Have you followed along with the DIY Network’s Blog Cabin project as they remodeled this old cottage on the water in Atlantic, North Carolina?
They’re giving it away to one lucky viewer, and the winner will be announced on October 11, and it comes furnished.
Let’s take a look at how the makeover turned out…
The old cedar shake cottage was built in the late 1800s on the Crystal Coast and had issues like water damage to contend with.
Blog Cabin is described by DIY as “a multimedia experience based on a very simple idea: You Design It, We Build It, You Could Win It! Blog Cabin will then be featured on six special episodes of the hottest DIY Network shows: Mega Dens, Bath Crashers, Yard Crashers, House Crashers, Kitchen Crashers and Desperate Landscapes.”
Visit the DIY Network website for all the before and after photos
of the cottage and more information about the project.
Very nice! I love what they’ve done with the exterior, landscape and docks. The interior however, makes me a bit sad. Although the new finishings are lovely, it seems to me that they belong in a full time home, rather than a vacation property. I really liked the seaside vibe the interior had in the before shots.
Oh Alie B….you took the words right out of my mouth. They might as well have just tore the old house down which I thought, barring some overgrown weeds and a new paint job, would have a been a lovely place to call home or cabin. After looking at all the picture, and its a lovely place, its definitely not even remotely the same house with half the character it had.
Completely agree with you two! They ruined the spirit and soul of the home to become a new construction, daily home with sea shells spread out to make it beachy.
I agree with Alie. The great room could have been changed a bit, but in the before picture it was more glamorous, IMO.
Oh, nay nay! They’ve ruined the character of that place. Sorry, but I MUCH prefer the before (with a new dock, of course!)
I agree, why not keep the cottage look and renovate it this looks like a teardown
Totally agree. Why is bigger and shinier always thought of as better? The house was striped of its charm and aged patina, now it’s just another hybridized McMansion.
I TOTALLY agree! (On the new deck, too. 🙂 It’s funny how the old living room had beadboard ceilings that they removed…I *just* put IN beadboard ceilings. The redo is gorgeous, but a bit too fussy for my laid back, shorehouse taste. To each his own, I guess!
Add me to the NO list. They ruined this house.
My first thought: “this is not a REMODEL.”
It doesn’t even look like the same house 🙁 – they totally stripped away the character and completely sanitized the whole thing. Why not just build an entirely new house if your going to gut an old one with character??
My same thoughts. While scrolling down from pic 1 to pic 2 I thought: “that’s not an B&A, that’s a completely different house!
Alas! I liked the before! Much more character.
I’m always the negative one on reviews it seems . . . but I SO agree with you! I loved ALL of the ‘before’ house . . . .all character gone. The old house was timeless . . ..
Love the outside …..like the inside before pictures !
To love or not to love… 🙂
Well, it sure looks like another cottage. Almost nothing was kept the same. Character? I think it still has it, but in a modern, more up-to-date way.
This cottage will appeal to many because it’s trendy, but it also have many timeless elements. I particular, love the location and the millwork found here… not to mention that porch! So, no complains on this side of the fence! 😉
Have a blessed week, Julia!
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
I, too, thought the living room ‘before’ was the ‘after’. Then I started picking it apart + critiquing the ‘too-small-rug” etc. However, the re-do is way too sleek for my tastes. Kind of took the personality away, showcasing the decorator’s chops, instead. Yawn. Oh, one question: can I put those coastal-style horizontal wire railings on my landlocked cottage here in Illinois? I mean, SHOULD I? Just wondering.
I don’t think the horizontal wire railings are particularly coastal – I think they would look classic on your cottage! And little to no maintenance – what’s not to love?
I have to say I’m with everyone else. Personally, I like the before better. It is wonderful that they fixed it up, but they should have stayed with the same aesthetic. It fells like a lovely suburban neighbor house now. Plus the kitchen looks so much smaller and tighter.
Love it! What a wonderful makeover! Fabulous curb appeal on the outside for this cabin, great new dock, really lovely redo.
I liked the before better. Maybe a fresh coat of paint and that before living room was so much better.
great job,same feel,just a little classier,unsure about the kitchen
I kinda love the “before” too.
That’s too bad. The Before had MUCH more character and charm. At least I won’t be sad not to win this one!
