++In progress++

We've got quite a mess in progress around these parts. This is the biggest project we've ever undertaken. I must admit that on one hand it's kind of fun to make your house a little bit more just how you would want it. On the other hand, it's a total pain. It's all going on right in the middle of our house so it's like having some new friends in the house with us...all...day...long... Naps have been an adventure as well. Thank goodness they did all the framing and plumbing while we were gone on vacation. Since then we've only had a handful of noisy days.

Here was a shot of the dining room before. It's hard to capture in photos. Basically it was open all the way up to the second floor, just like the foyer.

Here was our laundry room before (on a particularly messy day). Very narrow passage and hard to operate our front-loaders.

And ta-dah! Here is the new room. They put the flooring in this week but we are still waiting for cabinets. The shop vac is sitting where the treadmill will rest.

We picked Marmoleum for the floor. It's green, you know. We mainly picked it because it is softer under foot and more noise absorbing than tile and but also water-safe. It also looks pretty cool! We also thought it would help us fit in in Seattle. Just kidding.

So our new hall, which used to have railings on both sides, now looks like this. It's funny, I almost forgot what it used to look like until I pulled up these photos.

The new dining room ceiling now looks like this. No worries, the beams will be painted.

And the former laundry room now looks like this. It's hard to see much but now it's empty with a new tile floor, awaiting "lockers" and cubbies and some other cabinets. I chose this tile because unless I want to, I don't think I will ever have to clean it. Note to visitors: don't eat off the mudroom floor. The blue tape measure was an accessory added by one of my two acessorizers.

Here is the new living room paint. It really shows up green in the pictures. It's a little more gray/taupe than that. We haven't quite gotten around to organizing and filling the bookcases yet.

As much as I am excited to be done with all this, I think Wyatt is going to be heartbroken to say goodbye to his buddy Don and the painter Ron and the other helpers who have been through the house. I still haven't decided if the feeling will be mutual or not.