In this series we’ve focused on individuals who are taking on a massive home renovation project themselves (link 1, link 2 and link 3).

The results can be stunning, but to renovate a whole house, no matter the size, is a huge commitment of time, energy and expertise that not everyone has.  And maybe you don’t need to remodel your whole house. It’s livable as is, you just need to freshen up the kitchen … but you don’t really know what to do, where to start or what you want it to look like.  That’s not an uncommon problem, and it’s one that Row House Interiors, a Baltimore interior design firm, can help you solve. The owner, Marianne, was kind enough to answer a few questions.

UDL: What initially drew you to interior design?
Row House Interiors: I have always believed that how we feel and function in our day to day living is directly affected by our surroundings.  Through interior design I can make a positive impact on how people live.

UDL: What do you find is typically the biggest challenge in remodeling a
row home?
RHI: The proportions!  Many row homes that have been rehabbed have an open floor plan.  The lack of walls presents the need to make zones out of each area and create interest with furniture, color, and accessories.  There are several design tricks that I use to increase the feeling of width and avoid a “bowling alley” look.

UDL: Do you have a favorite room in a house to remodel?
RHI: That’s a tough question. I enjoy working on several different projects at any given time.  Family rooms are fun, and next to a kitchen they are the heart of most homes.  A great family room is comfortable, has personality and caters to the needs of all of the members of the household.

UDL: What services does your firm offer?
RHI: Redesign of any room, including kitchens and bathrooms.  We also do custom window treatments, bedding, reupholstering, design and color consulting.

UDL: What is the typical size of a design project for your firm?
RHI: Most projects are a room or suite of rooms.  The majority of our clients have used us year after year as they are ready to embark on each new project, and some have used us as they move from one home to the next.

UDL: Could you take us through your process on a project?  What happens first when you start a new project and how does it progress?
RHI: The most important step in the design process is to meet with the client, usually a few times. I ask many questions and listen carefully to what the client needs and wants.  The design is only a success if it works for the client’s lifestyle and will stand the test of time in style and durability-and is also beautiful.

The next stage involves coming up with a design plan with colors, fabrics, finishes, etc.  There is quite a bit of background work in design, many ideas are worked out and items sampled before they are presented to the client.  We meet with the appropriate contractors and tradesmen and gather quotes.  When the work begins, very often there are some changes to the plan-pipes in walls that need to be moved, fabrics that get discontinued, anything can happen, but the final product will still turn out fabulous if you are working with a pro.  There are so many details that need to be addressed as the work progresses and it is important for the designer to have a running dialog with the client and the contractors.

UDL: Any big tips for people thinking about remodeling their home?
RHI: Do the projects that will make the most positive impact on how you live, and make sure that you budget enough money to complete it down to the last details.  Don’t plan a remodel around a party or event, you will have your finished room for a long time so it’s important to do it right and not be rushed.  And of course hiring a professional designer is invaluable.  Aside from aesthetics of the design, we have the experience to solve design problems, we work closely with our contractors to execute the design properly and we can visualize the finished product before anything is started.  Remodeling is extremely time consuming but with the right designer your time will be your own and the completed project will fit your taste, budget and lifestyle.

So you might just see us strolling through Federal Hill on the DBFA’s first annual House Tour of Kids’ Spaces on May 9th.  A house tour, if you’ve never been on one before, is a chance to walk through a stranger’s home with your spouse/significant other/date-you-want-to-show-you’re-not-afraid-of commitment-to and whisper things to each other like “They painted the ceiling a nice color,” or “God, what sort of company would make such ugly wallpaper?”  Generally speaking, it’s a pretty good time.  This particular house tour is focusing on kids’ spaces: bedrooms, playrooms, and nurseries.  Tickets are $25 per person ($20 for DBFA members; become a member here) with all proceeds going to support the DBFA.  Normally, we might buck a little about having to fork over some cash, but seeing how this is the DBFA’s foremost fundraiser every year… well, we don’t mind supporting good causes – especially not if we get to harvest some ideas for our own projects at the same time.

