Dinner Is Served! The Kitchen Finished.

The kitchen was the room that required the most work. The ceiling had a leak from the bath tub above that had been left unattended for years. Prior to starting the restoration the gas line was installed and the plumbing and wiring redone.
What a feeling to be able to prepare a meal not from a microwave or eating on the fly.  A long wait, but well worth it. First, I had to go before the board and get approval to run a gas line, once my plans were solidified and settled on the final design I presented this to the board and waited for their response. I found out that only two of the cooperatives have the ability to run gas. After the first two were built they made a decision to run gas in the last two, luckily I live in one that has gas.
I decided to keep the kitchen stream line and simple. 
Prior to the remodel:

condition prior to remodel

post remodel

Nicotine patina...yuk. Like the other rooms just cleaning the walls was a huge chore.  
 

 
 

The pull down cook top that many of the units still use. Here in LP there like gold, I had intended to someday restore mine..maybe.. or not.
I had a table made to the same dimensions and restored the legs. 

Once the cook top was removed, I tried to preserve the table but ended up having it remade and I restored the legs. Alan Kaniarz made the top, he teaches at CCS, Wayne State and works out of Russel Industrial center. A fine woodworker and furniture maker.
The kitchen had a 24" built in oven for cooking any thing else was prepared on the cook top. The cabinets were aluminum, a small counter and double sink. Not a whole lot of counter space, but workable. I selected a single rectangular shape stainless sink.
Plans for the remodel: I decided on an IKEA kitchen, I used it in my last house and the quality was fine. With the one wall it doesn't leave a lot of space for storage. I still have to have my metro rack downstairs for large pots and other kitchen stuff. l did install a rod to in the kitchen to hang sauce pans.
The appliances were all studio apartment size. I went with a Bosch 18" dishwasher, a Bertazzoni 24" gas convection stove. A 28"x 75" Summit refrigerator . All very serviceable especially the stove.

 the installation begins...

Stephen Lee a friend and coworker did the installation, wiring, tile work and plumbing. Hes a perfectionist and does just about anything!

Steve hard at it!

Finished kitchen: It tool a little getting use to working in a smaller kitchen, but now I'm very with the space. Most important to me was to have a gas stove. I have a little table to eat breakfast sip coffee so the space works for me.
 I decided on glass tile for the back splash to visually open the space. IKEA faucet and stainless sink. The counter tops are concrete. Derek Peters Russel Industrial Center.

Because of the space I installed a rod to hang my sauce pans. I store all my large Le Creuset pots and additional things on a bakers rack downstairs.  Eventually, I will have a pantry built in the front hall closet and use for extra storage.

 All appliances were ordered from Speciality Showroom in Berkley on 11 mile.
18" Bosch dishwasher, very serviceable. 

Summit Refrigerator 28" x 75" 13.81 cu. ft bottom freezer in Stainless steel.

Bertazonni 24" convection stove. One of the best I have ever cooked with!

The Study, Now I must work.......

The study is one of the rooms I spend a lot of time in working on my computer, sipping coffee and looking out the window. It has the best view of any of the rooms. I have a beautiful tree right out my window that attracts many birds, the park is full of trees there are many bird watchers here in LP.
The study was pretty typical of all the other rooms in the restoration process, floor, windows re-caulked, plaster and paint. So I won't show the work in progress, here are the finished images.

Hall leading into study

floor to ceiling glass

New ways to display art. A little painting I had done of a doll. I have a lot of my doll work in this room, shadow boxes and paintings. The table lamp was done by Andy Kem who also lives in LP, I also work with Andy. He's a very talented fine woodworker and sculptor.

This is a piece I had bought from Review Gallery, the piece was a collaboration between Andy Kem and Dennis Hayes.

detail

the shadow boxes hung on the wall

on old library table for my computer, I'll have to find a comfortable chair one day

I could spend hours just looking out into the park.














I did not take this photo I believe Michele Unverzagt tool it. I do remember that day though.
Looking south out the study you can see the 1300 building.
Having all the glass on the two sides of the townhouse lends itself to many fantastic views.

                                                                               

The Guest Room is ready for visitors.

The guest room was the first room I had finished, the only room that was livable for a long time.  Working on the house I decided last January to just stay here rather then go back and forth between houses.
The room had many problems, the windows leaked. The ceiling had signs of water damage and cracks which needed to be repaired and re-plastered.  The floor had to be ground and leveled. The original floor had two layers of linoleum tiles. The top layer was 9 x 9 asbestos pink tiles, under that layer of tiles was a rolled linoleum floor. I removed it, but had to grind the floor as I couldn't remove the mastic.
Before pics:

The ceiling and walls needed re-plastering,  when I removed the 2" black rubber base molding I had to also re-plaster.

