Projects resurfacing...

I can't believe that we have lived in Texas for almost 11 months. It has gone by very fast, (looking back). While we have been very busy, moving in, barfing for 4 months, nesting, then waddling, not sleeping etc, we haven't done much on the house, by way of major changes.

This has actually been hard on me. For the last 7 years of our 8 we have been remodeling houses (we even did quite a few remodeling projects to our apartment the first year). I love to remodel. I love the work, I even admire the look of a ripped apart room because I know what it will be after. Luckily, Justin is the most stellar of craftsmen. I love the designing and finishing.

Well, this house has been great because of the space, but as for charm... there is none! Which is actually what I want when buying a house because it makes it harder to sell to others. BUT- I can stand it no more. We started working last weekend on our first real project. My brain is reeling with design ideas. Here then, is the first phase of our remodel for our living room/dining/kitchen/entry room (why yes, that is too many spaces in one).

WAY Before:

Those were the original pictures of the house as it was during our walk through. Here are some of the in-between befores. In these images, we have changed the lighting (besides the kitchens fluorescent, removed the old breakfast bar, painted the wall green and added the drapes etc.

I have wanted to delineate the spaces a little more in our house. Not to cut them off completely, but all the openness has been almost too much. We had been throwing around the idea of adding a column, I asked Justin to frame two for me to see how they would feel (then I covered them in paper so they were solid...) Here is our test shot.

We immediately liked it. I was afraid it might make the space feel smaller. Surprisingly, it has made both spaces feel bigger, because it encompasses previously unused space and gives it more of a purpose. Also, we will be able to add some more cabinets to the kitchen.

After our "column" test, I drew up the basic plan, shown below. This is that plan, it also shows the future kitchen updates. Also art that my sister is printing for me of the SLC temple. I will show you when I get them back we took the pictures last June). We will also be moving the piano out.

Now we are in the middle of dry walling. Can't wait to show you the finals in a few weeks. I LOVE projects! (and I love how great Justin is at doing the hard work, THANK you honey!)

This is the entry. I painted it with a mis-mixed paint a few months ago, when I was pregnant and bored. Although, I don't love the color, I plan on going darker later. I hung the shelf as an entry table, since space in limited and the picture collage. I changed out the pictures today I will show you those soon. By far though, my favorite change was when I painted the door black, also with mis-mixed paint. For one dollar I have a beautiful stunning black door, and I love it! I would recommend it to anyone.