Sidney Transplants Upgrade 1970s Model Home

Franklin and Susan Swayne came to Sidney, from Colorado Springs, CO, in the summer of 2022. They bought their well-built, clean little house because it was so close to Susan's new workplace, Sidney Health Center.

With the guidance and work from MacGrady Construction, the home was almost gutted in the interior, opening the floor plan more than the original design from 1978. They had to remove walls, closets, and a doorway, all with a goal of more open concept and to give it more light. The basement laundry room was moved upstairs to the ground floor as part of the overall change to the flow of the home. The Swayne's were very pleased with the work done and wish to thank the people who offered consultation such as Heidi MacGrady for design, Brenda Larson for cabinets and counters, Brandon and Curtis MacGrady for their wisdom on what made the best sense for design and functionality, Tink Bloom with electric, and Ryan Dempsey for mud work and so many others that worked on the plumbing, interior, and exterior renovations.

On the exterior they added white vinyl window and vertical sage green siding with a front wainscot of rock. The front entry was extended out 2 ft. to be flush with the upper floor area of the split level. They got a new front door, matching garage door, new front step, and concrete sidewalk. In the kitchen, they removed the wall between it and the living room, added white cabinets, and an island with white quartz countertops. To round it off they installed recessed lights, pendants over the island, and a small chandelier in the entry way. In the living room they installed a gas fireplace with white rock from floor to ceiling, and built-in mantle. They opened up the entry of the split-level and widened the hallway by about a foot. Two of the ground floor bathrooms were reworked into a guest quarter bath and a master bath with heated tile floors, a walk-in shower, and a dual sink vanity. They turned one of the bedrooms into an office for Franklin to work remotely and used the closet to enlarge the master bedroom's closet. The third upstairs bedroom they turned into a laundry room and pantry. They also redid the stair railing. In the basement, they removed the door at the base of the stairs and the wall between the living room and spare room. A full bathroom with a 6' soaker tub, shower, and dual sink vanity was placed where the old laundry room was with access to one of the two basement bedrooms. They turned the old utility room into another bedroom, cleaned up the basement entry from the garage, and even added a little nook in one of the closets for their cats.

The Sawynes would like to thank MacGrady Construction, the contractors, Agri Industries for the electrical and plumbing, Frontier Heating and Cooling for the HVAC, and Sundance (Ryan Dempsey) for the taping and texturing. They would also like to thank Chuck Thiel of Quality Concrete for the concrete work, Heidy MacGrady of B Home and Design for the overall design and flooring, and Brenda Larson of Creative Solutions for the kitchen cabinets and countertops.