The tour runs Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.  You can pick up the program and buy tickets the day of at the guest assistance table at Spoons Coffee Cafe (24 E. Cross Street). Free off-street parking is available for house tour guests and volunteers between 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at Digital Harbor High School (1100 Covington Street) and Martini Lutheran Church (100 W. Henrietta Street).  There are some rules for the tour – for example, despite it being kids’ spaces tour, children and strollers are not allowed (infants that are carried are) – you can check out a full list here.  Hope to see you there!

2900 Calvert Street, 21218

So maybe part of the reason we find this home so appealing is that we walk by it every day on our way to work. Among all the quaint, three-story painted ladies of Charles Village, this stately, detached Victorian (built 1898) certainly stands out. Also, we’ve always wanted to have a bedroom in a turret. It’s got a history, too:  Back in the late 19th century, this was the home of Dr. Melville Carter, inventor of Resinol, a topical analgesic. It was recently renovated (2006) and now boasts a roomy kitchen with a breakfast bar, seven fireplaces (six wood-burning; one gas), a two-car parking pad, a private backyard patio/garden with an outdoor fireplace, a screened-in porch,  and plenty of the kind of period details that make us drool. Oh yeah, and a billiards room. The life of leisure, indeed…

More photos after the jump:

entryway

dining room

fancy bathroom!

A girl can dream, right? For the full listing, see here.

This rowhouse entryway got a thorough makeover, Rantin From Canton-style.

Urban Discoveries Living: What have you enjoyed most about renovating so far?
Rantin’ from Canton: I have enjoyed learning about every aspect of working on my house. I never really built anything too complex before (topped out at a bike ramp that ended in a trip to the hospital when I was younger), so it has been great to learn more about carpentry, masonry, electrical work, plumbing, and design/layout. I think the most enjoyable part though, has been learning about the history of my house. As I removed each layer, another part of the story was revealed. When I tore down the ceiling I could see how the stairs used to be parallel to the front of the house. Exposing the brick revealed the outline of a wood-burning stove. The basement used to be the main bathroom in the house; the front window’s counterweights from a long time ago were still in the wall. These small reveals are what makes my house fascinating to me.

UDL: What inspired you to undertake a renovation project like this?
RC: When I bought the house I didn’t immediately think I was going to jump into the renovations the way I did (and I wish I hadn’t). I’m a very impulsive person and can be very stubborn (just ask … well, anyone), so once I pulled off the first piece of wood paneling, all bets were off. I didn’t really have inspiration until after I started doing some of the demolition. Doing things ass-backwards, I started researching after my drop-ceiling was on the floor. That’s when I was introduced to the world of blogs, (the first being Baltimore Rowhouse), and from there I saw what my house could be and got inspired. Also, being stubborn I felt like I could do any project on my own, as long as I researched it thoroughly and had experienced friends or family to ask for advice/assistance.

UDL: You’re at an earlier stage than other renovators we’ve talked to so far. What room(s) do you have big plans for/ are the most eager to start working on?
RC: I would have to say I am most eager about working on the kitchen. The current dimensions are so strange that I feel like creativity is going to be necessary to come up with a functional layout that will allow me to have everything that I want in there. I am toying with so many different options that I tend to get a little side-tracked from working on the rooms that need to be completed first. Another area I am looking forward to is the chimney. I am going to hang my TV there and want to incorporate all the component wiring in the walls while they are being built, but still allow them to be hidden if necessary. I am also looking forward to how the (currently non-existent) mantle will fit into the picture, and how I will fill in the opening (tile, mosaic, etc.).

