Historic Renovation Part One

For today's post I thought I would share the construction progress on one of our ongoing projects.  This is a project I have been involved with for well over one year.  The planning process has been enormous as the entire interior needed to be rearranged, gutted and rebuilt.  My clients purchased this lovely historic home in downtown Charlottetown to turn into their dream business.  "A 5 star luxury boutique style Bed and Breakfast".

Here a picture of the house taken just after the purchase.  This is the view from West St.  The house is located at the corner of West and Grafton.  The actual street address 1 Grafton St.   And once open the inn will be appropriately named "Number One Grafton". 

A little background on the property.

1 Grafton Street, or Caroma Lodge and the Cottage, as it was once known, is a wood framed home that shows influences of the Queen Anne Revival style. It sits on the corner of Grafton and West Streets. The home was designed by renowned Island architect, William Critchlow Harris for the prominent businessman, Frank Richard Heartz.  It was built between 1894 and 1895.  It is a very large home and this renovation is all encompassing.  No surface is being untouched.

Another angle of the house.  The actual construction phase began in September with the outside landscaping and exterior work.  While that work got underway the interior renovations began.  The interior was divided into 3 apartments sometime over the past 50 years.  All of these are now gone, ripped out and in their place will be 5 beautifully appointed guest suites.  The third story which was once an empty storage space is being turned into the innkeepers suite. 

Lets look at some progress pictures of the kitchen.  The kitchen, main floor powder room and the laundry areas are almost complete except for little odds and ends and the lighting. The rest of the home is in various stages of construction...

View 1 Before - The original kitchen eating area with the tiny little kitchen work area to the right through the doorway.

View 2 During -  Here the kitchen installer is busy putting everything together.

  

View 3 After - The kitchen is looking absolutely fantastic with the space now totally opened up and rearranged to be more functional and a whole lot prettier.  Shaker style cabinets painted a pretty shade of yellow, dark countertops, butcher block island, stainless steel appliances, brushed nickel hardware, simple white subway tiles and new hardwood floors give this room a high end traditional feel.

View 4 Before - Looking from the other direction into the tiny preparation space.

View 5 After - Amazing!  The 12" deep shelving is perfect display storage for lovely glass containers which will eventually hold cooking ingredients.  My guess is alot of cooking will be going on in here.

View 6 Before - A close up of the teeny tiny outdated prep area.

View 7 After -  Clean, modern, totally functional.  I love the apron front sink.

View 8 Before - Looking from the opposite direction

View 9 After - Showing the same end wall and another great storage cabinet.

View 10 Before - The end wall as it was...

View 11 After - This is the view as you enter the kitchen from the hallway of the main living areas.

Soon a pair of these beautiful pendant lights will be hanging over the island.   Our seamstress is busy working on roman shades for the windows.  Dressing all the windows in this house is a project in itself and no small feat.  All of the fabrics and treatments have been chosen and approved.  It's just a matter of time now... 

I will post more on this fantastic project in the next few posts.  There are so many rooms that are undergoing dramatic changes with the addition of all new layouts, washrooms, plumbing,electrical.  The house should be complete in the next couple of months and open for business in May.  I'm itching to get at the decorating :)

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Susan