freckles & ash

We've been in the house for about 6 weeks now, and are starting to make some progress. As much as I love before and afters, I really wanted to show the progress of everything with my blog, even if it means revealing my unfinished business. But in order to show you progress, I have to show you all the before shots. So without further ado...

This is the entry vestibule, and you open the front door onto this elevation. The main floor has 9' high ceilings throughout the main floor, and it makes a huge difference here. Despite having a small footprint, the entry still feels grand.

Here's a shot of the front door. We would love to be able to refinish and restore it, but I think it is well passed it's prime. The veneer is peeling off at the bottom, and the exterior side is in pretty bad shape. We need all new hardware anyway, and it just makes sense to replace the whole thing. However, I have to wait for the new door, before I can wallpaper the vestibule. This makes me sad.

To the left of the vestibule is the office. It's the brightest room in the house, as it has two big windows. It also has this fireplace. The grate is the original honeycomb gas burning unit, which is apparently illegal. So we need to shut it off ASAP. I think it's a hazard anyway. But the unit is cool, and I'd like to keep that.

I think the light fixture is also original, but the glass is broken. Either way, it was going to be replaced anyway.

Here's the focal point of our living room. What a beauty. Retch. I can't get rid of this fast enough. This fireplace would have originally been the same as the office, which means the only option for a gas insert would be a 22" x 26" model. That doesn't float my boat. So we are looking into alternates.

The living room has a sliding panel, to hide an entertainment unit. While we likely won't have a TV here, it's cool that we can shut off the rest of the electronics.

Despite the large window, the living room is actually fairly dark. It has no existing light fixtures, so I'm hoping to have some potlights installed.

This is the kick ass dining room. It's huge, by my standards anyway. And you can see the little kitchen beyond.

The existing light fixture is hung ridiculously low, so that will be changed out shortly. You can also see the little niche in the corner. I'm not a big fan, but I'll live with it.

I want really dramatic curtains here in the dining room. I'm most excited about pulling this room together.

The bedroom is fairly straightforward. It has one smaller window, and a tiny closet. I wanted to drywall that up, but was talked out of it. We will just hang a curtain there instead.

So there it is. For now. This week I'll start showing some of the progress of each of the rooms. Christmas is looming and is really kicking me into high gear.