The River House Part IV | Updates
The River House front lawn - 2024
More Befores & Afters of Fitchetts Wharf!
When we last looked at the River House, it had been lifted up in the air and then put back on it’s new foundation, and my brother Miles had built a beautiful addition where the side porch was. We had just finished that when I left you. (After 170 weeks of painting.) And we were starting on a huge kitchen reno!
If you haven’t read about this house on the Chesapeake Bay, you can read Part I , Part II , and Part III here! (It’s an interesting place. Pour another cup of coffee and read about it.)
So here’s what’s been happening since then. We are moving from mid 2023 until now. I’ll show you where all the decisions and hard work have taken us! (With a little fun sprinkled in.)
You can Click on the images to enlarge
New deck was finished…
The guys built it in a weekend or so. And the original stoop was put back in place. Lookin good!
Original stoop on new deck and stairs.
New mudroom entry was finished…
This is the new back entry opening into the new mudroom
The mudroom almost complete! Need to switch out the monkey ball pulls for more black cleats. (Turned out to be a bad idea.) This is a machine washable rug from Dash & Albert. So easy to clean! At this writing it was 50% off!
This is the beautiful pecan countertop Miles added after it was finished.
New washer and dryer! How exciting!!!
half Bath was finished…
In the last post, Part III, this was just a shell. Here it is finished! The trim is Benjamin Moore White Dove, the ceiling is Ben Moore Grey Wisp, and the cabinetry is Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray. 😉
Needs some artwork!
Front Entrance Refresh…
This was the condition of the driveway entrance. It needed some TLC!
The sign had definitely seen better days.
After we painted the fencing, I repainted the sign.
the kitchen…
I apologize - my kitchen pictures are not that great. But these will give you some idea of what we did.
Befores…
This is in the old dining room, looking into the kitchen. We took this wall out.
The kitchen before we opened it into the dining room. It looks darker than it really is.
The fan and ceiling in the kitchen. The jut out on the left was the pantry. Underneath the bouys were two refrigerators, side by side.
During & Afters…
The wall in between the two rooms is gone and Miles is installing new flooring in the kitchen to match the rest of the heart pine downstairs.
The wall is gone, the old and new floors have been refinished. The new island is in. New tall cabinetry replaces the old pantry. Miles added shiplap where there was dry wall.
New kitchen island, with new counter stools from Serena & Lily. We have painted it navy since this picture was taken.
We added two of these gorgeous Visual Comfort lanterns - on in the dining room and one over the island where the white fan was. Love them!
The new pool…
Befores…
Yeah. This was the situation. We had not been able to swim in it for 3-4 years. We had been getting quotes during that time, but they wanted $8 billion and three kidneys.
The whole thing needed to go. The aggregate surround was crumbling and we were struggling to keep the plantings weeded.
We cut back all the plants and marked everything to be moved. My mom’s roses down there were just gorgeous, but they attracted bees. Plus, we wanted it to melt into the landscape and to be maintenance free. We have plenty to maintain!
During & Afters…
Demolition first…
New pool is in place. We went with a fiberglass pool this time, instead of a liner. And it is a bit smaller than the original pool.
Pool is in place and rough grading is done. Looking better.
We wanted simple and that’s what we got. We did a stamped concrete surround and got an automatic cover.
Here we are graded and ready to seed. All in all the pool is great. They did a nice job. I should have researched it a bit more though. A more shallow fiberglass pool does not stay as cool as a deeper, liner pool. We might have a giant hot tub. Time will tell…..
They do have “pool chillers”, but they want 2 more kidneys for those.
Friday says Happy Early Flag Day!
Foundation landscaping
The ginormous boxwood that were across the front of the house that had been there since the beginning of time, were destroyed with the lifting of the house. All of the beds around the house were gone.
We needed to plant something around the new brick foundation.
First we hired a professional to move the boxwoods that were left, to across the front of the house. They did an amazing job.
Amazing. At this writing, two of them have died and been replaced with hydrangea.
Before the house was raised, Miles and Christen had dug up as many shrubs as they could and heeled them in along a fence. They were there for over a year waiting to be replanted. We used these plants and the ones we marked from the pool to landscape around the house!
They have come back even more as of this summer! Yay!!
These are now mulched and loaded with blooms!
And mom’s roses are very happy! A year later, you cannot see the brick. They are all huge.
We even had Thanksgiving down there last year.
Latest project is getting the new shutters back on the house.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!! We’ll talk next week. My plan is to bring back Gadabout and we’ll discuss Books & Screens!