After the floor was ground, leveled with cement the new tile was installed. Like the rest of the house black linoleum was the choice. The quest room was the only room in the house that didn't have black tile. I'm guessing it was due to the water leaks.
This rooms view is of the back of the townhouse, the back of the townhouse faces west. Lot's of bushes and trees line the street. When the sunlight comes in it's very spiritual.
I kept the room simple and hopefully comfortable for my guest. I purchased one piece a small Drexel hairpin dresser. The room is relatively small but comfortable.
The upstairs has two rooms adjacent to each other, the other faces the front of the house. 
 

The Living Room Furniture has Arrived! (Thanks to brother Frank)

 

Video of completed Living Room....

 After a year I'm completely moved in having finally sold my other home. All the rooms are pretty much set with minor touches here and there. It was a chore getting rid of so much furniture that I had collected through the years, just this side of seeing me on the next hoarders episode.
My previous home was more of an Art and Crafts bungalow, much of my furniture was heavy and large! The living room needed plaster work, painting, replacing and floating a new floor. The windows all leaked and had to be re-caulked. Here's what the living room looked like before the work began.

Brother Frank comes to help clean the walls and prime.... not a quick job. I believe the former owner smoke non stop for 53 years,,,,,,

nice patina white walls..

After the work was finished I needed to select the pieces I would keep or have to purchase for the space. My dear friend Donn sold me his Eames lounge chair and ottoman. I had a large credenza and one other chair and the small Herman miller side table I decided to keep.
The first piece of furniture I bought was a two seat er Steel Case couch from Rust Belt Market in Ferndale. A dealer had some mid century pieces, I got the piece for a steal but it needed to be reupholstered.  Before and After :

 The original fabric was a classic 50's woven wool.

My brother John suggested I have the piece tufted, it is stunning.
Johnny had introduced me to a friend of his in Chicago,  Mark Roe a dealer who along with John Gilligan own:
The Furniture Shop:
4259 S. Western Blvd.
Chicago, IL
773-376-2525 
Mark had reupholstered both of my couches. I had purchased a three seat-er Steel Case couch from Mark that was based off the Florence Knoll couch. He also carries many selections for upholstery, I selected Florence Knoll velvet for the three seat-er and a Crypton (Chinchilla color) for the two sea-er.

 

 When I first saw it I knew it was the one. I thought it was the Florence Knoll couch but was happy to find it was the Steel Case to match the two seat-er.
Mark had 5 yards of Florence Knoll velvet that he gave me a deal on, I  had to buy 9 yards. The finished piece tufted and the cushions are fixed. It's like a brand new couch, very solid the quality of work is beyond.

I also purchased a Stow Davis small credenza for my T.V. from Mark.
Another piece I purchased was from Parks Antiques on Mack in Detroit. It's my favorite Detroit antique house and the guys are terrific. I bought a Knoll table and am using it for a side table next to the large couch. Also, the floor lamp next to my couch. Mark had sent a a smaller Knoll table with a white marble top and chrome base. The marble was very white, not enough grey. My next trip to Chicago I picked up a Knoll table with a brushed base and white marble with lot's of grey in it.
Another thing that Frank did while he was here was to remove more of my clutter.....  He played with the space and arranged some of my art on my larger credenza. I have a lot of 50's ceramics and little treasures.

 Grace Bergey was a 50's Detroit Arts and Crafts ceramicist, I'm fortunate to  have a number of her pieces. The plaque is the 75th anniversary piece done for Orchestral Hall.

Here's the rest of the room with the final seating arrangement. We played with several ideas, it was harder then I thought it would be allowing some pieces to float.  The space works for me and I find it very comfortable. Just a few pieces of art and the table that will be coming and the living room will be complete.

At the bottom of the stairs sits the credenza with T.V. The corner chair was my grandmothers. I will eventually reupholster in the same black leather.

In this house I've had platforms made for my sculptures.  Alan Kaniarz who has a studio in Russel Industrial center made two of them for me along with the kitchen table.  I like the idea of keeping them on the floor and displaying art that way. Here's an example of how I placed two pieces I had done in the living room. This platform sits between the kitchen and living room.