The post My Sweeten Story: A Mint Bathtub Leads a Vintage Bathroom Remodel appeared first on Sweeten.

Homeowners who are feeling ambitious and want to take on a home that hasn’t been changed in decades have a unique opportunity. In an older home that’s been given new life, updated features sit alongside quirky and charming details from the past, such as crown molding and arched doorways. This kind of home renovation where the marriage of old meets new provides all the benefits of a modern space while retaining the character that can only come from a place that has a history. Below, three Sweeten homeowners take on the challenge of revamping older homes—and the results are truly magical.

Meredith’s townhouse, built in 1941

Meredith set out to find a fixer-upper and fell in love with a two-family brick Tudor townhouse in Kensington that only had one owner since 1941. With good bones and plenty of personality in the form of arched doorways and a 1950s Caloric stove, the home had potential, but it also required intensive repairs. Lead paint, cloth-wrapped aluminum electrical wiring, and old steel windows all had to go. Meredith found a contractor on Sweeten and started her renovation, focusing on maintaining some of the ‘40s charm while making necessary functional updates. A new kitchen was designed around the old stove, and in keeping with the theme of nostalgia, Meredith installed a salvaged Sub-Zero fridge and vintage enamel sink. The Pepto-Bismol pink bathrooms were redone in a much more tasteful palette of muted blues and received all new fixtures. Upstairs, the renovation included converting the second kitchen into a master bath, building a nursery, and updating the master bedroom and closet. Click here to see the rest of this lovely townhouse.

Ron’s postwar apartment and home of 40 years

Ron lived in his Upper East Side postwar apartment for 40 years before making the decision to renovate. He worked closely with his interior designer, who came to Sweeten to find a contractor to complete their team. The plan consisted of a total gut renovation of the kitchen as well as painting the apartment, stripping and refinishing floors, cleaning up the crown molding in the living room, and adding custom millwork to hide old radiator units. He decided against joining the kitchen and living room and instead chose to keep the kitchen enclosed and add finishes that would make it feel larger and brighter. With all new appliances from Thermador, including a refrigerator, gas range, hood, and dishwasher, the kitchen got the functional upgrade it desperately needed. Architectural details in the kitchen mixed well with traditional custom cabinets and beveled countertops for a refreshed yet classic style. In the living room, custom built-ins with ample shelving were built to show off Ron’s collection of art and treasures from around the world. Click here to see the rest of Ron’s home, including his updated bedroom and bath.

Claudia’s 1929 apartment that underwent a mid-’80s renovation

Fifteen years after moving into her Upper East Side apartment, Claudia felt ready to renovate. It had been three decades since the apartment’s last home renovation, which had brought with it dated finishes, carpeting, and boxy built-ins. Claudia wanted to highlight the original bones of the home that had been covered up, reclaim some of the square footage lost to the old built-ins, and install some much-needed electrical outlets. She also ripped up the 30-year-old carpeting, uncovering original parquet floors. The windows in the living room were combined, allowing the space to become flooded with natural light, and the built-in surrounding the fireplace was demolished, revealing a wood-burning hearth. Crown molding was designed and placed along doorways, windows, ceilings, and floors to evoke some of the lost 1920s charm. To brighten up her home, the walls of the apartment were painted white, replacing the dark green shade that had ruled the living room for decades. Click here to see her updated kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

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Inspired to take on the challenge of a fixer-upper? Check out our guide on home renovation costs per square foot.

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, and scope, helping until project completion. Follow the blog for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation on Sweeten.

The post 3 Homes, Untouched for Decades, Get Renovated by Sweeten appeared first on Sweeten.

When a long apartment search finally ended, Victoria’s Secret designer Christine Yao returned to one of the first listings already crossed off her list. It was the one she ultimately closed on, and she was happy with her new home—except for her bathroom which felt like showering in a dark closet. An internet search led her to Sweeten and a match with a general contractor, who would help transform the space to echo the layout and feel of the baths she’d been pinning on Pinterest for months. With smart space reconfigurations (including a vintage sliding door) and good project management, he made it happen. In her own words, Christine tells the story, from how the thought of renovating scared her to the completion of her relaxing new dwelling.

Guest post by East Village homeowner Christine Yao

I had been living on the Lower East Side for about five years when I started looking for a place to own. My weekends became a routine, waking up and planning errands around my StreetEasy open house schedule and any listings my real estate agent sent me. The beginning was packed, usually a few on Saturday and also Sundays when I walked all over downtown and viewed up to six apartments. You quickly realize that when you are focused on staying in a specific area—for me that was roughly LES/Chinatown/East Village—there are a limited number of places to see. At first, it seemed like there were hundreds of apartments for sale, and maybe 50 you can afford. You feel like half of the 50 may not even be worth seeing from the photos but you go see them anyway. A friend who had gone through the home-buying process made a comparison to online dating—one can only tell so much from the photos, you just have to go and see it in person to really know! A few months in, I had lost out on two places, and felt a little hopeless.

