hgtv – Bethany Nolan

The Dollhouse: Kitchen Before and After

This reveal may just be my favorite one to share with you! When determining what I wanted my kitchen to be like… the main priority was entertaining friends and family. I wanted to be able to see from the kitchen to my living room and enjoy all guests, or ya know just watch TV while I’m cooking. It’s the little things, y’all.

The previous layout of the kitchen when I bought The Dollhouse made it feel so closed off from the rest of the home. There was a wall between the kitchen and dining room that I knew had to go! Once the wall was gone, it made a WORLD of difference for the flow of the living room to dining to the kitchen. I love, love that I can see straight through the house and when I do entertain, I can see all my guests in each room.

The kitchen also had a couple of unique items that older homes tend to have like a washer and dryer in the kitchen and a built in ironing board. There was a lot of creativity that had to be used when designing the new kitchen layout to help fit in all of my needs and wants, while moving items like a washer and dryer to the master room.

If there’s one thing I’m most proud of… it’s the BOLD GREEN I chose for my cabinets. That is one choice that I never thought twice about. Seriously, no regrets! I wanted the cabinets to feel funky and retro and just POP when you walked in with a flooring that really hit the vibe of my 1930s style home. While I have beautiful hardwoods throughout my home, the kitchen had a different type and size of wood that would have never looked right against the rest of the flooring, so I searched hard for the perfect vinyl tile that would compliment the kitchen cabinets.

“Happiness is a small house, with a big kitchen.”
Alfred Hitchcock

THE KITCHEN

I mean case and point for what breaking down a wall can do! It went from being closed and not knowing what was going on in the kitchen to airy, open and happy. I wanted a big, open and level countertop to place lots of foot on for parties and to be able to cook and chat with friends or family. All my life, I’ve always sat and chatted with my mom in our home kitchen while she cooks and it’s where we’ve always gathered as a family – I wanted that, too!

It’s all about that line of sight! I know I didn’t want a vent hood getting in my way, so I really splurged on getting a downdraft oven so that nothing would mess with the open feel of the home. Designing this cabinet layout was TOUGH. I really, really wanted a downdraft oven and microwave drawer, but also wouldn’t budge on a hidden trash compartment and cookie sheet corner. I love to bake and cook, so I designed the kitchen with that in mind and the flow of how I cook!

From the previous layout, I really tried to mirror where the sink plumbing already was. Where I could cut costs from moving lines or wires, I did. If you didn’t know by now, I’m a big lover of all things WINE! One non-negotiable for this kitchen was a wine fridge. I had a couple of cabinetry people tell me I just simply didn’t have enough room, but it’s custom cabinetry y’all… we MAKE ROOM! I’m so happy with all the space in these cabinets and saved the very tip top cabinets for entertaining dishes like charcuterie boards and bowls.

Seeing as I didn’t think I would get much use out of a washer and dryer in my kitchen, I moved a stackable unit into my master closet which is right behind this wall. It took some rearranging, but makes so much more sense! I moved my fridge to this corner pocket and made room for a big fridge that I can hold beverage and long platters in. This wall felt so empty and I couldn’t even start to think of how to decorate such a large space and then BAM a cookbook display came to mind! I love reading through cookbooks and having them displayed and right at my fingertips instead of hidden in a cabinet motivates me more to read through them. Such a fun but useful way to take over a large wall space in a kitchen.

This is probably these greatest use of space YET! While my family and I were looking at this built in ironing board trying to decide what to change it to, my older sister Ilissa had the brilliant idea to turn it into a spice cabinet! I mean… GENIUS! Now I don’t have spices taking over my tiny pantry and I have easy access when cooking. When my carpenter was measuring, though, I brought over all of my favorite spices and sprays to ensure that everything would fit.

Although my pantry is in a back hallway, I still wanted it to match and flow along with the kitchen for access and convenience. We had toyed with keeping the original one and just adding new cabinet faces, but my Dad accidentially tore it down when demoing… so it’s all fresh and new like everything else!

