adjacent to the kitchen.
I plan to place a builtin bench along the wall under the window, then construct a dining table, turning this into a dining area that will seat 8 people.
Here’s my inspiration photo for the dining area. This will be a big improvement for the space don’t you think?
And here’s what I’ve got going on for the Living & Dining space. Grays and soft taupes with bronze metals. I think it’s going to be very warm and rich.
Next lets take a look at the kitchen. How do you like the use of 2 aprons for a window treatment? This cabin was originally built for summer-use only, so the kitchen walls were made of thin plywood and were not insulted. We will remedy that.
The old vinyl floor has already been sent to the dump and will be replaced by this beautiful, large, 20 1/2″ Grigio Hexagon Tile from Arizona Tile.
I’ve selected White Cabinets for the kitchen, Grecian Honed Marble Mosaic Tile for the countertops, and a Bright White Subway Tile for the Backsplash. I also purchased a large collection of antique pewter from my favorite Lake Arrowhead Design resource, Bella’s, which I’ll use to accessorize the kitchen.
I’ll be retaining the vintage range but the vintage fridge, as much as I like it, needs to go. It has been restored but the freezer is super tiny, only big enough for 2 ice trays, and that’s not practical. So, I’ve purchased a lovely new fridge/freezer for the new kitchen.
Now let’s visit the bathroom. The old wall sink will be replaced with one built into a cabinet to provide some storage. I will likely retain the vintage mirrored medicine cabinet. I’ll be using beautiful brass hardware from Pottery Barn in the remodel.
The fiberglass shower liner will be removed and we will be tiling it in caramel colored subway tile. The “painted” plywood floor will also be replaced with tile. I’m so excited about the plans for this bathroom. It’s going to be stunning.
Here’s my bathroom mood board. What do you think?
One of the 3 bedrooms is on the first floor. I’ll be changing out the bed to a charming old iron one, and have purchased beautiful new bedding. I’ll be painting the walls caramel color, sewing some beautiful curtains, adding a new/old chandelier from Bella’s, and refinishing the existing hardwood floors. Caramel colored faux fur area rugs will complete the warm and cozy space.
Now let me take you upstairs where there are 2 additional bedrooms. I’ll be painting the staircase walls gray, adding a beautiful, soft, stair runner and changing the handrails.
The Beautiful Stair Runner
This spacious bedroom will become the master bedroom, where I’ll be installing a king sized bed. To really lighten up the space I’ll be painting the entire room white, the walls and ceiling. And I’ll be refinishing the original hardwood floors.
I’ll be adding a board & batten feature on what is now a simple plywood wall.
And here’s my inspiration photo for the space.
Finally there’s the 3rd bedroom which I plan to turn into a bunk room. For some reason I love bunk rooms. It must be an unfulfilled childhood fantasy that draws me to them. I’ve never had the chance to do a real bunk room, with builtin bunk beds in any of my previous renovations. But that’s about to change very soon.
This is my inspiration photo for the bunk bed design I plan to incorporate into this room. Isn’t it just dreamy for a kids room?
And this is how I’ll be furnishing the space with cozy faux fur pillows & throws, a shag area rug, heather gray duvet covers and a chrome pendant light hanging from the open rafters.
Well that’s it for my introduction of The House On Victoria Court. Stay tuned for much more, as I’ll soon be sharing the room-by-room renovations. I hope you like what you see. If you know anyone looking to purchase a delightful vintage cabin just in time for summer on Lake Arrowhead, this charmer will be going on the market in a couple of months.
So there you have it: THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT
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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission. This post contains affiliate links which help to make this blog possible. Thanks for your support.
