When we bought our apartment building, the skylights in the main hallway and in the four stairways were all boarded up. We opened up all the skylights, which made a world of difference in this dark hallway. This apartment was badly damaged after the roof on this side of the building caved in one winter, leaving it exposed to the elements. Despite that, we were able to save the original floors and stairs. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the stairs show a lot of wear from a century of footsteps, which we love. They were painted a mustard brown, but we repainted them dark gray to match the 1930s-style tile (which we have yet to install) in the main hallway.
Beautiful mountain laurel
In early summer, the woods around Thomas are full of beautiful mountain laurel.
Come and explore the trails!
Our little explorer, leading the way down the trail right by the apartment building. There are so many trails in this area. Come and explore for yourself!
Original floors restored
The floors in Apartment 3 were badly damaged after the roof on that side of the building caved in one winter, but after a lot of hard work of sanding and staining they are looking really good!
Dance like nobody's watching
Canaan Valley has some incredible scenery. Come and visit and see for yourself!
Refurbished sinks in every bathroom
It makes us very happy when we are able to save and restore features that are original to our 1905 apartment building. So far, all the bathrooms in the building have original, refurbished sinks. This sink was badly damaged on the side, but Kevin managed to restore it to its original beauty. It now sits in the bathroom in Apartment 2, which is the last apartment we finished. That bathroom has an all-new, pinwheel-tile floor and a white subway-tile shower with dual, vintage-style showerheads. Mirror from Riverfront Antiques in Thomas, WV.
The fourth apartment (out of six) is ready!
The fourth apartment (out of six) is ready for tenants! When we bought the building, this apartment was by far the most preserved. Whereas walls had been knocked down and doorways moved in the adjacent apartment (which at one point was a perfect mirror image of this apartment), this apartment still had the original floor plan. We were able to keep most of the original lath and plaster walls and the original wainscoting in the living and dining rooms. Doors with transom windows and original hardwood floors preserve the apartment’s turn-of-the-century charm. We replaced all the windows with custom-made windows with a historic profile, which are almost as beautiful as the panoramic river views ;) This photo shows the bay window in the living room and the doorway to the dining room, and the second photo shows the work in progress. It also shows how much the floor (and doorway) slants—three inches from one side of the room to the other. We hope our new tenants will enjoy living here!
Scrubbing off 100 years of glue and paint
We spent most of the weekend scrubbing old glue and paint off of these 100-year-old hardwood floors. The floors still show a lot of wear, but we're hoping that with some furniture, the focus won’t be on the floors, just like you probably didn’t notice the floors until you read the caption and just saw these beautiful flowers from a friend ;)
Our kitchen is almost done!
It’s still missing some door knobs, but our new kitchen is almost done! When we bought the building, the roof on this side of the building had caved in in places and the plaster walls were badly damaged. Rather than putting in a new ceiling after tearing out the old one, we kept the beams exposed and the rooms open all the way up to the roofline. We also opened up the attic windows, which had been boarded up, and built new window frames around new glass. Originally, this space was two small bedrooms. We opened up the wall between the two rooms, and that, combined with the new tall ceilings and the additional light from the attic windows, created a much airier space. We were able to keep the 100-year old floors and we sanded and stained them. We wanted a kitchen that complemented the look and feel of our historic building (built in 1905), but two years into this process (and after a lot of "surprises” along the way) we also wanted a kitchen that didn’t completely break the bank, so we opted for an all-IKEA kitchen. The second and third photos show what the rooms looked like before the renovation.
We're getting there!
Same room, two years apart. The first photo is from January, 2017, early on in the renovation process. The second photo is taken a few months later, and the third photo is from this past month. We're getting there!