A COUPLE MORE PRETTIES…

The vibrancy and pop of this bold green makes me so happy every time I’m in my kitchen. I made this kitchen work for and function for ME! I truly think everyone should have a bold color on their cabinets and some funky flooring to add a finishing touch! I did try to simplify all other items like my white quartz countertops and subway tile backsplash. It’s fun, funky and colorful. Now I’m going to read through some of my favorite cookbooks and get to cooking some dinner!

Thanks for visiting my Dollhouse!

The Dollhouse: Living Room Before and After

One year later and here we are! Last September, I closed on my perfect little Dollhouse and now get to share the practically finished result with you! It’s been a labor of love for not only me, but my family and many friends that listened to me obsess over paint colors, decor and light fixtures. I’m so excited to open my door to you and show you room by room how The Dollhouse has little pieces of my personality layered throughout.

My biggest goal when starting the demo and renovations on my home was that it be an entertainers home and flow for parties and events. Now COVID put a damper on me hosting events anytime soon, but The Dollhouse sure is ready for one! Since this is a smaller home (~1,500 SF), it was crucial that my living room, dining room and kitchen all flowed comfortably and felt open enough without taking away from the original charm of the home.

Documenting the complete gut and renovation of my first home has been so important simply for the memories to one day look back on, but I’ve also so appreciated everyone that has followed along from beginning to end! The door is open and I hope you enjoy…

THE LIVING ROOM

Rug // Coffee Table // Couch // Lamp // Crown Light Fixtures // Pouf // Gallery Wall Frames

For the most part, I really did try to keep the character and charm of this home in mind during the process. I chose tall baseboards, worked with the original mantle and simply refinished the original hardwoods. My assumption is that the previous owners attempted to strip the original wall coverings from what you can see in the images, but once we got behind it (many people thought it was shiplap… it certainly wasn’t and was truly wood holding up the structure of the home) we got it quickly insulated and all the good stuff like drywall and paint followed suite.

I was most excited for the fact that I was able to keep the original mantle and front door. I needed the mantle to pop, but didn’t want it to contract too much with the rest of the colors so black felt like the best bet and I’m a big fan! Having a mantle that I can decorate was also huge for me. I love florals and seasonal decor, so I’m excited to change this out through the seasons.

Hands down, the best part of The Dollhouse is the natural light. There’s a window at just about every corner in this home (there’s 12+, y’all!!), but it helps bring a beautiful light into the home. Next, I’m focusing on window dressings and I cannot wait to share it with you all.

Keeping the furniture to a minimum but with ample room for flow and entertaining was obviously top priority. My living room flows directly into the front guest bedroom and the dining room. I love that this home gives space for a sectional but that I can see through to the other rooms and the dining/kitchen area.

Sitting and watching TV every evening above this mantle is always my favorite. Minus the funky and retro tile, the floor bricks, mantle and blocks in the fireplace are all original. It was a simple paint job for those and finding a tile that felt retro, but wasn’t too simple and not too busy was actually quite a challenge. Very thankful for the crew at Paint Etc. that helped me with all my tile and paint colors because those were some of my hardest decisions. I also had my sweet friend Designs by Dylan create this beautiful floral piece for my mantle and it truly changed the space!

A COUPLE MORE PRETTIES…

The Dollhouse is now bright, inviting and full of personality! Yes, I know a velvet pink couch is a little much but doesn’t it just make sense! It’s functional, though. I made sure that if I was going to buy this couch that it needed to pull out into a bed (that’s my form of function!!). It was so fun decorating my living room and finding the right pieces that matched and complimented the home without being overwhelming or too busy in the home. I’ve always heard that you should have one statement piece per room, and I’ve tried to stick to that principle.

I hope you enjoy and love The Dollhouse’s living room as much as I do! I am excited to bring you more room updates throughout the next few weeks. Thanks for letting me share my Dollhouse with you!

The Dollhouse is Looking… Livable!

Livable. The Dollhouse is looking like it is L I V A B L E! This is big because for a minute there it looked like the interior would never come to this point. The floors are pretty and stained, cabinetry painted and countertops are installed. We are getting there and I have a countdown for move in day… but we all know that number changes on the daily.

