A little before and after
Well, ok, so mostly just during. The camera ate my before pictures so we're going to use a little guided imagination to picture the transformation this room is undergoing.

So close your eyes . . . well, maybe you'd best leave them open, else you won't be able to read what you're to imagine.

So picture yourself leaving the kitchen into a large, rectangular room. Spacious, with high, peaked ceilings AND A BAY WINDOW! I have wanted a bay window since I was a little girl, and I have spent almost as much time dreaming about my little window seat and the cushions I'm going to make to put on it as I have about any of the other projects I've set before myself.

The walls are white; the carpet is beige and in need of a good cleaning but otherwise in good shape. On the opposite side of the room is a large, sandstone colored chimney where a wood burning stove used to stand with a hearth of yellow ceramic. The same ceramic tiles are used in the entry way, and some of the tiles are cracked. When the realtor showed us the house, I was impressed by how good of shape the room was in and the fact that the only work we needed to do was to replace the shower and knock the moldy drywall out of the basement. Eventually, we'd replace all the carpeting with wood floors, but that was by no means necessary.

But then we went and showed the house to my parents after we bought it.

And here you have to imagine the other picture I took. This is where we removed one of the vents and pulled back some of the carpet. What should our wondering eyes behold but hardwood floors?

So you can probably guess what happened next. Tearing things up is cheap. And kind of fun, too.


We're hoping to maybe put an electric fireplace there against the chimney along with a small sitting area. A couch! Some comfy chairs! My parents won't have to bring their own seating when they come to visit! Imagine the joy and comfort!

And the view from the other side of the room, just so you can see all the carpet we tore up, as well as the stair leading to the basement.


Our dining room table will go there, more or less where the carpet is piled up. And I will have space. And a place to sit. And a place to feed people. And a little room to keep all our homeschool projects so they don't accumulate on the table.

Space.

I still can't quite fathom it.