In this post: If you want to add character to an ordinary townhouse, you’ll appreciate the story of how we transformed our modern townhouse into a French Country home.⇒
I live in an empty nest.
The house one chooses to live in once the kids leave the nest has very different requirements than the one you choose to live in when you’re first raising a family.
One of the questions I’m asked most often is how we came to select the house we live in.
In today’s post I’m sharing why I chose my house, what works and what needs adjusting.
The most important thing to know about my house is that it’s a “typical” new townhouse, attached on one side.
The downside of a townhouse, particularly a new one, is that it often lacks character. Materials are generally builder’s grade, floor plans are limited to just a few options, and all of the homes in the neighborhood look the same on the outside. There are rules that restrict what you can do to the exterior, and even plantings need to be approved.
But oh how the positives outweigh these negatives!
The real reason we chose this home is precisely because it was a modern townhouse, and some of the key benefits had to do with not being responsible for the outside. Our development provides gardening and snow removal and anything that needs repair on the outside of the townhouse is not our burden. It’s super easy living.
Likewise, a new home brings with it other advantages, from smoother walls and fewer repairs, to a layout tailored to modern living. Our ceilings are high, our closets are spacious and our rooms have a semi-open concept. The laundry is conveniently located on the second floor, while downstairs the kitchen opens up to the congenial family room.
Our windows aren’t painted shut, the gas fireplace turns on with the flip of a switch, and most of the mechanical systems are state of the art.
But a new modern townhouse is short on personality, and this is the area I knew I’d spend most of my time on.
We already had a house full of furniture from our old house (an old brick colonial from the 40’s which you can see HERE), and to start off I brought most of it along to our new place. While we were downsizing in price, the house itself is actually a lot bigger than our previous home, so everything fit and I wanted to preserve the French Country character I had cultivated all these years.
Updating the furniture is something I’ve been working on throughout the four years we’ve been here, but for this post I wanted to focus on the things that are unique to the townhouse itself. As it turns out, most of the negatives we’ve been able to convert into positives, giving priority to adding character in my beloved French Country home style.
The first space I’ll highlight is the back patio, the only outdoor space that we own as part of the house. We do have grass and trees beyond our terrace, but those are technically common land that belong to the development. So we needed to ensure our patio served all of our needs, and furnished it accordingly, with a conversation area that could also be used for sunning. A small bistro set allows us to eat outside, and we also have a grill placed next to our kitchen. It turns out the patio is so convenient, that we use it more than we ever used our old backyard.
While the patio simply called for decorating and furniture, the space that commanded the most work was the original kitchen. Given the house was only 5 years old when we bought it, it was hard to justify ripping out such a significant room, but I was clear before we bought it that I would only proceed with the purchase if we agreed to some renovation.
It was a dark cherry wood with all black counters and a dark gray backsplash and mud colored floor. It was as far from modern French country as a room could be and the darkness depressed me every time I walked into the room
I did compromise and save money by painting the cabinets white and installing glass front doors, and the hardware was changed as well to go with the new pendant lighting. Antique accessories underscore my French style and look lovely set against the new marble backsplash.
(You can see more of our dramatic kitchen renovation here.)
A smaller project and perhaps my very favorite, was the transformation of a storage closet, located next to the dining room, into a butler’s pantry with an elegant French look. Again I chose white cabinets with brass hardware, and a white marble counter and calacatta backsplash. The wine fridge makes it useful, and the chandelier is more whimsical, incorporating vintage teacups and pink crystal drops.
See the butler’s pantry renovation here. You won’t believe the before picture!
The third renovation that helped make this modern townhouse a home, was the one we recently did to update the master bath. Like the kitchen, we didn’t change the footprint, as the room was pretty new and needed only cosmetic changes, but I could not stand the tile and nearly all black vanity. We replaced all the tile, along with the vanity and counter. The white with pops of grey offers the perfect backdrop for my vintage silver and crystal pieces, as well as the lovely warmth of the satin brass hardware.
See the full bathroom renovation here.
There were other less involved changes we made to add French character to our home, including a new fireplace mantel that became the focal point in our family room. It’s white and traditional, with carved details and is sized ideally for its place in the room.
We also changed most of the lighting, using primarily vintage pieces, to add a grander style to the majority of our rooms. Gilding and crystal figure prominently here, and we used reproductions as well, when it seemed the smarter option.
Additionally we added molding to the rooms where it was missing, a key component to bringing character to a modern townhouse. At the same time we dressed things up using elegant hardware and trim, including drapery rods and tie backs for a period look in our spaces.
I love having the best of both worlds in our updated empty nest, mixing the character of old with the convenience of new.
But the thing I love most is having the open space to entertain, and all brand new bedrooms to entice the kids to come back and visit!
French Country Home Resource List
To get the look, click on the items below for direct links to the products. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided similar options.
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.)