Since the last time I updated you, we were just getting ready for cabinetry and a lot has happened since then. Here’s a breakdown of the big happenings in The Dollhouse and some ups and downs that came along with it.

CABINETRY

To say I love my cabinetry is an understatement! I designed to fit everything I wanted in it from my wine fridge to a hidden trash compartment. I did the installation solo – my amazing mom and dad have come to a lot of installations with me because they’ve done this a time or two and I value their opinion more than anything else! Everything was installed perfectly, but there are some notes/tips I have for first time cabinetry peeps:

It won’t all align perfectly. The cabinetry people install doors and drawers but will come back after it is all painted to make sure they’re even and balanced. They know that with painters the doors and drawers will be taken off and put back on so they come back to make sure it looks perfect. I did not know such a thing and was like what is this!!!! With a quick call to my parents they informed me this is very normal, but for most people doing this the first time it’s not so obvious. The more ya know!
Think about your crown molding. You may want the crown molding to line through the top cabinetry to have a flow throughout the room. This isn’t a huge ordeal, but something to think about and keep in mind.

It’s funny that I thought designing the cabinetry was the hard stuff because picking a paint color was even harder! From the beginning I have been dead set on painting my cabinetry green. Not Nolan Green (those that know my family know this is a thing – my parents have everything a particular green at the ranch), but a very jewel-toned, Wizard of Oz Emerald Green.

How did I choose? We did a couple of dry samples of papers and held them up against the cabinetry to help me really visualize the colors. This came with some picking and choosing but I went with Sherwin Williams Ivy League paint color and it DELIVERED!

Once the color was picked, it took two full coats and some extra time to dry, but the end result was WORTH IT! Going with a bold cabinetry color was always the game plan for me and the green choice was something that I didn’t second guess for over two months (which seemed good enough for all the other back and forth decisions I’ve made). I’m so happy this was the color I went with and just see how bold it looks!

COUNTERTOPS

Initially, I thought this would be a much simpler option than it was. After gathering bids and comparing quartz versus granite, my choices kept getting slimmer and slimmer with the budget I needed to stick around. I really had to sit and take into account that my vibrant green cabinets and future black and white floor tiles didn’t need a crazy countertop to compete with. I wanted simple and clean, but that’s not necessarily what comes to mind with granite so after lots of looking and online searching, I decided that quartz was my answer.

With some major search by Tim Fielden at Simply Floors and Lights in Gilmer (shop local, y’all!), we found the PERFECT plain, beautiful and simple white quartz countertop called Zen White. I really thought I wanted the calcutta quartz countertops or even the gray granite, but there was just too much movement going on in the countertops to give attention to all the other features I was adding in my kitchen.

REFINISHING ORIGINAL HARDWOOD FLOORS

This was the TOUGHEST OF THEM ALL!! I am so lucky to have original hardwood floors in the majority of my home and knew from the get go that these would need to be refinished. This is basically one of the last big steps in the remodel process. The original flooring had a very multi-colored effect and you could see in other rooms where previous owners have tried to stain on top of previous stains. It was time for these floors to have a fresh start!

This all started with sanding the floors down which took about two days, picking a stain and being kicked out from peaking at those beautiful floors so they could finish for 3 days. The most challenging part of refinishing these floors for me was the stain color. I looked at an online deck and my refinishing guy put down samples to choose from. I looked at the floor stain options at night and in the daytime to see it differently with lighting.

While the pictures don’t quite do the floor the justice they deserve, I ended up choosing Walnut (middle option on bottom row). Funny enough, that’s the color I originally chose from the stain deck before event seeing it on the floor – stick with you gut kiddos!

While a lot of people will recommend to not go darker, with everything going on in my home from the green cabinets to the potential decor, there has to be dimension to break it up with the flooring.

I patiently waited over the weekend and didn’t even PEAK through windows to see the flooring. I’m so please with how they turned out, especially against my cabinetry. I wanted a very warm vibe and it’s just that!

I really want to say thank you to everyone that has been so invested in the remodel of my little Dollhouse! I feel like people get just as excited about the littlest updates as I do and that really means the world. There’s so much more to come with finishing up my light fixtures, tile installation and closet completions. Thanks for following along!