Tag: …finishing North

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the beginning of closure…

We completed drywall/prime last week.

Frank
Frank’s private room

Frank has settled in. He now has his own private room and is no longer sharing Aunt Irena’s bedroom. We fired him up for the first time yesterday. He and his brother Steve on the other end of the house are getting along real well. Together they are doing an excellent job humming together… keeping both sides of North warm and cozy.

Aunt Irena sharing her bedroom with Frank
Aunt Irena now

Aunt Irena was a mess after she arrived. I believe it was because she could not sleep with Frank snoring in her bedroom. Anyway… Frank is now gone and she seems to have settled in nicely too.

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The most exciting development is now we have two gateways that make the duplex of yesterday into a home today. We gutted the south kitchen above, To the right of the fridge we opened our first 4′ gateway into the north unit. This gateway leads into our kitchen.

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Above is a view from our kitchen into the new south side. This area will host an expansion to our kitchen, a pantry, and a pocket door leading into our laundry room. As you turn right at the end of this hall there is additional utility area that includes an upright freezer, beer/wine fridge, additional cabinetry, and “Henry”.

building Henry’s room

Henry’s room is almost completed. It only needs paint. He will arrive soon. Kip is standing in Henry’s lower level doorway. It is here where Henry will greet our guests and transport them into our tree house above.

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The second 4′ gateway is on the right side of this fireplace, and connects the two 30’x20′ great rooms. This area will host our new primary bedroom and den. The open door on the right will lead into the primary bath, and laundry room. On the left wall is where Bob, our 8′ door wall now lives in the primary bedroom. He replaced the two small windows.

new gateway view from renovation into our great room
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this view is from our great room into the renovation. To the right is our new primary bedroom and den… left is the primary bathroom and Henry.

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As my files grow in size our decisions begin to be less. I am beginning to find closure. I am witnessing the creation of a dream… my dream… looking at what is… seeing what could be.

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Returning to the web…

I believe a “turning point” visited North today. The drywall sanding is close to its end. The dust particles permeate everything.

Above is not a face plate… it is the dust surrounding a face plate after I picked it up from the counter.

Tomorrow the prime begins. I am playing with wall color here…3 different colors…dark colors. Hidden Gem has my interests peaked. Also, the color Mink. Dark tones, if chosen correctly can create a solitude of peace in a space, like nothing other.

Candle magic. It exists in the most challenging situations if you believe…
my candle magic tonight.

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…moving in

It has been busy at North. After Bob’s arrival… family began to appear everywhere.  Aunt Irena 

and her tribe arrived on Wednesday. She setup down stairs in my studio, and her family found themselves settling in, all around the house… twins, quintuplets, even sextuplets.

Following her, Frank found his room right across from Aunt Irena.  

I sure hope they don’t get too cozy.  North is getting a little cramped. 

Our last family member  arrived yesterday… Uncle Peter, he will work with Henry to welcome our guests in our new foyer.  Now, with everyone settled, we had our electrical and ruff inspections, and everyone was very polite.  We passed both.

On to drywall!

Posted on

…finishing North

In January 2024 we had the opportunity to acquire the opposite side of the duplex, that in 2018, we purchased the north side. We decided to combine the units, move to Leelanau, and make North into our primary residence.

In January we began the renovation of the south side. We renovated the north side in 2018. The building was constructed in the late 1960’s. Both sides were built identical. The lower levels were bedrooms/baths. The upper levels… great rooms/kitchens/bathrooms.

Our goal was to make the upper level our living quarters and the lower, our offices/studios/guest quarters.
Double Click on any of these pictures to enlarge.


The two areas circled in red at the bottom of this drawing is where 4′ openings will be constructed, connecting both sides together. If you would like to see the other side after its 2018 renovation…Go to the menu on this site… click Sherry/Forever Space Cowgirl/Fixing North.

ABOVE: original great room dimensions 20’x30’…south wall
BELOW: great room now. Primary bedroom on right/walk-in closet/library

ABOVE: left door, bathroom/right door, hall to stairs and kitchen.
BELOW: left door, to new primary bath…right, walkway to kitchen and stairway to lower level

ABOVE: original kitchen
BELOW: this area will include the primary bath and laundry room

Tuesday, we have the rough plumbing inspection. By the end of the week, the framing should be completed. This side was heated by electric baseboard. We begin the install of a natural gas heating system mid week.

Stay tuned… more fun to come.
03 08 2025