UDL: On the flip side, what room(s) are you dreading?
RC: I am definitely not looking forward to finishing the dining room. When the previous owners installed a bathroom upstairs, they ran the plumbing for the shower through the middle of the room and it extends down beyond the joists. Also, when they relocated the stairwell, they did not level the supports from the old stairwell. I feel like it will take a lot of work to fix these issues before I can even start building in this room.

UDL: Are there any businesses (or contractors) that you would recommend for other people undertaking a project like this?
RC: I haven’t really used contractors much because I haven’t gotten to a point where I need a lot of technical work done. I used Alliance Property Group for the work I needed to have done professionally (electrical, some masonry, new water line from the street), and they worked out great; very flexible and fair pricing. One thing I learned is that, for the most part, Lowe’s seems to have better prices than Home Depot.

UDL: What do you like most about your neighborhood?
RC: I really like the proximity of all of my favorite places. While I live close to the square, I choose not to go there on weekends because of the crowds. I would much rather go to a place like Mahaffey’s, where you know the people and there is a neighborhood atmosphere (and a great selection of beers you can’t get anywhere else). I like that I can get my groceries and walk home, walk (or jog) to my gym in a few minutes, or walk to the water and follow it all the way to Fell’s Point, the Inner Harbor, or Fed Hill. I like that I’m close to Patterson Park and can get up there quickly to play BSSC sports (especially when we’re scheduled for 10 a.m. games), or go ice skating in that big dome thing (make sure your skates are sharp!), or play tennis on the multitude of courts. I like that I am close to Nacho Mama’s; a place you can go and just close your eyes and point at the menu and you are sure to get something great. I like that everyone has a dog, so when my house is at a point when there isn’t going to be piles of plaster around, I can get a puppy and will have plenty of people to socialize with.
I don’t like that my first floor is only 12” wide, or that my kitchen shrinks to only 9′. I’m not a fan of the small back “yard” I have. 1 – 2 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are not optimal times to try and fall asleep. These are some of the downsides to living on my block, but I think they can be worked around.

UDL: Any other big tips for people undertaking a project like this?
RC: I have to say that I agree with everything Corey mentioned in his interview 100 percent. I have learned that most of these tips are essential, because I failed to follow any of them when I started my projects. I would also add making lists to his tips. If you write down each step during the planning process, you can see how far you have come, even when the end seems so far off. I have found lists to be essential to keeping me motivated, otherwise, I tend to get overwhelmed and not feel like working when nothing seems to get accomplished. Everything can’t be completed in one day, it takes baby steps.

Hollins Market/Union Square

1516 Hollins Street, 21223

You can think of this appealing three-story rowhouse in the emerging Hollins Market neighborhood as being on sale — its list price is down ten percent (from $329,000 to $299,500) since it first went on the market. There are three bedrooms (including a third-floor master suite) and two big bathrooms with clawfoot bathtubs. In the summer, you can entertain on the well-maintained backyard patio; when it gets colder, there are a couple of working fireplaces inside, just waiting for you to cozy up to. At 2,600 square feet, there’s plenty of room here for a family.

Patterson Park

2618 E. Baltimore Street, 21224

This three-story Victorian faces Patterson Park, so there’s already plenty of green space right outside your front door. The greedy (or private) among us, though, might be pleased to see its cute backyard garden, complete with a little pond. Sure, this place needs work — but it’s a wonderful starting place, with southern exposure, park views, 3,238 square feet of space, six bedrooms (!) and 3.5 baths. Recent improvements include a new furnace, central air and plumbing updates. Listed at $375,000.

Lauraville

4503 Elsrode Avenue

Lauraville is emerging as a haven for people who want the energy of city life, and the trees and space of county living. Located within walking distance of Lauraville’s “Main Street” (aka Harford Road), this charming two-bedroom, 1.5 bath home features the best of both. Built in 1915, it retains much of its original charm — lots of hardwood floors, a big brick fireplace, and large leafy trees all around. The private yard is large and tree-shaded; there’s a deck, a storage shed/garage, and still plenty of room to play a mini-game of soccer. Listed at $219,900.

