Home Tour // A Thoughtfully-Renovated California Craftsman Full of Historic Charm and Modern Touches
For our March home tour, we’re getting a look inside the beautifully-renovated, historic home of Ashley and Ross Goldman, the couple behind the Gold Hive. We’ve been friends with Ashley and Ross for awhile now - they’re one of the nicest couples you’ll ever meet - and Garrett, the kids, and I had plans to visit them in San Diego this week. Those plans obviously fell through, so we’re really excited to be getting this virtual tour today! Get ready to see a 1915 California craftsman full of charm, history, and modern touches. It’s the attention to detail, crafted elements, and respect for the past that really sets this home apart. Let’s get into it…
Ashley and Ross have owned their San Diego home for 5 years now and when I asked Ashley what drew them to the property she wrote: “we were on the hunt for a home with lots of historic charm. The listing photos were terrible but I could see lots of handmade built-ins, chunky molding, original wavy-glass windows, and the history we were looking for.”
It’s probably no surprise that Ashley often wears a shirt that says ‘old houses are better than ice cream’ (I looked, they’re sold out). And it’s also no surprise that Ashley and I hit it off so well 😉 She’s an old house lover and not afraid to get her hands dirty in the service of said old house. Over on Instagram you’ll often see her repairing historic windows, wiring outlets, crawling around in her tiny crawl space, and baking lemon meringue pie in her vintage oven.
Speaking of bad listing photos, here’s what the dining room and living room looked like before Ashley got her hands on them. Sometimes old houses just need a little paint and fresh decor to shine again!
After moving into their home, Ashley and Ross were pleasantly surprised by a few things: “the wonderful neighborhood, the natural sunlight, the tall ceilings, and great flow, too! We really love everything about our home.” Me too, Ashley, me too!
The master bedroom, office, and den are all projects that Ashley took on for the One Room Challenge. For the master bedroom, they added a door to the exterior and brought in board-and-batten paneling. I love that Ashley matched the paneling detail found elsewhere in the house - it shows her dedication to the history of the home and also keeps this space tied to the rest of the house.
The office might just be my favorite room in the home. It’s the perfect mix of new and old, traditional and modern. If you didn’t happen to follow Ashely in 2017, let me just say that hand-painted mural caused quite a stir. Yes, it’s hand painted!
The vintage kitchen is adorable, but it was a temporary fix while Ashley and Ross saved up and planned for a bigger remodel. This ‘phase 1’ kitchen makeover cost only $600.
And to put that number in context, let’s take a peek at what the kitchen looked like when Ashley and Ross moved in. I think we can all agree that $600 sure went a looonnnggg way!
After 5 years of thinking and saving and planning, Ashely and Ross kicked off their ‘phase 2’ kitchen remodel earlier this month. The space is currently demo’d and awaiting their dream finishes!
“We just recently gutted our kitchen and found some fun artifacts like old newspapers and a hammer that I'm sure was certainly missed during our home's construction! We also found evidence of a California Cooler which is one of my favorite old-house passive cooling systems. Learn about all of this here.” How cool!
Another exciting element of the ‘phase 2’ kitchen remodel is the addition of a second bathroom. Like many early-1900 homes, the Goldman’s house was built with just one small bathroom, which was one of their first big remodel projects.
Ashley is an amazing planner when it comes to renovations (like AMAZING!) and it shows through in the final results. For the record, Ashley calls herself a “serial researcher and planner to a fault”, but tomato tomatoe. Even the most seasoned of renovators could take a page from Ashley’s book (raising my hand here) so I asked her to share some of her tried-and-true tips for staying organized during a reno…
Make lists and spreadsheets to stay organized and informed.
Ask friends and family about their experiences with their homes to learn from their pain points.
Read, watch, and listen to other people's experiences with renovating.
Absorb as much inspiration as you can until it becomes overwhelming.
Learn software programs or apps that help you visualize your renovation layouts, or help you budget, or help you source products.
Remember it's your home and you can choose not to take someone else's advice, even if they're an expert.
Thanks to Ashley and Ross for opening up their home to us! You can read more about their home, renovations, and home sources on www.thegoldhive.com and Instagram.