I wouldn’t cry if I won it, but I have to agree with some of the previous comments. I suppose I’m a bit of a romantic, and I am also a sucker for a cottage. When I saw the before picture, I was expecting to scroll down and see an updated cottage, maybe a kitchen with fun, colorful retro appliances and vintage-y light fixtures, but the new version just looks…new. I’m sure the new version is much more energy efficient, etc…, but I wish there was a bit more of a nod to its humble, cottage beginning. I kind of liked the old great room with its painted floors. Oh well, I suppose spending some time on that awesome front porch would help me get over the sadness at seeing they removed that beautiful old door from the great room!
Like most everyone else, I kind of liked the before better. Love how the outside looks although it doesn’t resemble the original at all. But I thought the inside looked more beachy and had a lot more character. Having said that, I hope as heck I win it so I can play with it and make it look more ‘coastal’ again! Certainly wouldn’t knock it back if it was offered… 🙂
This makes me so sad! All the vintage charm is now gone! As a vintage vendor, I attend various estate sales in and around Chicago only to find out that so many great old homes are due for the wrecking ball, or worse, and couple with modern tastes that is clearing out the house for a gut redo. While I understand wanting to put your signature on it and maybe giving the appliances an upgrade, why strip the entire place down to the support beams? This house now looks like a cookie cutter model home. I too vote for the before look! -Richard
I agree that tne character is gone. It now looks like new houses everywhere. The screen porch on tne old house was inviting, the new porch is jusf an entryway.
They ruined the kitchen.
Agreed. Just horrible.
I also agree – the new one is terrible and I much prefer the original. The new one is tiny and there is too much going on – the granite, tiles and timber all clash with each other.
Absolutely! It’s not just the cold finishes, they made a big kitchen into a one person kitchen – all wrong for a beach home where part of the pleasure is casual meals prepared together! The way it’s laid out, the designated cook is ‘trapped’ behind that bar in a small square of work space. Just imagine trying to work at the sink while someone is emptying the dishwasher and someone else wants a drink from the fridge!
I really want to talk to the designer and shake them. For me, a kitchen design has to work for how I want to live. The finishes are important, but a beautiful kitchen that doesn’t work is not worth it…and this kitchen’s looks don’t appeal to me.
My bags are packed!!! 😉
I’m sure I’m in the minority but….I actually prefer the rustic, cottage-y feel of the BEFORE photos. ???? I’m not a fan of the updates.
Actually, if you read all the comments before yours, the minority is folks liking it better. Everyone seems to agree the character is gone.
Looks like they took a beach shack out of a novel and turned it into one in a sitcom.
Geez, I prefer the BEFORE. Now it just looks the generic here lets put in a new backsplash and bright new shiny things that have no character.
I liked the before better. It had so much character and was really ageless. Why couldn’t they have just done any required repairs. Not everyone likes shiney open concept everything!
Mark me down as a “no”. My one bedroom apartment has a bigger kitchen. All I see when I look at this one is the fridge. Also, why even bother with a tv? It’s supremely small and placed high and the couch isn’t even facing it. They completely stripped all character from this house. However, I do like the dock and it looks like there aren’t any close neighbors.
I like the new dock. That’s it.
The ‘before’ had so much character, one that seemed to flow with it’s surroundings. They completely erased all of it’s rustic cottage charm, and replaced it with something that looks like every other newer modern house, be it in real life or in a sitcom. If that style floats someones boat, that’s great, but that’s what’s trending right now, so could have been found elsewhere or built new, thereby not ruining this vintage charming gem.
Also, the new kitchen is way too claustrophobic for me!….uhm, beach house, vacation home, family time = gathering in the kitchen too. Sadly, there isn’t room for it now.
The old had so much character, the new is so cookie cutter. Now that new kitchen is so tiny. Just another example of “re-muddling.”
I agree that the interior redo is lacking the charm and character of the before, but it’s not bad. Not sure I like the kitchen that much. The exterior is very nice. However, aren’t there a lot of mosquitos in that area? I think a screened in porch would be much more practical.
I agree — you can never go wrong with a screened porch, especially near the water!
City folks can’t imagine the insect life at the beach or in the country. Lack of imagination is a curse in the present day. I wonder about the fireplace and no chimneys in the after photo, so what’s the point of saving the fireplace?
Put me in the no camp too…glad to hear I’m not the only one. From the looks of it they pulled down the two existing fireplaces and replaced them with a prefeb vent-less gas one.
Also, that kitchen is now like a closet. A vacation home would be the place I’d want to cook with family, not be cooped-up in a dark charmless box or wander in to zap something in the micro.
For all the work and money spent to rehab it into nothing special, they are still stuck with the low ceilings. If they were going to do all that it might’ve worked better to just start from scratch.
The exterior looks beautiful though.
