Pantry Reveal

One of the best things we changed during this renovation was removing a small half bathroom and coat closet by the foyer and kitchen and converting it to a pantry. There is another bathroom around the corner from the foyer, so the powder room was not necessary -- a pantry was.

This is what we started with:

Beginning the demo:

Framed up. You can see to the far right where we removed the coat closet to make the foyer larger:

And now our already hard-working pantry:

I added mirrored doors for two reasons: 1) Privacy. I don't want a clear view into the pantry all the time. 2) Reflection of light. Directly across from these doors are our patio french doors, so it was the perfect opportunity to double the light in the room.

 I am realistic enough to realize that the pantry will probably never look this good again, but I guess I'll enjoy it while I can... ;)

Foyer

Our foyer/entry is also pretty much finished. It isn't even worth showing you the before picture, because it was just a big blank wall when you first walked in the door. It definitely was not the selling point of the home when we first toured it. It actually was kind of jarring. So, while we couldn't remove this wall (pretty much the only one we didn't remove), I decided to make it a feature wall. ("If you can't beat 'em, join 'em".) 

Luke and I added picture moulding to add dimension and painted the entire wall a dark charcoal gray to add a little drama and help the wall recede somewhat. My giant mirror that I've had since our first house and that every time we move I expect to find cracked in the box, survived and makes this space feel a bit larger.

Because this space is narrow, I decided instead of a console table, I would do a narrow shelf under the mirror. I made this using a common pine board from Home Depot that I put a "faux live edge" on the front and distressed and stained it.

 I found this vintage coat hanger and fell in love. It is unexpected and perfectly functional. I have noticed in the past that whenever we have a coat closet in the entry, no one uses it. The coats and shoes just get piled by the door anyway. So, with the coat hanger and bench in plain sight, I hope it will be an invitation for our guests to use it.

Luke has jokingly named them "Elmer and Gluestick". 

Another thing that helped this tight space feel a little bit more inviting was the lighting. We added 4 extra lights: 2 sconces and 2 pendant lights. It has made ALL the difference. 

This room was a challenge at first, but now it is one of my favorite little spots.

Living Room and Kitchen progress photos coming soon!

Dining Room 99% Done

FINALLY, we can almost say we have a room done. Almost one year exactly from when we first began construction on this house. If someone had told me it would take an entire year...I'm not sure I would have signed up for this. BUT, being on THIS side of it now, I guess it has been worth it. ;)

Our dining room is finished except I'm waiting on a piece of art from my uncle (a watercolor artist) to finish it off.

We are loving the fact that we have a place to eat upstairs again. There are a lot of things I took for granted, and that is one of them. No more. At least not for a while. Cooking upstairs and then packing all the food, dishes, glasses, etc. downstairs each meal got old really quickly. And the clean-up? Even worse. So, now that the dining room is right next to the kitchen, it is heaven.

We finally have had cool enough weather that Luke was willing to go up in the attic to install a junction box for the chandelier. I LOVE the chandelier. Thanks, Mom.
My sister helped me install the wallpaper a few weeks ago and I'm so pleased with it. The color is great, but what I love most about it is the texture. Anyone who comes over has to touch it because it is so interesting. It added the layer of coziness I was after.

The table finally went on sale for 20% off and I had an extra 10% coupon, so we pulled the trigger. No regrets. It is definitely the heaviest table I have ever lifted -- we even had to call a neighbor to help us get it in the house -- so it is not budging. And maybe will stay with the house if we ever move. ;)

The chairs were a Craigslist find a couple of years ago that I sprayed white and reupholstered in a gray "pleather" because let's face it, fabric wouldn't last a week with a 5 year old and 2 year old. So far they have held up great.