Last month we shared how refinishing the floors at the duplex felt like a major turning point after more than a year of renovation. After months of invisible, expensive work—plumbing, electrical, structural fixes—seeing the floors transformed made everything feel real. Now we’re firmly in the fun phase: bringing in rugs, lighting, furniture, and accessories so the place finally reads as a home instead of a construction site.

Here’s the rebuilt wall in the main bedroom on the left side of the duplex. We essentially reconstructed this wall from the studs and finished it in a light, airy palette that sets the tone for the rest of the room.

The rug in this bedroom originally lived in the pink house’s living room, where it often read too dark against a deep sectional. Here, beneath a fluffy white bed, it reads much lighter and brighter. We paired it with painted pink closet doors and a capiz chandelier that we moved from the dining room in the pink house—little swaps like that make a big visual difference.

During framing we added two closets flanking the window, because the room was the largest but originally had no closet at all. Two closets provide abundant storage and visual symmetry; a single closet would have felt awkward and cut into the corner of the room.

This is the same bedroom as seen from the door. We plan to add thick wooden shelves inside the exposed chimney nook, which will bring warmth and extra display or storage space.

Below is how the bedroom looked when we bought the house: a plain box with a drop ceiling concealing extensive mold and rot above. The difference after repair and fresh finishes is dramatic.

On the other side of the duplex, the back bedroom retains the only salvageable original doors: narrow pine doors with their original hardware. Their small latches and faux lower drawers with cup pulls add so much charm and personality.

Because these doors are shorter than standard height, we added cubbies above them. We love the juxtaposition of curved baskets and a rounded chandelier against all the rectangular lines—those softer shapes help balance the space.

Kitchen progress has been exciting, too. Over the holiday break we assembled cabinets on both sides of the duplex, which came with the usual hiccups but moved us past a big hurdle. Appliances are on their way and counters should be templated and installed soon, so we can finally see the finish line. After that we’ll add shelves, hardware, and a bold patterned backsplash to complete the look.

Here’s the right-side kitchen and the adjacent mudroom/laundry. We still need to build the storage cabinet, but we’re waiting for the stacked washer and dryer to be installed first. The painted pocket doors (color: Oyster Bay by Sherwin Williams) lead into the kitchen and will likely stay open most of the time—useful for keeping laundry noise contained when needed, and honestly they’re just adorable.

We’ll add lots of mudroom storage here—hooks, baskets, and cubbies for shoes, towels, bathing suits, and more. With outdoor showers just steps from the back door, this space will get heavy use and needs to be organized and durable.

On the left side of the duplex we chose moody blue-green-gray cabinets that read a bit bright under the protective film. Once the film is removed after appliance and counter installation, you’ll see the truer, grayer-green tone we love for a beach house: playful, coastal, and not over the top.

We tiled the mudroom off that kitchen in a similar pattern to the other side but in a different colorway, so each side feels related without being identical—like cousins, not twins. We still need to install quarter round trim in this room after a few built-ins go in, but the overall feel is already cohesive and intentional.

These are just a few of the spaces that already feel so much better—even before the big delivery of furniture and décor we’re driving down in a rented box truck next week. Progress like this is energizing, and we’re counting down the days until we can share photos with beds, sofas, curtains, art, and all the finishing touches in place.

P.S. To view the full duplex renovation timeline from the beginning, check our duplex category for posts covering buying, planning, rebuilding, tiling, and refinishing the floors.

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