Expansive

So you'll remember these before shots from when we moved. First, from the entry, which was sort of made up of two "bays" divided by a half wall (with wrought iron and a planter!) and a panel of ribbed glass that did nothing more than narrow the space you walk through. Once through the first bay you could go right, down the hall to the bedrooms, left through another archway to the living room, or straight through a pair of double doors into the panel-clad family room.
You can still go any of those directions, but you won't be contending with many walls now. That in-the-way ribbed glass is gone, as is the scrolly iron and planter. That opening is getting changed a bit, and eventually filled in. In fact, the entire second "bay" is gone, and is part of the living room. You can see the header over the hallway is on its way out as well. Long spans of uninterrupted ceiling. Oh, and those big studs? A fat wall that will hold the tv mount on the family room side. With big openings in the wall on either side.

On the left of this shot you can see the interior picture window. Yes, nearly 11 feet long, smack in the middle of the house. With curtains no less. You'll also see an entire wall of cabinetry that housed the TV back when TVs were really deep. So the closet behind the cabinetry was worthless. Oh, and since it was opposite the fireplace you could never easily enjoy both.

Now, all gone! It adds nearly 28 square feet to the room, minus that little corner we need to deal with. (Furnace venting, but I need it to move as its impinging on my layout for a pair of french doors and new windows) Those three old studs sticking up at the bottom are where the window used to be, and now where the fat studs in the above photo are located.

I hope that gives you a little idea of how we combined the rooms, trying to open them to each other but still keep a bit of separateness. More framing has happened, in fact the entire center wall is done as is the wall to the left where you see the electrical panel.

This week will be exciting. The dumpster arrives tomorrow (we've got a mountain of debris on the patio), and then Bill will demo the family room ceiling. The electricians will be in on Wednesday to install all the new lights/outlets/switches. Bill will likely demo the parquet then as well and then hang the new drywall ceiling. And if the rain and ice and snow ever stop Bill can go pick up the new oak plank and get that put down.

I'll get more pictures posted when the drywall goes up. I can't wait to paint!

Construction update

So what has happened this week? The media wall and surrounding partial walls have been built where the old interior picture window used to be. The old tv cabinetry wall and worthless closet are gone and a new wall has been framed in its place. Assorted other tear out has happened, just part of the entry and the whole north wall of the living room left to go.

The dumpster will be delivered Monday morning so we can move the mountain of debris off the patio. The family room ceiling comes down Monday or Tuesday, and the electricians are coming Wednesday to rewire everything and install lighting.

Bill will be back in to put up the new drywall ceiling and walls, and also remove the old crumbling parquet and install the new oak plank. Which may not be stained for a bit because we're thinking if they're here they might as well refinish everything, hallway, entry, living/family room and dining room.

Photos soon.

In happier news

The entire middle third of our house has been demo'd!

We live in crazy times

In addition to the Wisconsin union busting, Iowa and Nebraska are seeing bills introduced by their teabaggers that will grant civil and criminal immunity to those who use deadly force to prevent an abortion. Oh, and allow anyone who is arrested for using said deadly force to sue the police.

Because the assault on women's reproductive rights isn't enough. We must ensure those who attempt to kill providers don't pay for their crimes.

America has lost its mind.

The perfect carpet

Chris had a post about Michael S. Smith in Architectural Digest recently, discussing his use of pairs of accessories. What stopped me in my tracks though was this carpet. Source? Anyone?

What's new

Remember I was looking for the Austin Productions copy of this statue from the V&A? Google finally gave it up at a gallery in Seattle. I emailed today to find out how to purchase. I'm kind of excited as it was one of my favorite things at the museum. Brett's mildly worried because we have an aquaintance who has a copy of Michaelangelo's David in every room of his house, but I've assured him I'll never let that happen. (If we ever get together for drinks remind me to tell you the story of the aquaintance's new hot tub, the shorty robes we were given to change into, and my uncontrollable laughter.)

But that isn't the big news. The big news is that there might actually be a nice place to put it sometime soon. Super Carpenter Bill is back, and we've given him quite a list:
-open up wall between living and family rooms
-build media wall between living and family rooms
-new family room ceiling (bye bye asbestos tile!)
-new family room floor (goodbye sad old parquet, hello oak plank to match the living room!)
-demo old bar and frame for future built-ins
-replace family room paneling (ick!) with new drywall
-open up entry, removing a myriad of odd partial walls
-demo old television cabinetry and closet, adding 4 feet to the room
And with any luck, hello two new french doors and new windows looking out to the patio.

So in addition to continuing work in the bathroom, Presidents Day weekend will involve emptying out the living and family rooms as well as the entry and hall closets, and making ourselves a temporary living room in...the master bedroom.

I'll post some refresher before shots when we get everything emptied out, and then I should have some fun "during" shots when he really gets going in a couple weeks.

Wish us luck!

Maison21 needs you

A friend of Christian's has taken in this gorgeous boy, but he needs a permanent home. Full info is here. I'd take him in a second if I had any way of knowing he and Alex would get on. If you're not in the market please pass this on to anyone you know who might be. Look at that face, somebody is gonna hit the jackpot.