“No place is going to be everything you want it to be, so why not budget some remodeling in and make it what you want?”

Then, finally, six months after I started looking, I had an accepted offer and closed on a co-op in the East Village. I had actually seen this apartment at the very beginnings of my search. My brother was in town on a Sunday when I dragged him from one open house to another. We thought the apartment was in an awesome location, and was a nice size. It needed some cosmetic work, but both agreed the bathroom was terrible. It had a wall right in the middle of it with the bathtub half concealed, so it felt like you were showering in a dark closet. It was cramped, with an awkward layout, and was just in bad shape. So I crossed it off the list. The idea of a bathroom renovation was overwhelming to me, on top of buying my first home. Then six months of searching made me re-think—maybe I could. No place is going to be everything you want it to be, so why not budget some remodeling in and make it what you want?

So now, I had a bathroom to renovate, a living space that needed a refresh, and no idea where to start. The internet brought me to Sweeten. I liked how simple and straightforward it made finding a contractor: you post your project and general contractors are matched for your job. I decided to go with our Sweeten contractor—his work was most similar to the aesthetic I was going for and he had completed a project on Sweeten with a great review.

My plan for the entire apartment’s look was minimalist. I love a clean space that still feels warm and cozy. Greek cave hotels and Moroccan riads are a big inspiration for me. I did have a vision of wanting the apartment to feel like a vacation…somewhere tropical and feels relaxing when you are there. The kitchen, main living area, and two bedrooms just needed a redesign. But I couldn’t imagine my day-to-day in the previous bathroom—the door opening awkwardly, the dark shower, and not being able to enjoy a bath.

I was hoping the middle wall obstruction could be partially removed but we wouldn’t know if it was structural until the demo. Turns out the wall had all the building plumbing running through it, so needless to say, it had to stay. However, we found serious leaks happening on the floors above and below me (I am on the third floor of a five-story building), which the building would have to fix before we could move forward. Since pipes had to be replaced, the plumbing could be re-routed, allowing us to swap tub and toilet positioning. This worked out for the best: the toilet in a “nook,” and the bathtub by the window.

I had so many images on my desktop saved for ideas and realized they all had the common thread of black tile floors and clean, white walls with modern fixtures. I was getting a lot of inspiration from restaurant and hotel restrooms. I definitely wanted recessed lighting above the toilet (dimmers are a must for all lighting—mood!) and exposed plumbing under the sink for more leg room.

I ended up ordering almost everything on Wayfair, which has phenomenal customer service by the way. I must have looked at hundreds of sinks. We realized it had to be a corner sink or you wouldn’t have enough space to get on and off the toilet. Then the toilet had to be an appropriate size. Measured twice, measure one more time, then cross my fingers when it came in. It all fit into this Tetris game of a bathroom! I wanted a sliding door that would let light through and found an old office door at Big Reuse in Gowanus, Brooklyn. My contractor cut it down to fit the doorway and painted it.

The renovation was running a couple months late due to waiting on permits, so taking things like a toilet and subway tile from Home Depot that were in stock was a priority. My Sweeten contractor was so easy to work with and made things stress-free on everything from dealing with the unexpected delays and permits to coordinating a time to receive a bathtub delivery. I also trusted his aesthetic and opinion on any design or materials questions I had.

As far as the rest of the apartment, it’s amazing what fresh paint and swapping out things like lighting, doorknobs, and some cabinet doors can do. He did a fantastic painting job and the white floors are my favorite feature of my home. My original budget was $25,000 for renovating the bathroom and repainting the apartment. I ended up going $4,500 overbudget because I live in a co-op. The process of getting permits and running into unforeseen issues with plumbing in-between the floors increased the costs and timeline. A six-week planned renovation turned into three months. I think it was really just me underestimating the cost of labor and materials, especially living here in New York City.

The bathroom turned out better than I could have hoped and I am so thankful for the successful renovation I had with my contractor through Sweeten. Now that I’ve experienced the process, the advice I can offer is to be prepared for it to take longer than you think. And add another month. Be prepared to spend a good chunk of time every day on it—coordinating with your contractor, arranging delivery times, looking for fixtures, going to check on things, etc. Be ready to laugh when things go wrong. And go wrong again. It’ll be worth it when you are enjoying your renovated place, I promise.

Oh, I almost forgot about the kitchen—with all of my budget going to the bathroom and painting, I just took down the cabinet doors myself and painted. That’s a move I’ve done in many apartments I’ve lived in as a renter. It’s functional for now but I can’t wait to renovate this space next!

Thank you Christine, for sharing your story as a first-time homeowner and renovator! You proved that a few renovating ideas can make a big impact, and we love your fresh style.