Please visit my blogger friends’ posts below in which they answer why they each chose their homes… 🙂
Monday’s Homes
Town and Country Living / Designthusiasm / Stonegable Blog
Tuesday’s Homes
The Happy Housie / The Wicker House / Sincerely Marie Designs
It All Started with Paint / Maison de Cinq / Jennifer Rizzo
Wednesday’s Homes
Worthing Court / The Happy Housie Cabin / Duke Manor Farm
IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
- The Ultimate Guide to French Country Decor Essentials
- 10 Ways to Save Money When Decorating with French Country Decor
- 5 Affordable Room Makeovers: How to Modernize French Country Decor
- The 6 Defining French-Inspired Style Elements I Use In Every Room
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Gorgeous transformation! You’ve given me some good ideas as to changing the looks of my existing furniture. Thanks.
Thanks, Eileen!
As always you have done a spectacular job. Everything is so light and lovely. You have proven that you can make any room look french country. We are downsizing but I have a husband who for some unknown reason, feels he must have space and land. So we are going from 48 acres to 17. At least this time the front looks like a woodland park and we will behind it with a very small front yard that will need little care. After 50 years together I appreciate that we can compromise. The land is his, the house is mine to do as I please. Fun to come!
Sounds like the perfect compromise! Thank you for the kind words!!
Although your style is not mine, I absolutely love what you’ve done with a new townhome. It’s beautiful and unique and your pride in your home tells me you have chosen to live your best life there. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Pat!
Lori, I have been following you as you transform your lovely home into a dream house. It is nice to read about all the changes and how you made choices, in one post. Now! Where do you go from here? I’ll be joining you for the next phase!
Thank you, my friend! I think a lot of my future focus will be on organization. Of course I’ll always update with small decorative items and I have a couple of things to reveal that I’ve recently completed, but I’m all about getting things as organized as I used to be.
You have a lovely home that shows the pride you take in it. Your bathroom is beautiful and serene. Love it all!
Thank you so much!!
Wow Lory! I didn’t realize how much work you’d done on your townhome. I loved reading your story and all the changes you made to realize your vision. Your home is gorgeous – inside and out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the exterior so that was fun for me. Thanks so much for being on this tour!!
Aww thanks, Jennifer! I don’t love the outside of my house so I rarely show it, but it belonged in this post for sure. Such a fun blog hop!!
Yes, so beautiful and inspiring! We have been in our house for almost 21 years and have started remodeling. How do you stay sane when it feels like everything is in an upheaval…or contractors won’t return your phone call!?!
I look at construction projects as a necessary evil to get what I want, so that keeps me patient in the midst of complete chaos! Good luck with your project!!
Love how much style you added to that builder basic townhome! Oh, and as we near empty nesting I’m sold on someone else cutting the lawn and shoveling the snow too! Townhouse living here we come!!! 🙂
Thank you, Linda! And I highly recommend it… 🙂
Lory, what a beautiful home. great job making it yours!
Thank you so much, Laura!
You did such a beautiful job transforming your townhouse into a french country style. Your butler’s pantry will always be one of my favorites! I hope you are enjoying your summer!
Shelley
Aww thanks Shelley! Yes, the summer is flying by. Hope you’re enjoying yours, too!
Lori, you have added such incredible character to your home! I had no idea it was a new build townhouse from the way that you have decorated and renovated it – you’ve done an incredible job!! It was super fun to read your home’s story!
Lory, I love seeing all the work you’ve done to make this builder’s grade home a true French country retreat. Your stamp is all over it and I love it!
And though you know how much I love your kitchen, I must admit, that your adorable butlers pantry is my absolute favorite thing you’ve done!! So much charm!! (It makes me wish I had the space to add one!)
Sheila
xo
I so love your whole house Lory, especially that gorgeous bathroom! I never realized though that the chandelier with the teacups was in your Butler’s pantry! That’s so perfect! ! 💗Thanks as always for the wonderful inspiration!
Lory, It’s so much fun to see the home before this one and hear how you transformed the home you have now. I love your kitchen and you have so many great ideas for anyone who want to create a kitchen big on style on a budget! How fun to tour with you, my friend! xo
Thanks, Yvonne!! I love the tours too! So fun!
So beautiful how you’ve married old and new together. Those light fixtures are EVERYTHING! Love this tour and learning how you brought your style into a modern home. Lovely!
Thank you so much, Kristy!
Hey Lory! I love a Flower Touch interior decoration in the house. The ultimate design of townhouse french country home.
You have a beautiful home.
There are several stages of homes of empty nesters. Yes at first you need less room. But then your kids get married. In my case they lived in other states so you need extra guest rooms. Then they began to have children. So of course you want room for them too. When we retired we built a 4 bedroom house with a game room and pool. We have enjoyed it immensely and having it for the grandchildren. Now the grandchildren are grown and we rarely need this big house. So we’re in the “what should we do now stage.” 🤔😀
Thank you so much! We’re still waiting for the grandchildren, but I wanted to think ahead, so we went for the extra space. I actually like having the room. I suppose we could do without the living room, but we really use all the other rooms. I guess maybe the next stage would be to be on one floor and then the bedrooms can double as other purpose rooms (a craft room, a second office, a gym, etc).