Last week we shared all the details about the duplex exterior renovation, and today we’re focusing on a major interior milestone: drywall is up.
Reaching the drywall stage always feels like a huge step in any renovation. Rooms suddenly read as rooms again, the floor plan becomes tangible, and the final vision snaps more clearly into focus. We had a similar thrill last summer when we reached drywall at the pink house — it’s one of those moments that makes all the early headaches and dusty days feel worthwhile.
Sherry filmed a walk-through that goes room by room to explain our layout plans — everything from furniture placement to cabinet and appliance locations — but first, a quick look back. This is the living room on the left side of the duplex when we bought the property last September.
The first phase was a full demo to assess what we were dealing with. As expected, we uncovered a lot of rotted framing that needed reinforcement, significant water damage, and some mold. All of that had to be addressed before we could move forward. That demo revealed the work we needed to prioritize and shaped the sequence of the renovation.
Next up was exterior demo: new siding and roofing were required to reinforce the shell, add insulation, and prevent future leaks and water damage. During that phase the living room was stripped down to its bones — a dramatic reminder of how much the building envelope matters.
For several months we focused on rebuilding, reframing, and refitting the interior with new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems — the essential stuff that has to be installed before walls go back up. These systems are invisible once the finish work is done, but they’re the most critical parts of a successful renovation.
So having drywall in place feels momentous. Ignore the boxes in the middle of the room in the photo below — those are our three bathroom vanities that arrived early and are waiting for install.
To really appreciate how the layout is coming together, check out the video tour Sherry recorded, where she walks the space and explains what’s next. For those who prefer photos, here are a few highlights. The view below looks into what will become the kitchen. I’m standing near the boxes you saw, which mark the living room half of the main room. The other half will serve as the dining area, with a powder room just off to the right and the kitchen beyond.
We were able to expose the brick chimney, which will act as a character-filled accent in the kitchen. The sink will be centered under the back window, the stove will sit on the right wall in the photo, and the refrigerator will go in the corner just out of frame on the right.
You can also spot one of the diamond-paned doors leading to the mudroom and laundry area. That space will have pocket doors so it can be closed off from the kitchen, keeping the main room clean and streamlined when needed.
Looking back toward the front door, you can see how the living area will sit in the foreground. Picture seating arranged to face a wall-mounted TV near the stairs. The closet beneath the stairs will house the HVAC and hot water heater and serve as a locked owner’s closet so guests never have to see the mechanicals.
We’re especially pleased with how opening up the stair area changed the feel of the entry. Previously a wall hid the first five stairs and made the stairwell feel like a dark tunnel. By widening and raising the doorway, the transom now reads from inside and the whole entry feels brighter and more welcoming.
Here’s a comparison showing the original tiny opening. Closing off that space made the entry feel cramped and low, and you couldn’t see the transom. The new opening feels much more open and airy in person.
Upstairs is still fairly basic at the moment — mostly bedroom boxes — but some details already stand out. We exposed brick in the back bedroom and will add built-in shelves in the alcove so it reads as a brick-backed niche for books and décor. We also added a window at the stair landing, which brightens the upstairs circulation dramatically compared with how it looked before.
The exposed chimney continues into the main bedroom on each side. We plan to build shelving into the nook and have chosen an unconventional bed placement in that room for good reasons — Sherry details the rationale in the tour — and it will make the layout work more effectively.
One doorway leads into the en-suite bathroom and the other opens to one of two closets we added to each main bedroom. These closets add valuable storage and create space for a window bench. We even installed a fixture box above that future bench so we can hang a pendant there and make the nook feel intentionally designed.
You may notice the closet openings differ slightly from the ones Sherry showed in the video. That’s because we’re reusing two shorter, original doors on one side of the duplex and installing standard-height new doors on the other. We only had two of the original doors, so each side will end up with its own distinct details.
It’s been fun to let each side develop its own personality. One side will keep the original doors and gets a mint-colored X-paned rear door, while the other side will feature an all-wood X-paned door that’s a real showstopper. Those differences will give each unit unique charm.
With drywall complete, the next phases are priming, painting, and installing trim. After that comes tile work — we plan to tile both laundry rooms, the kitchen backsplashes, and all six bathrooms ourselves — followed by several major installations that will bring our design choices to life. We’ll also assemble and install the IKEA kitchens once they’re ready to go in. All of this points to an exciting fall of finishing work and detail-oriented projects.
P.S. You can read more about the duplex and our year-long renovation process in our project archive.
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