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Open first floor with a natural maple kitchen island, living room and sliding shoji door to the sunroom in Melrose, MA
Melrose, MA · Cedar Park

Melrose Whole-House Renovation of a 1915 Home

~2,210 sq ft
renovated, studs to finish
22
new windows
1 chimney
removed, roof to basement

The project

This 1915 house was laid out as a set of small rooms. The kitchen sat at the back, the dining and living rooms were closed off from it, and an old brick chimney ran up through the middle of the house. The owners wanted an open first floor, a primary bath and new heating and cooling.

Our designer measured the house, drew two design options in 3D and refined the plan with the family. To open the first floor, we took the chimney out from the roof down to the basement and set two steel beams flush with the ceiling to carry the floor above. The first floor, second floor and attic were taken back to the studs, and the old boiler and radiators came out for a new heating and cooling system.

Now the kitchen, dining and living areas share one open room, with natural maple cabinets, a stone-topped island and a walk-in pantry. A small rear addition on a new foundation holds a mudroom with laundry and a powder room, and the side screen porch was enclosed as a sunroom. Upstairs, a new primary suite has its own bath and closet, there is a new hall bath, and the landing is lined with built-in bookshelves. We also put in 22 new windows and a 200-amp electrical service.

What's included

Whole houseAdditionKitchenBathroomMudroomSunroom

Add-ons

Chimney removed from roof to basementTwo flush steel beams to open the first floorWalk-in pantry with pegboard wall22 new windowsBoiler and radiators replaced with new heating and cooling200-amp electrical serviceScreen porch enclosed as a sunroom with sliding shoji doorBuilt-in bookshelves and window seat on the second-floor landingWall-hung toilets in the new baths

Before and after

Before: Kitchen: painted cabinets and a freestanding range gave way to natural maple flat-panel cabinets, a stone-topped island and a gas rangetop under a chimney hood, with the sink still facing the garden.BEFORE
After: Kitchen: painted cabinets and a freestanding range gave way to natural maple flat-panel cabinets, a stone-topped island and a gas rangetop under a chimney hood, with the sink still facing the garden.AFTER
Kitchen: painted cabinets and a freestanding range gave way to natural maple flat-panel cabinets, a stone-topped island and a gas rangetop under a chimney hood, with the sink still facing the garden.
Before: Living room: the dark beamed ceiling and heavy trim are gone, and the old French door to the porch is now a sliding shoji door into the new sunroom.BEFORE
After: Living room: the dark beamed ceiling and heavy trim are gone, and the old French door to the porch is now a sliding shoji door into the new sunroom.AFTER
Living room: the dark beamed ceiling and heavy trim are gone, and the old French door to the porch is now a sliding shoji door into the new sunroom.
Before: Side porch: the open screen porch was enclosed as a year-round sunroom with shiplap walls and ceiling and wide windows.BEFORE
After: Side porch: the open screen porch was enclosed as a year-round sunroom with shiplap walls and ceiling and wide windows.AFTER
Side porch: the open screen porch was enclosed as a year-round sunroom with shiplap walls and ceiling and wide windows.
Before: Front hall: the closed-in entry now opens to the kitchen, with a rebuilt stair of oak treads and black balusters and a tile floor.BEFORE
After: Front hall: the closed-in entry now opens to the kitchen, with a rebuilt stair of oak treads and black balusters and a tile floor.AFTER
Front hall: the closed-in entry now opens to the kitchen, with a rebuilt stair of oak treads and black balusters and a tile floor.

The floor plan, before and after

Existing floor plan
Existing first floor
New floor plan
New first floor with the open kitchen, dining and living, pantry and mudroom addition
Natural maple kitchen with a stone-topped island, built-in refrigerator, wall ovens and a doorway to the walk-in pantryGas rangetop with a chimney hood and gray tile wall, maple cabinets and a view down the open first floorOpen first floor with the kitchen island on one side and the living room on the otherWalk-in pantry with maple cabinets, cookbook shelves and a purple pegboard wall for pots and pansSecond-floor landing with built-in bookshelves around a window seat and an oak and black baluster stair railBath vanity with maple drawers, marble top, wall-mounted faucet and glossy gray brick tileWalk-in shower in white mosaic tile beside a wall-hung toilet and leaded-glass windowRear mudroom with stacked washer and dryer, coat pegs and a purple back door

Finishes we used

Cabinets
Schrock Trademark Rivali maple in a natural finish in the kitchen and baths; white in the mudroom, laundry and built-ins.
Kitchen
Stone-topped island, gas rangetop under a chimney hood and a walk-in pantry with a pegboard wall.
Baths
Wall-hung toilets and glass showers in the new primary and hall baths.
Systems
New heating and cooling in place of the boiler and radiators, and a 200-amp electrical service.
Projects like this
Whole-house renovation, 13 projects we built 2020–2025
$335k–$550k
Typical range (middle half of jobs), change orders included. Your price is set in a fixed-price agreement before work starts and changes only if you change the job.
Get a range for your house

Questions about this project

What did this Melrose renovation include?

We took the house back to the studs, removed the old chimney, opened the first floor on two flush steel beams, built a new kitchen and walk-in pantry, added a small rear addition for a mudroom with laundry and a powder room, enclosed the screen porch as a sunroom, created a primary suite and hall bath upstairs, and replaced the windows, heating and electrical service.

Can you open up the first floor of an older Melrose home?

Often, yes. In this 1915 house the chimney came out from the roof down to the basement, and two steel beams set flush with the ceiling carry the floor above.

Who designed this project?

PEGASUS did. Our in-house designer drew the existing house and the new plans, and our crew built it.

What do projects like this cost?

Whole-house projects we built from 2020 to 2025 typically ran $335k to $550k. Your price is set in a fixed-price agreement before work starts.

Planning something similar in Melrose?
Start with a design meeting. We design it, price it and build it with our own team.
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