In the fall of 2000, Danièle and I decided to purchase and renovate a country house in Delmar, Maryland. The photo gallery below illustrates some of the thoughts and renovations.

 2. If you have a sailboat, it can determine as much as anything else where you think you will be happy. Our 30 foot Irwin sloop Airborne had a lot to say in where we would be, it having chosen to be on the Chesapeake Bay.

 3. The Chesapeake Bay is scenic and has some of the best seafood you could imagine.

 3. As we were saying, some of the best seafood imaginable, not to mention some of the more interesting places where it can be consumed.

After an extensive search, we decided on a house on Leonard Mill Pond in Delmar, Maryland. It has an excellent view, nice landscaping, solid brick construction, and the basic mix of features we were looking for. We show here the initial external and internal views.

The house on Leonard Mill Pond is a brick 4-bedroom 2-car garage rancher. It has ample landscaping in front and back, and the back faces Leonard Mill Pond.

Although the outside had lovely views, the inside was another story. One of the main concerns was a kitchen that was not only outdated, but also had a limited view of the Pond. Other problems included a pink bathtub and decor in the upstairs bathroom, and pink cabinetry in the downstairs bathroom. In addition, all downstairs backrooms facing the pond - bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and den, were small and had small openings. Further, with no basement, there was a need to develop additional storage space, notably in the garage loft area, and to upgrade the electrical and water systems.

 

Having closed on the house in November 2000, we decided to proceed in steps on renovations. We first installed a floor over the rafters in the garage, along with a folding stairway for eventual consideration of a shed dormer that would provide a third upstairs bed/guest room and additional storage space.

Next, we proceeded over the winter of 2000-2001 to open up the pocket doors of the den with arches that would join the living room and the former kitchen with a more open space. The former den would then be transformed into a library, with the sliding glass doors to be replaced by a large bay window. The kitchen would be transformed by exchanging the kitchen location with the former dining room, installation of French doors in the area where the former kitchen windows stood, and installation of a smaller bay window in place of the former dining room windows as part of the new kitchen. The downstairs bedroom facing the pond would be transformed by replacing the window facing the pond with a sliding French door system and the eventual conversion of the bedroom into a study that could house part of the book collection.

Third, we began in the winter of 2001 with the gutting up the upstairs bathroom and a complete replacement with new fixtures, all of which we arranged through a nearby Home Depot. The downstairs bathroom would have the pink doors removed and refaced with oak trim, and the mirror would have an oak framing, along with an oak medicine cabinet and a new shower door.

Fourth, we hired a contractor to remove the existing downstairs windows and doors facing the pond and their replacement by the sliding and functional French doors and bay windows that we bought through Home Depot. The contractor also undertook the necessary brick work to reface the exterior surface. This work was undertaken in the spring of 2001.

Fifth, as the rear exterior window and door units were installed, we also hired a plumber to move the water pump from underneath the house to the garage, and to reconfigure some of the plumbing to the garage to facilitate mainternance. The plumber contractor also undertook the necessary work for the kitchen reconfiguration as well as the upstairs bathroom. In addition, we decided to extend an upstairs hall closet to accommodate a stack clothes washer -drier unit, and had plumbing work connections installed accordingly. This took place in the spring and summer of 2001.

Sixth, drywall contractors removed the old kitchen cabinets, installed the arches, and undertook the upstairs bathroom and hallway closet modifications. This took place in the spring and summer of 2001.

Seventh, we hired a separate contractor to build a 35x16 foot deck on the rear of the house. This trapezoidal two-level design was undertaken in January 2002.

Eighth, we hired a contractor to replace a deteriorating wooden bulkhead in the backyard facing the pond with stones, as well as to rebuild the dock and to put in a layer of landfill behind the stone bulkheading. This was undertaken in the fall of 2001. We also contracted for the placement of a gazebo in the backyard in the fall of 2001.

Ninth, in the summer of 2001, we had a contractor install a tile floor over the area from the kitchen, dining area, and library. This was then followed by a fall 2001 installation of new kitchen cabinets and appliances.

Tenth, new windows were installed to replace all units upstairs, as well as the downstairs study in the spring of 2002. Additional purchases were made for replacement of the remaining downstairs windows in the side and front area, the only ones yet remaining being the living room picture window and the front door unit.

Eleventh, all upstairs rooms were repainted in the winter of 2002, and renovations of existing closets were undertaken in the fall of 2002 to increase storage flexibility.

Twelfth, contracting is expected to proceed for the installation of the shed dormer room over the garage in the spring of 2003, along with skylights and continuing replacements for downstairs windows.