The Big Reveal Part I

We have been working HARD. My body is tired, my brain is tired, and my bank account is spent. I spent most of my "free time" last week pulling up carpet, moving things into the garage and other rooms, painting, and purchasing laminate and underlayment. I was determined to do this all in an orderly fashion so my family wasn't walking on subfloor for weeks and weeks if this took longer than I thought it would. But it was still crazy chaos as my counters were taken over by books, music, tools, and whatever else needed to be up off of the floors. On Thursday night our friend Brian came over to help hang the TV on the wall -- the first step to the big rearrange. On Friday he came over again to help us get started on the floors. Saturday morning my friend Jeanette came and picked up all three kid (what a saint she is), and she dropped off her husband to help. Later my brother John showed up. We were in business. We got the front hallway, the kitchen, and the dining room area done that night. With the help of a neighbor we got the huge heavy hutch moved so we could start the other side of the house. We took Sunday off. On Monday I started the day by ripping up the last of the carpet (by myself, thankyouverymuch), pulling up the tacks, staples, and baseboards, and rolling out the underlayment. John came over at about 1:00 and the two of us got the bulk of the remaining work done. By the time Brian got home from work they just had the tricky fireplace pieces to do and the finishing touches.

We still need to put up baseboards and transition pieces. We started doing the transition pieces Monday night but we were all so spent mentally and physically that we thought we should take a little break from it. Besides, if you cross your eyes and look at the walls it LOOKS like there is baseboard there because that part of the wall is still white and the rest is painted. Hee hee!

Now I just have to put everything BACK. I have been holding off on posting pictures until things were more put together. But I am realizing that this is a marathon, and not a sprint. And despite wanting everything done NOW, time and money don't really allow for that. So allow me to introduce you to our "new" downstairs. At least two rooms of it.

The Family Room

When we first bought the house I was thrilled that we had a front room for the piano and nicer furniture, and a back room where we could put another couch and the TV. Since I teach piano lessons I wanted a place to do my thing that wouldn't interfere too much with the rest of the family. But as our family grew and we settled into the home I realized that that arrangement wasn't working any more. We didn't all fit on one couch to watch TV and the space was so small that we couldn't have anyone over to cheer for BYU football or play the Wii. So we moved the TV to the front room and found another place for the piano.

BEFORE

This room never got fully painted. I started with a golden yellow, but it ended up looking greenish in some light and so I stopped and never started again. The carpet in this room was in fairly good shape, but it was abysmal in the back of the house, so it all had to go. Those windows look out on the street. The entry to the house is on the other side of that little wall on the right. The wall in the third picture is the wall along the hallway that leads from the front door to the back part of the house and the kitchen. We joke that the color looked like baby poop. It looked great in some light and just gross in others.

AFTER

The walls are now a nice buttery cream color. The tape is still up there from painting. I guess I should take that down tonight. The first picture is standing by the front door, looking into the living room. On the "to do" list is a nice plush rug to go in here so we have a place to lay down and watch tv and wrestle with the kids. The next picture is taken from the hall, looking straight in. I am not sure if we are going to keep the shelves and cabinet on each side of the fireplace, but they are serving a good purpose right now, so until I know what to do, they are staying. Stacey is coming for dinner this weekend and you can be sure I will be asking for her advice.

This is standing in the corner by the fireplace, looking into the front hall. We have replaced the poop brown with one that looks like melted Hersheys bars. yum. The little bookshelf by the chair will be painted black at some point. It will also be organzied. Eventually. Brian is thrilled that he can not sit in the recliner and watch TV. Bring on the fall sports!

This is the "old" dining room. We bought a table and chair set several years ago for the dining room and it took up so much of the space that we could never actually EAT there. So I used it for my computer. And sewing. And to pile up junk. NOW it's my music room/office. One wall still needs to be painted -- I ran out of paint. And we will be moving the light into the other room over the table and replacing it with a light fixture that people won't bonk their heads on. I really think this may become my favorite room. I love having a desk for all my stuff that ISN'T the kitchen counter.

The black bookshelves on either side of the piano were the maple ones from the "before" pictures. I love having all of my music at arms reach. And now the top of my piano isn't piled high with all of the things I need for lessons. I am on the hunt for the "perfect" drapes for each room. I may end up just making them.

Next -- the kitchen and dining room.