Llia and Melissa Mackenzie purchased their property in Standish in 2011, just prior to their wedding. Since that time, they have been renovating the Cape-style home to make it their own.

One of the first things they did was rip out all of the carpeting. With the exception of the bathrooms, they wanted hardwood flooring throughout.

“We went to Lumber Liquidators and bought all the hardwood flooring for the entire house at once,” said Llia. “Melissa’s dad thought we were nuts!”

Ultimately, Melissa’s dad found someone who could teach the women how to install wood flooring, and the result of their education and labor is beautiful and rich flooring from one end of the home to the other.

According to Llia, throughout the home none of the baseboard trim matched, and none were fitted properly so where one piece ended it rarely met up with the next. So, it all had to go. Llia’s dad, an experienced home builder, helped with all of the window sills, framing and rosette corner mouldings, as well as most of the other finish carpentry.

Although the lighting in the home had all been replaced by the previous owner and is satisfactory, most of the walls in the home had been painted a neutral shade of tan. The women chose a pallet of soft, comforting shades and earth tones to warm and liven up their living spaces.

The bathrooms, however, had escaped the tan paint pot only to meet a fate far worse.

“The upstairs bathroom was awful,” said Llia, with “its terrible, speckled paint … I don’t even know what it was, but it was UGLY!” From top to bottom, that bathroom needed a makeover.

Llia and her dad started by ripping out the old vanity. They installed a new vanity and Llia’s dad taught her how to plumb the fixture. She and Melissa painted it a fresh spring green. Using some of the trim that they had purchased, they framed the mirror in the upstairs bathroom as well.

Though the toilet does not need to be ousted at this time, the small, tiled corner shower will soon be replaced – possibly with a larger, walk-in shower.

They put “Allure” on the floor in the bathroom. It looks like tile, but it’s not.

“It’s really hard to get the seams perfect,” said Llia. If the seams are not perfect, it’s not noticeable.

Typical of Cape-style homes, there are two bedrooms upstairs.

The second bedroom will soon be a nursery for their two sons, due in November.

“The ceiling in the nursery had kind of a popcorn ceiling,” said Llia. “Sanding it was the worst job ever! It was dusty and disgusting.”

They also took out a wall and a small access door in the back of the closet, making the closet deeper and larger.

Soon, a day bed area and reading nook with built-in shelves and a storage area underneath will be built in the corner near the closet. A fun, woodland theme will complete the décor in the boys’ room.

In the kitchen, they took out all the linoleum, the old appliances and the light blue countertops, and they painted the cabinetry.

“We made the mistake of using an oil-based paint to paint the kitchen cabinets,” said Llia.

It was far too glossy, so they had to sand it again and then apply a bonding primer that would bond to the oil before the cabinets could be repainted using latex, a water based paint that can be purchased with a matte/flat, eggshell or satin finish.

Ultimately, two of the cabinets will be left without doors. The cabinet above the breakfast bar will be equipped with open shelving and the area above the stove will be fitted with a wine rack.

“Putting the cabinet doors back on is the next project,” she added.

As in the bathroom, Llia’s dad helped with the plumbing and Llia and her dad installed the sink and the dishwasher.

Though many fixtures were purchased from Home Depot and Lowes, having recently redone their own kitchen, Melissa’s parents gave them their stove and refrigerator. Eventually, the couple will install all-new stainless steel appliances.

In the living room, they installed a pellet stove.

“It heats the whole house,” said Melissa, adding, “We didn’t use the oil last year, except to heat the hot water.”

Presently they are working on the design for a built-in entertainment center in the living room, made more difficult by the multiple corners, stairs, electrical needs and small wall spaces in the corner where the entertainment center will be installed.

“We don’t like doing electrical, but we learned to do the basics,” said Melissa.

The office, located on the first floor, has yet to be tackled, and is presently the storage area for tools, additional flooring and stuff, and the stairs, once carpeted, will soon be finished with hardwood runs and risers, and carpet treads for safety. Likewise, though no better than the upstairs, save for decorations to personalize the space, the downstairs bathroom hasn’t been touched and is still dark and outdated.

To increase curb appeal, Llia and her dad took down all the old shutters. They also removed the above ground pool: “We didn’t want the maintenance.”

In addition, the lot was heavily wooded.

“We had a friend who wanted the wood and took down a lot of trees for us.” Then, a family friend generously ground all of the stumps as a wedding gift. “We’re going to have loam brought in,” said Melissa, “so the boys will have a place to play soccer.”

Said Llia, “My dad and Melissa’s dad have all of the tools that we need, which is nice because we get to give them back when we’re done using them – and we won’t have to store them.”

Though the pair are doing most of the renovation work themselves, and have learned a lot from YouTube, HGTV and friends, it’s been nice to have the help of family, they agreed.

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