I just noticed they didn’t even bother to built the fireplace box on the outside of the house, they used the mantle front and built the box for the fireplace inside the room, now taking up floorspace inside the room footprint, when before it was outside.
This is a joke, right? Somebody photoshopped it to look like their new build is on the same site. No way that old cottage is someplace inside this posh hotel. It will take a gardener, a couple of servants to keep it clean, and another just to clean the sand off the floors. With a kitchen too small to cook a meal in. Much less prep for a clambake.
This has to be the worst ‘remodel’ i’ve ever seen. The old one had its problems, but it was suitable to its place, while this architect dreamed up just another house in an inappropriate location. Ick.
Odd question: Julia, did you mention a while ago about a a famous female designer and gardener (I think she specifically deals with growing and cultivating roses) ? I remember browsing a website/portfolio a while back but never bookmarked it, and I can’t for the life of me remember her name or how I originally stumbled on it.
Hmmm…that’s not ringing a bell. Does anyone else know what she might be talking about?
I mean, it might not have been you (the internet has a way of spitting stuff at you, you know?) it just seemed like something you would have posted about and I would have clicked through. The mystery continues!
Maybe Penelope Bianchi?
I watched to redo of this house on cable at my dad’s apartment and I seem to remember them actually tearing down some walls that were so bad that they could not keep them, so this is pretty much a new house. One thing no one has mentioned, but they kept saying on the show is that they asked viewers about paint colors, what kind of coffee table to make or buy and all kinds of other questions and let people vote, so maybe a lot of people are pleased with the way this turned out. I am with all of you that would have a screened porch. The “no-see-ums” are bad near water. 😉
Horrible! They ruined the outside and the inside isn’t much better. I liked it before!
Agree with the other comments…so many cool things they should have kept, looked creepy on the outside before, but i bet the shake shingles were in good shaped and could have just been painted, and the chimneys were neat too..on the inside it was really cool. They should have just built a new house beside it and made this one the guest house
I agree, I wouldn’t hate to win it, but I really wish they would have kept it more cottage like. The kitchen is way too small now, and the old one was much better although it could have had some updates.
The outside looks like a completely different house, but it’s still nice. I do not like what they did with the great room, it looked better in the “before”.
Hi Julia must say the before looked like a beach cottage the after looks like a show home (beautifully done) and I wouldn’t say no….. Thank you for sharing. Regards Esther from Sydney.
Loved the wicker and the white painted floors in the “before” shots. The kitchen is so much smaller and the “after” furniture will be dated in the next 10 years. What a shame 🙁
I agree with everyone else. They replaced priceless character with generic trendy. Boring, and out of place. Too bad. I’d love to curl up with a book in that original living room and cook a meal with loved ones in that old kitchen. Bah.
What happened to the chimneys? And how small is that pokey kitchen? Imagine having a group of friends or family for a holiday and trying to do anything around the kitchen? The before lounge room had a much better vibe for a coastal cottage too. I’m sorry, but I’m with the majority here…this isn’t a sympathetic reno here.
Not a fan of the after. It’s too modern and lacks the charm of the before. Also, I hate that kitchen. They couldn’t have picked a worse spot to put it in. It’s way too small and it looks like you can only fit one or two people in there.
ohdear! Loving the exterior in spite of stately chic vs.screen door creak comfortable, B-u-t the Interior changes not at all. The beach house relax & visit feel is now replaced by streamlined city sophisticated. The wicker in the living room allowed for more people in beach comfort conversational seating (no worry about a flop down in a still damp suit) also, easily lifting aside for music and dance or multiple sleeping bags of extra family or friends…or a rained out picnic brought inside. WHAT happened to the kitchen??? No multiple chefs in there nor after dinner cleanup crew when lotZ of folks have been fed and many hands are much welcomed, and happy to talk & help during clean-up. NYC apartment, yEs…Beach house entertaining, NO!!! I enjoy lots of company and entertaining and would give the new.changed design an F in that.consideration.
I agree with the majority of comments. If this were a new-build, it would be fine. However, most of the charm of the old vernacular is gone. It no longer looks like it could have been there a hundred years. They must have raised this up off the ground, which would be a good idea for its location. I’d say, raise it up, repair the water damage, re-build the dock, perhaps open it up a bit on the interior, but keep the charm of the old. No chimneys??? Too expensive to re-build, I guess, if they raised the foundation. Looks like the ‘before’ kitchen was in the addition on the front, but by tearing that down and squeezing it into a corner of the living room, they’ve really cut down on the livable space for the gathering room, where the idea is to have room for a crowd. Fail. I didn’t watch the show (I never know when these are on and never think to check), but they lost me on this one.
