From Bunkhouse to Dream Home

The original dining room was floor-to-wall unpainted wood, and the ceiling tiles made the room feel even smaller. The light fixture was outdated and did not produce enough light for doing homework at the dining table.

“We are surprised by how much brighter the dining room is after painting and drywalling the ceiling,” says homeowner and college professor Robert Vettese, pictured here with his wife Tayla and sons Miles, 5, and Gus, 2. “We almost exclusively eat in the dining room. I’ve always loved houses that have used and abused dining spaces. I’m looking forward to meals, homework and games in this room in the years to come.”

The dining room ceiling was composed of 1 x 1 tiles. Robert pulled those down and installed drywall. The walls in the dining room are pine beadboard. The family painted the walls in the summer. As the air in their Maine home got dryer over the winter, the walls shrunk a bit, which has caused some cracks in the paint. It will take a day of caulking and repainting to fix. The bench at the dining table adds a relaxed feeling to the space. The sign is from an antique market in Arundel, Maine.

Robert and Tayla chose this house in part because they could slowly remodel while living in the house. But living through a remodel, with two young kids, is a big challenge for sure. “Anytime I’m trying to do something in the house, my kids love to hide my tools or stick their hands in paint,” says Robert. He found little projects for his kids to do. “While we were painting the dining room, we gave our oldest son Miles one of the walls to paint. It was kind of a glorious mess, but it kept him busy and he got to feel like he was helping.”