If you guys have been following my blog for a while, you know that we bought a 1970’s 1400 square foot ranch on five acres last June. We love our location and our property, but the home needed a lot of updating and more space.
So last fall, we began adding on to our ranch to create more space for our family of six.
We wrapped the addition in hardy board siding, and this is what it looks like now…
Please remember that the exterior of our home will take several years to get it to look like we want it to.
This Spring, we will be painting the entire exterior of our home an off white color.
Eventually, we will be adding a front porch and a two-car garage to the left of the house, both with gabled roofs to match the addition.
Now back to the inside of our home.
This is what our den has looked like for a couple months…
The place where you see the stairs is where a small bedroom used to be, but now it is the entrance to the upstairs and the master bedroom downstairs.
Now that the weather is warmer, and we don’t have to worry about the non-heated addition space, we decided to go ahead and tear that wall down.
So Cy went at it with a hammer this week, and I LOVE how it really opened up the space!
Now you can see our staircase right when you walk through our front door!
I know it looks hideous right now ladies, but it’s gonna be fabulous when we are finished!
Can you picture gorgeous wood stairs with me?
The two doors in the picture below will be removed and patched up with drywall, so we will just have solid walls there.
We are also going to frame out the new opening in the wall with some beautiful thick molding. It will add a lot of architectural detail.
Here’s what it looks like if you are standing behind the stairs. (Ignore my hideous closet, please.) 
Our den will get an entire new look as well, including the fireplace. Yay!
So, here is the difference tearing down the wall made…
I am thrilled with the results!
Have you ever torn down a wall to create a more open feel?
Do you have a wall you would like to tear down?
It looks great taken down! So much more open . I bet you are so excited to finish :) We tore down our kitchen /dining room wall and it’s amazing what taking down walls will do for a space. Looking forward to seeing the end result. Have a great weekend :)
Traci,
I have thought about tearing the wall out between my living room and den and making a great room. I think we would still have to leave the small coat closet in the hall (for weight bearing) so both rooms would still have openings around it. Also, I worry about filling the new big room because my fireplace and bookcases are still gonna be on one end, so I probably would put a big sectional in the middle of the room so, what would I put in the original living room? Do you understand what I”m talking about? Thanks! Aunt Pat
I was thinking man that would look awesome with painted brick! Great minds think alike. Your home has such potential and I can’t wait to see it transform. Your a lucky girl! We are still looking for something just like that here in our area…keeping my fingers crossed. Until then I’ll be living vicariously through you! HA!
Hi Traci,
wow, how exciting for you and your family. That is amazing how open that is now. It’s gonna be wonderful when you get it done. That is such a rewarding feeling when you get there. Can’t wait to see what yall
do with the fireplace.
Thanks for sharing and Happy St. patrick’s day tomorrow,
blessings, nellie
Traci it must be so exciting to see your plans come to fruition! How wonderful. It’s going to be fabulous!!
Wow…what a difference! It looks amazing and I can totally picture your competed space. :O) May I ask how hard it is/how do you insert new hardwood in once spot in the middle of the floor? We have a few that are really scratched from the previous owner & I would love to either polish them out, or replace them,,,,,
How exciting! Losing that wall really opened up the space. Can’t wait to see more updates on the addition!
Oooh…big difference! LOVE it! Love watching your progress!
That makes a HUGE difference! Looks beautiful and I am enjoying all the changes…especially the kitchen!
Wow! What a difference! Looks great!
i love seeing transformations like this! thanks for sharing!
So much better! We took down a wall in our kitchen and it is like we live in a whole new house. So worth the effort.
We have two small walls dividing the dining room from a formal living room. It makes it difficult to fit anything in the dining room. I would like to tear them down and have it be one larger space. I’d really like a buffet and large “butler’s” sideboard piece in there. I just have to convince my husband to do it :)
WOW. What a difference removing the wall makes!! You and your hubby really have vision for how things can be! Your house is becoming a true reflection of the beautiful home you make wherever you live! I love seeing your reno unfold!
Hi Traci,
I’ve been following your adventure with your new home and it’s already looking great! You and your family are such an inspiration…I love checking each day to see what’s new!
{Can’t wait to see your sister’s laundry room too!}
Oh it is going to be fabulous. You two have such vision, it just amazes me. Hugs, marty
Every time I leave a comment and see the pic of your mom it give me such a warm smile. I so remember when she started her blog and I was one of her first followers and she was so pleased. Sweet memories and your mom was so gracious with her thanks. Hugs, Marty
“Mrs. Hutcheson, tear down this wall!”
Okay, just a little allusion to Ronald Reagan for fun.
Seriously, I think you’re brilliant to tear down the wall! You knew that this house was going to give you lots of cool DIY blog fodder, didn’t you? Y’all are doing a great job, and it’s fun to follow your progress!
I love the Ronald Reagan reference! :)
What an amazing difference! It looks so much more open and spacious.
I love it! We’ve torn down 3 walls!! We started in the finished basement, then between our kitchen and family room, and finally in our master bath. It’s so great to open up the space. I’m sure you all are loving it already! Love seeing all the progress. Enjoy!
It’s looks great Traci! So just curious….the doors that will be removed…are you creating a separate entrance through the new addition? Or was that the original master bedroom?
Wow! It’s going to be so much fun watching your progress. I would like to take out a wall between our kitchen and living room, but I’m pretty sure it’s load bearing and I don’t know where we would put the stove. :)
Your property is beautiful. We’re looking for a place with land. How fun to tear down a wall. The difference is amazing.
I love the open space. And I love your vision. Keep dreaming big! It’s a pleasure to be privy to the journey you’re taking!