BATHROOM RESOURCES: EliteTile black matte hexagon floor tile, Caracalla ‘Ceramica’ corner sink, Design House ‘Concord’ medicine cabinet, bathtub, Kohler ‘Purist’ sink faucet, Kohler ‘Purist’ shower fixtures: all from Wayfair. Daltile ‘Rittenhouse Square’ subway tile, Kohler ‘Cimarron’ toilet, sliding door hardware: The Home Depot. Vintage sliding door: Big Reuse. Dimond Home ‘Barrel’ pendant light (above sink): New York Lighting.

APARTMENT RESOURCES: Paint (doors and trim) in Decorator’s White, paint (walls) in White Opulence: Benjamin Moore. Paint (floor) in Decorator White in porch/patio finish: Behr. Progress Lighting ‘Opal’ globe pendant lights: Wayfair. Dimmers throughout: Lutron.

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Love being surrounded by white bath subway tile? Here’s how first-time renovator Rima injected modern cool into hers.

Sweeten wasn’t the only one who loved what Christine did to her apartment, domino also shared her minimalist chic renovation.

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, scope, and style. Follow the blog for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation on Sweeten.

The post A Fashion Designer Renovates to Match Her Style appeared first on Sweeten.

“We’d been living here for eleven years and things were starting to get a bit shabby. When we moved in, the apartment had been freshly renovated with all the cheapest materials available at Home Depot, which was fine back then, but we really wanted to make it ‘ours.’ We saved up for renovations all the while and put a lot of thought into what we wanted to do.”

 –Angela, homeowner

When the time had arrived early this year, Kyle and Angela (and their “mean, little chihuahua”) posted to Sweeten to get started on renovating their 900 sq/ft, 2 bedroom Clinton Hill co-op apartment. The road to selecting ‘the perfect contractor’ was made a whole lot sweeter by our three suggestions; according to Angela, “we feel confident that any of the contractors Sweeten selected for us would have done a great job, but we’re really happy that we chose Sweeten Expert Kris.” Kris and his team were able to take the homeowners’ dreams of extra counter space for baking and a place that showed off their personal mid-century style, and turn them into a reality, on-time and within-budget!

Kris’ team worked closely with Kyle and Angela to meet their main objectives for the project: to create a modern, open apartment AND stay on budget. First order of business was making the ‘big moves,’ which meant tearing down the non-structural interior walls and tearing up the outdated and damaged parquet flooring. With just these changes, the homeowners could already begin to anticipate their moment of, “I can hardly believe it’s the same place we’ve lived for the past decade!”

What I love about Kris and his team is that, not only are they exceptional at getting the work done well and on-time, but their custom millwork is always so impressive! They worked with Kyle and Angela’s mid-century modern aesthetic and came up with this gorgeous walnut custom cabinet system that I assure you will never wear out, but only wear in, as this lucky couple grows into their space. For their backsplash, the homeowners went bold with a bright green mosaic tile, R’ceef 5 in lime green.

Along with opening the kitchen came operation living-room-update-and-integrate. This meant that although that rich orangey/yellowish wall color is one of beauty, it needed to be refreshed and made more current with a clean, modern white. Underfoot, the old parquets were replaced throughout with new flooring in unstained white oak.

Although transitioning to a more modern aesthetic, Kyle and Angela wanted to keep a vintage vibe pulsing through their new space. The couple mixed mid-century based furniture, including a set of classic Eames molded plastic/wire dining chairs, a pair of vintage Heywood-Wakefield side tables, and a period-inspired Elite Four walnut credenza by Radius Innovative Design, with more current pieces like their marble and stainless steel portica table from Room & Board.

One of the best parts of tracking home renovations is seeing how people choose to highlight the art and objects that make up their personal collection. Throughout Kyle and Angela’s living area, the couple showcases their very impressive collection of prints by California-based artist, Shag, and mid-century album covers by illustrator Jim Flora.

Over the dining table, they were able to bring some of that green from their backsplash out of the kitchen in another retro accent, Rejuvenation’s Astron Tri chandelier.

Kyle and Angela could not have been more excited to finally be rid of the outdated (Home Depot-centric) bathroom decor that they had come to love to hate (scroll to see it here), in exchange for their bright new, modern and material-rich space. The deep soaking tub from Kohler is cloaked, like the walls, in super white subway tile, and floating beside it is a dark oak Fresca Vanity with Versa faucet, both from Decor Planet. I personally love the texture that the carrera marble tiled floor adds to this sleek space.

All in all, this home looks great and I can’t get enough of the true personality inside. Many thanks and congrats to the happy homeowners, Angela and Kyle! Also, big thanks to Sweeten Expert Kris, Natalia, and the rest of the team for the excellent work in making this home a whole lot sweeter!

Ready to start your own project? Post to Sweeten to be set up with the best pros for the job!

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