An organic + artsy feeling Multifunctional Living Space with nods to history

Our mill house is cozy with the square footage being split fairly evenly three ways- a third the second story, a third the wing of the main bedroom/bathroom, and a third the main living space on the first floor. My dream is eventually we are able to have a separate office space (which is what the second story is currently mostly used for), in which case our loft upstairs could be a family room where the TV lives- but for now, our living space on the first floor must multitask as our space where we entertain family and friends and enjoy meals together; where we hang out with each other and veg out snuggling with pets and watching a show; where we listen to music and dance and workout; and where we eat. As a musician and classically trained pianist, it’s also the first time in my life I have a space to house my own piano- a baby grand- which was left to me by my godfather. So this space heavily serves both our daily life and our special occasions, and I wanted it to be reflective of that in its design- both deeply comfortable and welcoming, relaxing and laid back, but also special feeling. I also felt this space needed to most represent the history of the old stone cottage and have tried to bring historical elements back into the design- balancing history with nature. Which seems to be the theme of our home.

When we got the house, this space was wall to wall white rug and stenciled walls. A very cute, grandma cottagecore vibe. But not our vibe- I might have made it work, but it definitely wasn’t my partners taste. Mostly we didn’t have a choice because when the 2nd story plumbing burst, it brought the ceiling down and flooded this. So, the transformation of this space commenced whether I liked it or not. I was somewhat grateful for the ceiling coming down so we could get rid of the popcorn ceilings which I loathe- especially because our ceilings are just under 8 feet and very low. After scraping 800 sf of popcorn ourselves, we were happy to have an excuse for someone else to do this part of the work.

When we took the white carpeting up, we found good condition plywood subfloors- I cut a piece out just to see if original floors were beneath because my curiosity can’t stand not knowing what the house might be hiding. There had been a house fire in the 80s so much of the historical finishes were lost at that time. But I’m always hopeful to find some treasures. I did see what appears to be original fir flooring BUT- the contractor working with us after the plumbing incident warned that it was very likely that there would be a large portion of damaged/burned or missing floor which could be very difficult to replace unless we had a large budget (which we did not given the amount of repairs/remodeling this flood set off). If there ever comes the time where for some reason, we are ready or need to remove our flooring and I have access to old fir boards and the budget available, I will absolutely attempt to salvage an original floor. But at the time of doing this project, I had to find a solution within our budget.

I decided on cork flooring for its insulating quality (this old stone house is very drafty), sound dampening (in case we have kids), and general sustainability rating. Cork trees regenerate their bark. This product was a click flooring system so we were easily able to DIY this and not have downtime waiting for a floor to dry/need to do multiple coats of anything. It lends a lovely organic texture and movement to the space- meeting my desire to bring the feeling of nature inside. We ran it throughout the space including into the kitchen after dealing with asbestos to allow the whole first floor to feel fluid rather than the 3 separate flooring styles previously there.

One of the beautiful things about this house is it has windows on every single wall. One of the things that makes this space challenging is…it has windows on every single wall. Finding furniture for this space has had to be very specific and therefore time consuming locating second hand pieces with near exact dimensions and low profiles. But I love finding pieces we will use forever (or at least until they fall apart completely) with natural materials- a soft, deep leather couch; a live edge table with a hand made base; antique rugs. My partner converted the old radio into a functioning speaker that we use to play music from our phones or the record player because- yes- of course we have a vinyl collection. An antique cobbler rack from a local factory acts as a shelf at the landing of the staircase displaying special memories, momentos from trips, photographs, and alters for loved ones we’ve lost.

Perhaps the most noticeable feature of this space is the ginormous, impossible to miss stone fireplace and chimney stack separating the living space from the kitchen. I suspect there used to be a river stone fireplace there that had either been damaged over time or in the house fire so they added another layer of stones around it that are not period appropriate and then clumsily white washed it. It is a working fireplace and had a brass face on it typical of the 80s and 90s (which I hated). Removing this brass face and placing some andirons from the period that were rescued from someone’s attic clean out really helped it feel more welcoming to me. The way it stacks upward is very cool and it is a very rugged feature. I wish the white wash was not clumsy- from far away the effect is fine, but if I had the money to have tried to discover what was beneath it, this is also a thread I would have loved to pull. The best part about this fireplace though is the hearth- it is the original large gristmill stone and you can see the lines running through it. A design challenge to still be dealt with is the fact that is a sunken hearth now that a subfloor and the cork sit above the original floor which it would have been flush to. I am working with a local blacksmith to see about having a piece of metal formed to wrap around the edge of it.

We had removed the more ornate stair balusters and newel posts early on when carpeting was removed from the stairs and lived with an open loft style stair for several years before finally reinstalling a railing this year with the anticipation of a bunch of littles visiting. We loved the openness of our probably not-to-code stairs but putting back in the railing did bring back the historical feeling of the room. We went with a simpler, more contemporary baluster and made the newel posts from old chestnut beams being cleaned out from someone’s shed. I wanted these specifically to bring in the warmth of wood to the architecture, the patina and worn look of history, and some pieces that would have been around during the hay day of the mill. Gently removing the stone head nails from these posts and scrubbing them down and then simply reoiling them to see their grain and warm red color come to life was one of my favorite transformations at this property. The tops were left alone so the original chisel marks show.

The walls are a simple white that plays with the light that changes with the seasons and puts the focus on the art in the room- the warm, colorful rugs; the antiques, raw woods and driftwoods; and the bits of sentimental art we’ve collected or made. The low ceilings; huge stone fireplace; big, soft couch; the shining black piano; and the dining table which is a piece of art and craftsmanship unto itself anchor the space and make it feel welcoming and cozy. Again, a cocktail of nature meets history and touches of contemporary comfort. Like most of our spaces efficiency requirements, it does a lot with a little.

The kitchen once remodeled will join it’s overall effect (happening now!). But getting this space done really made us feel like we had gotten somewhere with our home.

Click and swipe to enjoy the projects and transformations.