Living Room Remodeling

Starting with how the room gets used

Before we talk about materials, we talk about evenings. Where does everyone sit, and is the television fighting the fireplace for the same wall? We also ask where the books, the games and the kids' things end up, how much light the room gets in the afternoon and how cold it turns by the windows in January.

The answers decide the scope. A family that reads by the fire needs different lighting and seating than one that watches a game every Sunday. A room that has to hold both usually needs built-in storage that gives everything a place, so the room stays usable when people leave it.

Size and shape matter too. A long, narrow room might work best as two zones, one around the fireplace and one around the television. A room with too many doors may need one closed off to give the furniture a wall to sit against.

From that conversation we write a scope for the room alone: what changes on each wall, the ceiling and the floor, and what stays. Keeping the scope to the one room keeps the disruption to the one room.

The fireplace wall and built-ins

The fireplace is usually the center of a New England living room, and often the most dated part of it. A surround can be rebuilt in new tile, stone or painted wood, a mantel replaced or added, and the hearth extended. Anything near the firebox has to respect the code clearances to combustible materials, which decide how close wood trim and shelving can sit to the opening, so we design around those first. A hearth that has cracked or settled can be rebuilt or raised at the same time.

Built-ins on either side of a fireplace are one of the most requested parts of a living room job. In older houses the walls are rarely flat or plumb, so cabinets and shelves are scribed to the walls and floor rather than shimmed and caulked. Outlets, low-voltage wiring for a television and lighting inside the shelves get planned before the cabinetry goes in, with the electrical work done by licensed electricians.

Gas inserts and wood stoves are another option for a fireplace that is drafty or barely used. Those involve the chimney, the liner and the venting, and they go to the appropriate licensed trade. We coordinate that work with the surround and the built-ins so the finished wall is designed as one piece.

You also get a list of the selections you need to make, including the fireplace tile and the floor stain.

Replacing a bay or picture window

Large living room windows are often the weakest part of the room. Old bay windows lose heat through the seat and the roof above them, and the support underneath sags over the years. A bay replacement means checking the header above the opening, rebuilding the support for the new unit, insulating the seat and the small roof over the bay, and flashing everything so water and ice stay out. Ice dams on that small roof are a common source of the water stains people notice on the ceiling inside.

A large picture window has its own concerns: the size and weight of the glass, the header above it and how the interior trim is restored afterward. Either way, when we remove the old unit we inspect the framing around it, and any rot found at the sill is shown to you and repaired before the new window goes in.

Window replacement also changes the room from outside, so we match the exterior trim and siding around the new unit to the rest of the house. If the house sits inside a local historic district, an exterior change like this can need commission review, and we check that before ordering anything.

Ceilings, lighting and the floor underfoot

Many living rooms rely on a single ceiling fixture or on lamps alone. Recessed lighting, a fixture centered on the seating area or lights washing the fireplace wall can change the room more than any finish. In plaster ceilings this takes care, and where the room sits below an attic, fixtures are chosen to work with the insulation above. Dimmers make the same room work for a party and for a quiet night. A floor outlet near a sofa that floats in the middle of the room ends the extension cord across the rug.

Flooring is the last major piece. Oak floors in older houses can often be repaired and refinished rather than replaced, with damaged boards woven in. Where new flooring goes down, we look at how it meets the hall and the adjoining rooms so the transitions are flush.

Trim ties the room together. Many living rooms have had their casings and baseboards replaced piecemeal over the years. We can match the oldest surviving profile and run it consistently, or add details like ceiling beams or panel molding where the style of the house supports it.

Keeping the rest of the house clean

Living rooms usually sit in the middle of the house, so the work area gets sealed off with plastic, the path in from the door gets covered and the site is cleaned every day. On houses built before 1978 we follow lead-safe work practices for any painted trim or plaster that gets disturbed.

Steve keeps you informed from the first day: a clear schedule at the start, and a call or message whenever something changes.

Before work starts you get a written scope listing everything planned for the room and a schedule. You also get a list of the selections you need to make, including the fireplace tile and the floor stain. If something turns up once the walls are opened, such as old wiring behind the fireplace wall or water damage under the window, you see it and get the repair in writing with its price before it goes ahead. When the room is done, we walk it with you before calling the job finished.

See the rest of our remodeling work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.