I agree wholeheartedly with your comments! I made a few extras of my own below…but yup, I think they missed the mark on calling this a ‘rebuild’. It looks like an entirely new cabin to me.
I was already disappointed when seeing some of the after pictures, but the images that hit home were from the water looking at the home. Loved seeing the rustic cabin from the water (of course the dock needed replacing) and felt like such a warm, solitary, and safe place for whomever was staying there.
I am not sure how this can even be called a remodel. There isn’t anything left of the cabin before except the fireplace. They ruined the spirit and soul of the home to become a new construction, daily home with sea shells spread out to make it a beach cabin.
I vote for the before! Sure the outside needed a lift, but to get rid of the painted white floors, the beadboard ceiling, etc. removes all of the original character. And I agree – a screened in porch would probably make more sense in this area.
I like both the before and after look. However the after look has lost the original cabin’s charm. If there were structural changes that needed to take place, that I could see. However why not rebuild those necessary areas AND keep the original charm?
If I had the good fortune to have a cabin near water, I suspect my tastes would run more towards the ‘before’ look. On the other hand, if I won this cabin I wouldn’t sneeze at it 😉 I’d probably start removing some of the ‘uptown’ looking things and replacing with furnishes more to my taste.
The ‘after’ is pretty and classy….but if I didn’t know it was a waterfront cabin, I might have thought it was a home anywhere with beach inspired decor. This is a waterfront cabin— I think it would have benefitted from retaining more of that charm.
Oy vey. They basically created a new house while completely ruining the integrity of the original. First, the exterior was charming with it’s shingle siding (which they easily could have re-created) and why in the world would you do away with a screened porch? The great room was charming in it’s original state, as was the kitchen–they only needed tweaking. It looks like much of what DIY and HGTV do, which isn’t a crime in itself, but in this case is a complete butchering of the character of the former structure.
I see far too much of this same type of thing in real life – gut the charm/individuality out of a house and replace it with a H*me Depot/P*ttery Barn showroom that’s bland and boring in all it’s sameness. Even in expensive finishes, it’s that same look repeated no matter the style of house: Victorians, craftsmen, tudor, you name it and they all have to have to be re-muddled with sleek cabinets and granite. Bah!
What’s left here is no space for entertaining/cooking/hanging out with family friends which is what a vacation home should be all about.
PS
Whoever built that windowless solitary confinement kitchen must not like cooking – or the cook!
Put me in the camp with those who don’t like this. I think part of the charm of a beach house is that they tend to be a little run down, inconvenient, “shacky.” I’m absolutely aghast that they took that sunny little kitchen and turned it into a cave straight out of a builder’s show house.
I prefer the before myself. Yes the exterior needed some work but I think the charm and character of the house is gone. Oh well…just my opinion.
What can I say? The after is gorgeous (except about the kitchen; but in France we don’t usually have big ones) but the before was cute! It’s like the first house had been completely destroyed and a new one had been created! The charm is missing except maybe for the outside that looks better now…
Wow. I can’t believe how upset I am at the “makeover”. I commented above about the kitchen (bad) but the rest of the house is wrong, too. The biggest problem is that the renovated house completely ignored its function. It’s a beach house in a beach environment. The big kitchen, screened porch and casual great room served a purpose. Now, the kitchen is too small for a group to cook together, the glorious outdoor water view can’t be enjoyed because of bugs and don’t even think of dropping your wet towels in that overdone living room! Not to mention they’ve eliminated the cracklong wood fire on a cool spring night. Even if you’d prefer the ease of gas, the location means they probably have to feed it with a tank AND they’ve taken valuable floor space from the room to install the box. And, is it just me, or do those floors look like they’re not hardwood?
Kudos for repairing the dock and dealing with water damage, but this space would be better in an urban apartment, not a beach house.
The house has lost its cozy, its warmth, its vacation feel, its personality.
Yikes. Looked much better when it was actually a cottage. This makes me sad.
You ruined it.
Looks like you guys took away everything that gave this cottage character and replaced it with a cookie cutter design – kinda like gutting out a ’69 Mustang and transforming it to look like a ’99 Taurus.
Hayden, you just made me snort my tea! Meaning, I laughed out loud. Fabulous way to describe what’s happened to this house.
Agree — I loved the “OLD” home – it had heart and soul, what a shame to do that to that beautiful home. Have they lost their mind? What happened to preservation and historic renovation? If this was in Europe, the old would have endured and made to be renewed and restored not destroyed.