It is such fun watching the progress you are making on your lovely home. You and your hubby are very talented and such hard workers! Thank you for letting us all “share” in the fun of all your projects :)
woo hoo – this is exciting.
it’s going to all look fabulous. the lot.
I have no doubt – you guys are too too clever!!
have a great weekend.
cheryl xox.
Wow! That made all the difference. Sometimes coziness is great, but now your home looks cohesive. i helped a friend do the same making two smal bedrooms into one and opening up a weird hallway to create an eat-in kitchen. We also bumped up the ceiling, exposing the old rafters and put in a window up high to let in the light. That really added an amazing feeling of space. Your LR would look great like that, too, depending what you do to the FP.
Speaking of which, I know you want to paint it, but have you looked at staining or white washing it? There are some great tutorials on the web and it really looks good in a French farmhouse sort of way.
Always inspiring.
Teresa
It’s going to look so great! Have a happy weekend.
xox
Love the progress! Where do you get all your energy? I need some!
In our last house, we tore down a wall between the kitchen and the eating area. It made such a huge difference. It’s what sold our house.
In this house, we want to put UP a wall, and tear one down (or partly). At one point, our house was turned into three apartments. It’s been converted back – well almost. Our daughter has to walk through our room to get to her room. So…we want to put up a wall to re-instate the hallway that was once there, but we also want to open up the hallway to the staircase which means tearing down a wall.
Wow! My husband and I have very similar home goals. We are hoping this summer to remove the wall between the kitchen and the eating area to give it more of a farmhouse kitchen feel. Glad to hear that it made such a difference in someone else’s home. :) We also have two bedrooms that are connected without a hallway. Putting in the hallway is on the list after expanding the kitchen. So much to do…. so little time. :)
Hi Christi,
Taking down the wall was so worth it! We loved the kitchen. It really did sell the house – our real estate agent put a picture of our kitchen on the for sale sign on our front lawn and also featured it heavily in the flyer.
Opps! Hit enter too soon! Good luck on the renos!
You’ve had me at the kitchen remodel. I love your new room. I will await the next step. Have a happy St. Patricks day. Keep up the great work and I will follow.
Wow, it really opens up the space and I’m sure it makes the ‘old’ part of your home flow better with the new addition. Cy is sure a keeper! We have not done demo on a wall, but would certainly consider it one day if we bought an older home. Thanks for sharing your progress and plans, I love stuff like this.
Looks hideous? Are you kidding me??? This is absolutely fabulous even in it’s roughed in state. There is a before and after show in HGTV where the bring in the old owners after you make all of your renovations. You should look into it! They will not believe the changes and life you are bringing to your new home!
Looks hideous? Are you kidding me??? This is absolutely fabulous even in it’s roughed in state. There is a before and after show in HGTV where the bring in the old owners after you make all of your renovations. You should look into it! They will not believe the changes and life you are bringing to your new home!
We don’t have cable, so I didn’t know about the HGTV show, but my husband and I have made a lot of changes to our house. At some point during every single renovation, one of us has said, “I wonder what Fred and Ethel* would think?” *names changed to protect the former owners :) I think it is so interesting how everyone is different. When Fred and Ethel were living here, they were probably thrilled about the way that they had it looking. Now we own it, and are thrilled about changing everything!
Bought my Haven ticket, got my hotel room (by myself, anyone wanna share? My treat!). Have to get my airline ticket. Gonna try and get my blogging groove on. I would love it if you read the posts I wrote a while back and tell me what you think. I would love to incorporate more DIY in addition to my musings! Thanks, Traci!
Changed my URL to jblomberg.blogspot.com. This is so foreign to me!
It is going to look GORGEOUS!
Out of curiosity, what is behind those two doors that you want to drywall over?
Another question I have is: Do you have any inspiration picture for the molding that you are planning to put up around the wall you just tore down? We have a similar wall, (that’s not finished) because I don’t know what I want!!! If you have any, could you post them or send me links. Thanks so much.
Traci, it is looking great! We’ve never knocked a wall down, but we raised a ceiling in a major kitchen remodel in one house, & moved an entire kitchen to a new location in another. Must admit, I’m really glad it’s you going through the remodel & not me……lol!
CAS
Hi Traci…yes, I can totally envision your vision! Your home is looking great! We’ve been REmodeling our farmhouse for 6 years now and still have the new bathroom to add! We’ve saved the most labor intensive and expensive room for last! Now, all we need is money and muscle and both are in dire circumstances at this time!
YES…we’ve torn down walls and taken out windows and replaced them with French doors, we’ve sheetrocked and mudded, tiled and grouted, busted our knuckles, bruised our knees, and worn clothes with a hundred colors of paint on them! We’ve crawled under the house to jack up floor joists and REpair sewer pipes, opened up the floors to REpair broken floor joists and fought wasps and fire ants all the while looking over our shoulders for snakes and spiders whose homes we’ve invaded. Many a night, we’ve gone to bed so tired that we didn’t have the strength to eat supper. I’ve awakened many mornings wondering if the day would be full of disagreements with threats of divorce or shopping trips with good results and a peaceful dinner. You name it–we’ve done it, so I certainly know where you are coming from!
But, in saying all this…looking at what we’ve achieved in a few short years, it’s certainly been worth every minute of it. In the end you will be saying the same thing too!
Thanks for sharing your REmodel with us!
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! It’s so open and beautiful! Do I have a wall I want to tear down? Oh, yeah! One of my (windowless) kitchen walls to make the kitchen more open and bright! Awesome job. Can’t wait to follow along with your renovation!… Donna