The Lull

There has been a whole lot of nothing going on with the current entry/living room/family room project for the last week or so. Bill came to finish the drywall, with the exception of a few little pieces that I can't understand why he didn't put up. The Phantom Drywaller, or Steve, who does the mud and tape has bid, and we've said go, but I have no clue when that is supposed to occur. I will be texting Bill tomorrow, a call might reveal that I'm mildly annoyed.

This shot doesn't show the floor, so you can't see where the partial walls used to be. You'll have to trust me when I say it's WAY more open now. That opening in front of the front door alone used to have a 2 foot wide pane of ribbed glass narrowing the space. Its way less congested now. We also have some gorgeous black slate tile to replace the scrap marble there now. We got enough to continue it into the closet. Wet shoes? No worries.

Yes, you're wondering why the electrical box is there. Well, that used to be a closet behind a wall of cabinetry, and framing out and drywalling around it was the most simple solution. The soon to be burnt orange sideboard will likely go in that spot with some art or a mirror or something over it so it will be accessable but not in view. Speaking of that furniture, I got my chrome ring pulls from the place Jenny suggested (lookintheattic.com). They're very nice, the perfect size, and exactly what I wanted.

The other thing this picture shows is the absence of the parquet floor. I'm glad its gone and I'm looking forward to the oak plank coming soon. I'm not thrilled about the nails Bill missed. We have a dog for Christ's sake. A dog we adore. He's been very good about staying out of there but tomorrow we'll get down with our hammers and remove the danger in spite of the fact we paid for demo. Yes, mildly annoyed.

Looking from the living room into the family/tv room, here's the front of what we call the "media wall." The tv will mount on the back side. SO much better than an 11 foot picture window. Also, removing the header over the hallway was a small detail with a big impact. The hall gets more light and somehow seems less long.

There's the media wall from the tv side. You can also see where the bar next to the fireplace used to be. Its not as deep as it was and has sheetrock now, and some built in shelving or cabinetry sometime in the future. Way better.

And that closet in the hall you can see through the opening? Those doors are gone, as are the scentless cedar planks that lined the walls, and the laundry chute. I did leave the cedar on the ceiling for texture. One of those fun little details you'll never see. Holes are filled and I'll be sanding and priming the walls and ceiling and then painting. We need to order new doors for that and the entry closet.

That's it for now, hopefully there will be something new to show soon. Enjoy the tournament if you're watching. My bracket is already shot but my Jayhawks won!