Ch ch ch changes (finally)...

So there's finally been some dramatic movement upstate. Yay! I know we've only had these walls open for a few months but it feels like a long time since anything major happened. We are nickel and diming our way along donthcha know.
Anyway - the doorway in the dining room (creative bricklaying room) has finally been reopened. It looks awesome. This is clearly how it was intended to be. Across the hall you can see where there was once a matching doorway into the living room. That area is now where the super gorgeous parade of plastics bathroom addition was plopped down. And since it's really high functioning it's gonna have to stay awhile. Dang.
When in doubt, just cover your bad decisions up with fauxtastic panneling. Alright people?

Now turning toward the kitchen - we popped open a window of sorts. Why, you ask did we not just open up the whole wall (or at least a doorway rather than a window)? Well frankly, we couldn't sacrifice the wall or storage space. This is the only wall that a refrigerator could go against, and I really want to at least have bottom cabinets. When the cabinets are in, this will hopefully look less window-y and more bar-ish (though I don't want any kind of counter top overhang coming into the dining room). I feel like this was a good way to split the difference and make it a bit more open without trying to make this area something it isn't... in a word, modern.

Here's a full frontal of said pass through.

And finally - some super sexy insulation. YAY!
Those of you who have never paid a $700 heating bill after keeping the thermostat just high enough to stop the pipes from freezing will never know this level of joy.

This week the drywall is going up. We are actually farming that out. Chester (angry Santa) and his boys are doing it, although Joe and I will be doing all the taping and sanding (which should be epic and take forever and ever amen) in order to save on labor.

Stair Inspiration

I Love Upstate left me a comment about my stairs - she likes the worn look and thinks I shouldn't paint them. I totally agree. Here are a few pics of my inspiration stairs. I found them in a beautiful brownstone-restaurant in Brooklyn and shamelessly snapped away. I want to do some sort of groovy stencil but maybe a little less cute than this one. I don't know... can anyone think of a semi-edgy stencil? I just want to avoid Holly-Hobby land which isn't easy when you like distressed stuff. I think we should probably seal the exposed wood with something non-shiny. Otherwise it's going to splinter off really quickly and won't ever feel clean. Welcome to the fascinating inner-workings of my brain.

If Only I Were A Crystal Meth Addict

While Joe kicked the crap out of the kitchen, I pulled out the thirty thousand carpet tacks on the front stairs. Not being a meth user, I found the work tedious and backbreaking - though ultimately satisfying.

Day One

Two days after closing we were already at it. Neither of us could wait to to rip out the lovely carpeting. It was one big asthma attack waiting to happen. It's amazing how much cleaner it already feels! Next up... the revolting dropped ceilings... Or maybe the fake wood panelling. Ugh!

Here's a before and after of the "creative bricklaying" room...

After - this room has some sort of adhesive on top of the hardwood that we will have to sand off. Look like maybe there was linoleum at one time?
Anyway, it was hard to get a good shot.
(click on any photo to enlarge)

Here's a closer shot that shows the cool, concentric square layout of the hardwood (not in most of the other rooms btw)

The drywall room before...
(This will probably be Joe's office/music room initially)

and after.. I'm loving the wide plank floors.

Here are the front stairs before...

and after (+Bernie)