Before & After: This 1920s Bungalow Got a Brilliant Makeover, Thanks to a Budget IKEA Kitchen

Name: Claire Chartrand and spouse Craig Eden
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
Type of home: 1920s bungalow — complete remodel
Size: 1,000 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years, owned

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I currently live here with my husband who runs his own renovation business. I am a dietitian working at our local hospital. Because of my husband’s background in renovations and construction and our shared love of interior design, we knew we wanted to buy an older home with original character that we could renovate to our style. This is our first home and when we saw it, we knew immediately it was for us!

The previous owner had lived here for about 70 years and it was clearly a well-loved home that was in fantastic condition and just required updating. The house was built in the 1920s and had original hardwood strip flooring, solid cedar doors with antique hardware, original baseboards and trim, and vintage register covers. We were determined to maintain these features.

Throughout the renovation process we removed a wall and archway from the main living space to create an open concept floor plan, which allowed us to expand the kitchen. We added a new budget-friendly IKEA kitchen and completely renovated the bathroom.

The original front porch was enclosed long before we bought the house and was being used as a sweet, pink hair salon. As neither of us have any skills in hairdressing, we decided to convert this space into a functional mudroom/laundry room/entryway. We are currently working on renovating the exterior of the house and can’t wait to add outside living space next summer.

What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room is the front mudroom/laundry room/entryway. It gets the most natural light. I love the built-in bench and this room provides so much extra storage. We also moved our stackable washing machine and dryer into this room. Since many of the old houses in our neighborhood don’t have main floor laundry facilities, this will definitely be a bonus if we ever decide to sell.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Craftsman meets mid-century character home.

If you could magically change something about your home, what would it be? The house has three bedrooms but they are all quite small. I would love if each bedroom could be extended by three more feet in each direction.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? We recently bought two chairs for our living room from The Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada. We had been searching for about two years for the perfect size, shape, and color chairs so we were ecstatic to find these on sale!

Which fictional character would be most at home in your place? This is a difficult question but I think perhaps Hermione Granger from Harry Potter would enjoy living in our home. We aimed to make logical decisions when renovating the house and to keep it as organized as possible due to its smaller size. These are two personality traits that Hermione possesses.

Any advice for creating a home you love? Take your time, do your research and plan ahead. I feel like it’s better to invest in pieces that you love and are timeless instead of rushing into purchases just to get your house furnished.

Thanks, Claire and Craig!

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before & After: A 1920s Bungalow’s Makeover Is Thanks to a Budget IKEA Kitchen