Is this what you’re looking for? Maybe you’d rather join the national migration back into cities––because it’s nice to live near things. But in case you’re still hesitating and perhaps prefer not to pay city taxes, Woodbrook may not be a bad call. Here are some specifics:  Six different floor plans for three- and four-bedroom homes featuring 2700 to 3700 square feet of space, ten-foot ceilings, gas fireplaces, walk-in closets, spa baths, two-car garages, private elevators, and real basements.

Also, just so you don’t feel too guilty about the living-in-the-suburbs thing, here is a list of places that are within fifteen or twenty minutes driving distance: The Lyric Opera House (140 West Mount Royal Avenue), the Meyerhoff (1212 Cathedral Street), the Hippodrome (12 N. Eutaw Street), and the Walters (600 N. Charles Street). For perspective, I live in Waverly, and the way folks drive, it takes me almost as long some days to get to Mt. Vernon.
What’s your verdict on the Woodbrook?

3005 Abell Avenue, 21218

We actually stopped by this newly-listed 3-bedroom, 1-bath charmer yesterday afternoon during the open house. Sure, this one has all the usual pluses of your standard Painted Lady — a charming porch; a small, grassy yard; tall ceilings — but the previous owners have really turned this one into something special. This townhouse was owned by artists, and it shows — there are fun retro details throughout, bright pops of color, and wonderful original details. The kitchen is particularly cute, with its breakfast bar and huge pantry. Listed at $249,900.

310 E. 31st Street, 21218

This end-of-group Victorian boasts both a front porch and a back deck… oh yeah, and three bedrooms/one bathroom. The rooms are huge and sunny, with inlaid wood floors. There’s a garage in the back that could also be used as a studio, or perhaps you’d prefer to find inspiration in the second-floor sunroom? We also appreciate the fireplace in the dining room, which would make those cozy winter dinner parties all the cozier. Listed at $274,900.

2744 Guilford Avenue, 21218

We can’t stop staring at the shiny, inlaid hardwood floors in this gorgeously-restored 1920 beauty (it’s the blue one in the photo below). There’s plenty of room to play with here — three bedrooms and 2.5 baths; a front porch; a large yard; and a back deck on both the first and second story. Or have your fun in the kitchen, if that’s more your style — this one’s got gourmet appliances and a lovely dining room to show off your creations. Listed at $297,889.

Interested in one of these properties? Looking for something similar — or completely different? Check out Urban Discoveries Living, or contact us by email.

UDL: What do you like most about your neighborhood?

Baltimore Rowhouse: I like that I’m close enough to the restaurants and hang outs of Canton and Fells Point, but far enough that we don’t have to deal with the bar noise and parking issues. I like the wider rowhouses in my Eastern Canton area — mine is 13’3″ on the outside — and how they’re so spacious compared to the skinnier homes in some neighborhoods. I like being so close to Patterson Park so I can walk the dog and be reminded that Baltimore isn’t just rowhouses and concrete.

UDL: What inspired you to undertake a renovation project like this?

BR: I guess my inspiration was three fold — wanting to create something and learn, an unwillingness to be constrained by not knowing how to renovate a house… and of course the lack of funds to buy a home that had character AND was in my budget.

UDL: What have you enjoyed most about renovating?

BR: Watching the transformation of a house going from barely livable, just an idea in my head, to seeing it torn up and then totally rebuilt. We spent a lot of time planning to get the maximum use out of every nook and cranny, while doing so affordably. I look around the house now and am amazed that we have a separate shower area from the new double vanity, built-in bookshelves, a dining room, two extra usable closets, an extra half bath… all of this without having added on.

UDL: What surprises/challenges have you come across while remodeling?

BR: A few challenges have been rotting out floor supports, termites, a main roof truss that was completely cut through, wires terminating inside the walls, and NOTHING in the house being plumb or level.

