From front door to dormer, porch to peak, this Bellingham remodel was truly a whole-house renovation.
After purchasing this log cabin near the water in South Bellingham in Whatcom County, the new owners wanted to make a few updates in style and functionality. Out went the floor-to ceiling wood (most of it, anyway), and in came a few improvements to the overall flow and feel of the home.
The full list of what was done to transform this home from chalet to chic is extensive, but some highlights should suffice to share the extent of the project:
- A dormer was added to the second-level master bedroom, creating additional space for a master bathroom. The kitchen was completely remodeled, and the laundry facilities and water heater were relocated to make room for a larger kitchen and mudroom entrance.
- In the living room, windows were added to the gable wall, creating what essentially is a full wall of windows, letting in an enormous amount of natural light and creating astounding views of the home’s natural setting.
- The guest bathroom also was remodeled from floor to ceiling. Finally, to help tone down the log cabin vibe, sheetrock was added to several walls and some of the ceilings throughout the house. This created an additional benefit by adding rigid foam insulation to the log walls to improve the interior climate.
Now, for a few details:
The kitchen and laundry were completely redone from scratch. That meant removing the cabinets, appliances, door, windows, flooring and everything else. Hudson’s crews removed an interior wall to create a welcoming mudroom, reframed the wall between the kitchen and living room, moved the bar counter from one side to the other, and added a sink in the new bar counter. Hudson’s carpentry experts also reconfigured the placement of the doors and windows, added operable skylights, and moved the oven and refrigerator.
The exterior walls received a treatment of sheetrock with a backsplash made of textured white subway tiles. To replace the vinyl laminate flooring, we extended the existing fir from the living room throughout the kitchen. The new mudroom received tile flooring. Some of the original log wall remained exposed in the mudroom area to show the roots of the structure. Gorgeous new pendant lights grace the new bar counter, and low-profile LED lights were added to the vaulted ceiling. The overall effect of the kitchen remodel is a much brighter, lighter and inviting space.
The primary new feature of the living room is the huge gable wall full of windows. Large picture windows fill the vaulted room with light and bring the pastoral views inside.
Hudson’s craftsman also re-finished the existing wood treads and added a gorgeous steel cable railing to the staircase that leads to the second level. We removed and replaced the corner fireplace area with a modern wood stove and added a custom mantel made from a log from one of the removed walls.
The master bedroom got a huge boost as well, as a new dormer was installed to create additional space to add a master bathroom. With the dormer in place, Hudson crew members installed new dark-walnut cabinetry and a sink, shower and toilet, among other bathroom accoutrements.
The new walk-in shower was tiled floor to ceiling with a fun mix of white subway times and blue-gray hexagonal tiles, and the bathroom floor received small white hexagonal tiles to complete the look. In the bathroom, several small windows look out over the yard, and one triangular portal offers a view down into the grand living room and the windowed gable wall beyond.
Hudson crews gutted the guest bathroom, removing all plumbing and light fixtures, cabinets, sheetrock, and the tub and shower. A new tub and tile shower surround went in, along with new cabinets, sink and faucet.
In the shower, Hudson’s tile experts installed three bands of tiles: blue squares at the top, light blue glass tile squares in the middle, and white tiles at the top to mimic the idea of water falling from above and creating a mist.
The two guest bedrooms also received upgrades. New windows went in, insulation was added and sheetrock was placed on the walls to tone down the wood finishes that had been rampant throughout the house. Hudson Remodeling’s design/build expertise was invaluable for this Bellingham home remodeling project, as the scope of the work resulted in numerous changes to the renovation plan.
The homeowners were able to see 3D CAD renderings of any changes, as needed, to help them make decisions on the look and feel of the home they wanted.
View a gallery of more photos from this project.