Today is demo day for our new property, which I’ve lovingly named project Cozy Gables (#thecozygables on insta), so I wanted to share a few before pics to show you what we’re working with —
Now, before you gasp in horror (lol) and I go through some specific plans for the space, I want to just quickly say how confident we are in the potential of this property!! It’s spacious, has a good existing layout, a ton of light, and is a detached two storey with a big yard and 2 car garage off a back laneway (aka a unicorn in our neighbourhood in Toronto).
Take a look and would genuinely love your thoughts/questions on what we have planned for the Cozy Gables + anything specific you’d like to see covered off on the blog in the coming months related to renos, xx!
Despite the shag carpet + hideous flooring, I actually love the entrance. We will be ripping out the flooring and replacing with a beautiful tile (stay tuned eeepp), as well as a complimentary design for the stairs. We will be bumping that wall you see right in front back a bit (it is the front closet but has a lot of wasted space on the far side), so that the stairway feels more open and can have a railing. Lastly, we will be adding a powder room with a door off this hallway (one of our few layout changes).
This is the main living room which doesn’t need too much work. New floors throughout (I have them picked but won’t share quite yet), fresh paint and restoring the wood burning fireplace which is actually in pretty good condition (love that feature). Keeping the arch on the doorway and the HUGE window left of the fireplace that we are updating and will continue to be an amazing light source. The dining room is off to the right of the fireplace and also has a massive window which we are turning into a walk out.
So on the bright side, the kitchen is huge and has lots of light but is hideous lol. Seriously I think it has 4 different wallpapers/backsplashes, the same fugly tile as the entrance and the cabinets look like they belong in a medieval torture chamber. Needless to say, this room is a true gut. We’re also getting rid of that peninsula and knocking down the wall you see to the left of the window in the second photo so it’s going to be open to the dining room and very spacious. Thoughts right now include a simple backsplash, mix of upper cabinets + open shelving, an island (tbd), coffee bar and some COLOUR 😉
Once again, a full gut for the master bath lol. We’ll be knocking out that strange and bulky storage unit left of the sink, adding a double vanity, MUCH larger mirror, all new hardware, new lighting, tiles and fully new shower. Also thinking of slightly reconfiguring for more space so that the back of the toilet would be centered below the window and we’ll open up where those drawers are to house the toilet paper roll and trash bin.
So the bedrooms are actually in decent condition, but we’re carrying up all new flooring throughout, using all of the fresh paint, and knocking out any weird creative add ons (eye roll… see weird shelves in a nook in bedroom 3). Of course changing all the light fixtures lol, and we’ll be modernizing the storage under the gables in the master. Also worth noting we’re adding a laundry room upstairs so that if we sell right away (see this post for thoughts on that) and the owners decide to rent out the basement, they wouldn’t have to share the laundry room down there with a tenant.
The basement is being fully gutted as well (all wood panelling lol and an ever scarier bathroom), and we’ll be making the huge laundry room gorgeous by drywalling off the furnace area and some nice tile, new storage/folding area, shelving and new sink. Also, no shots yet of the backyard but we’ll definitely be doing some landscaping there!!
That’s it for now, but sooo much to come!!!