UDL: Are there any businesses (or contractors) that you would recommend for other people undertaking a project like this?

BR: I’d recommend Pickett’s Choice Home Improvement. He did a great job on our bathroom, and was excellent for helping us finish up some odds and ends that we had to get done before our re-appraisal.

UDL: Any other big tips for people undertaking a project like this?

BR: If you are going to do the job yourself, plan for it to take twice as long as you had previously thought.

• Also, the job will cost 30-50% more than you expected.

• Make sure you think about how you are going to pay for projects (cash, credit cards, HELOC) as money at some point will get tight.

• Be careful of planning on a full renovation of a place that you’ll be living in at the same time. Not everyone can handle it. If you are a “neat freak,” do not even try it.

• Plan out the order of things.

• Be patient. It sucks having to do work twice, so make sure you get it right the first time.

• Do LOTS of research.

• Start a blog. When you don’t know how to do something, having a blog can help tie you into a whole community of other folks that can offer guidance. Also having contractor friends would help.

• Live in your space for a while before renovating. This will help you understand what really bothers you, and where you should focus your time/money/effort.

Last two questions are again for you readers out there. Would you buy a home if you had to renovate it? What room would be most important for you to renovate first?

If, however, you’re one of those industrious, hardworking types who doesn’t mind getting dusty and smelly in pursuit of a goal, we have good news: your dream house almost exists.  And it’s out there for the taking.

Proof of this exists in ProjectRowhouse, a Baltimore blog documenting the trials and tribulations of rowhouse renovation.  We caught up with bloggers Craig and Jon and asked them a few questions about their Little Italy/Harbor East home.

UDL: What do you like most about your neighborhood?
PR: Location, location, location!  We live like tourists.  The restaurant selection is tough to beat – besides the obvious Italian cuisine, Harbor East is always adding something new.  We can easily get to a grocery, a pharmacy, a bank and most importantly, a liquor store.  The Inner Harbor is a five-minute walk and a cab will carry us to Federal Hill, Fells Point or Canton for just a few bucks.  We feel safe, and parking is readily available in the area.  We’ve always been drawn to typical ‘downtown’ living ¬- could a rowhouse be any more cliché?  Perfect.

UDL: What inspired you to undertake a renovation project like this?
PR: Motivation.  While the location was perfect, the house was not.  Doing much of the work ourselves allowed us to live in a house we love, somewhere that we could not otherwise afford.  There is also the fact that we both really enjoy this sort of thing.  Making it our own is something we pride ourselves on.

UDL: What have you enjoyed most about renovating?
PR: The most rewarding part is seeing the slow, yet steady transformation of an otherwise ugly house that was deemed unsellable by the real estate market (the kitchen was in the basement and the place was for sale for over a year).  We considered the house a blank slate that was completely covered by hideous wallpaper.

It’s also pretty amazing to look at the exposed bricks or wood floors and imagine what it was like when they were being put in place over 200 years ago.  The country was new, commodities like indoor electricity and plumbing were years away and crazy Edgar Allan Poe was roaming the streets of Baltimore – and Project Rowhouse was in the making.

UDL: Any tips for people undertaking a project like this?
PR:

• Expect that things may (and likely will) take longer than planned.  Patience and diligence are the reasons much of what we do ends up looking how we want.
• Do your best to balance the renovation with the rest of life.  We have demanding schedules with full-time jobs, social lives, Craig is getting his MBA, and sometimes we even have to sleep.  The self-imposed renovation deadlines are easing a bit, but we definitely have our hands full.
• Consider the relationship, if you’re in one.  This sort of project is a test.  There are constantly compromises and “meetings in the middle.”  We have recognized that each of us brings certain strengths to the renovation – if it’s his strength, he has the power of veto.
• Be ambitious, but know when to take breaks and have a little fun.

These next two are for you guys, the readers:  What would your dream house look like?  Is the neighborhood or the home more important to you when you’re looking to move?