mievna

mievna /mi݀݀݀݀ɛvˈnɐː/

1920 bathroom kitchen upstairs

The personal home of Grant Badgley, Owner of Akeldama, was the very first remodel and in fact led to the creation of our company. Beginning in 2020, this upstairs remodel was performed to provide living quarters for Grant as he started his career in the workforce after high school. Over the course of the project, though, it gradually became his career as he realized the rewarding process of restoring and improving homes was also feasible as a company.

The goal of this project was to create an upstairs living space that could operate as a separate unit independent from the main level of the home. To accomplish this, one of the three bedrooms in the space was eliminated to enlarge the kitchenette into a fully functional kitchen with bar seating and living space. further, the bathroom once equipped with a clawfoot tub was expanded by opening it to unfinished attic space and adorned with a tile shower and laundry area. An additional 60 square feet that was walled off without any floor framing (due to a previous remodel) was re-gained as a pantry complete with the original hardwood floors that were saved from the bathroom.

To preserve the charm of this home built in 1920, the original hardwood floors, trim, and doors were all preserved and restored. The floors and doors were sanded down and refinished, while the trim was sanded and painted a medium gray which creates a lovely contrast against the warm floors and white walls. In the bathroom, the original trim wasn’t worth saving and was replaced with pine stained black to contrast against the light gray walls and brown floors. The focus on natural materials continues with the cherry countertops and maple cabinets in the kitchen, all built from scratch by Grant. In reflection on the project, he is proud that from the start of optimizing layouts and utilizing high quality materials was a priority. Some of the building science and mechanical details of the project, though, he now regards as lackluster and is glad these aspects of Akeldama remodels have improved since.