Bringing down the wall

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in this house for almost 5 months!  The summer went by so quickly and so did the fall!  The weather has been so cold that it feels we are already in the dead of winter.  I’m almost afraid to imagine what it will be like in January.  I’m hoping we get a cold snap and then warm up from there.  

Since moving to our new home we’ve knocked down a wall which proved to be a little more work than anticipated.  As you can see in the picture it broke up the living room and fireplace room and divided it awkwardly.  The living room portion could have been used as a dining room but that would mean I’d have to walk around the wall from the kitchen.  The fireplace room didn’t seem deep enough for a table and broke up the path from the deck.   Our contractor came in and took a look and determined it was not load bearing.  He agreed that the wall didn’t make sense and said it would not be difficult to remove.  Luckily the previous owners left extra pieces of hardwood flooring in the garage so that issue was resolved.   So all was a go even though we had our entire family up for the long weekend and a ride in the new boat (a post for later).  He started knocking it down and wouldn’t you know it the answer to why that wall was there hit us square in the face.  The electrical for the entire house was running through that wall!   Well, it took a little bit of extra work but all went well and the wall is gone. 

Here are a couple of before pics with the wall.  Look how dark the front room is! 

 

Now I have a big open rectangular box of a room.  One side is plain and the other has my fireplace.  It’s still a bit awkward but with the right furniture I think I can bring it all together.  I just picked up a long table from a woman who chalk painted it and sad to say did not do a very good job.  I bought the table for its sturdiness and the shape of the legs.  Even though I’m not experienced with chalk paint I’ll give it a crack.  If that fails then I’ll paint it with some acrylic paint and make it work.  I also bought a bench to match and am on the hunt for some chairs.  Pictures to come on that.   I'm supposed to host Christmas so I better get on it!

The house is in great shape but I need to make it my own.  Almost every room needs a new coat of paint simply because I am not a fan of the colors.  So far the coziest room in the house is turning out to be the basement!  We’ve got a wood burning fireplace down there too and used if for the first time this past weekend.  It’s the first time I’ve ever had a fireplace in my home.

With the holidays approaching it will be hard to start some projects but maybe a quick update of the laundry room or a bathroom will happen.  I’m going to take advantage of the cold weather to stay warm inside and work this winter. 

I just have to remember to take pictures!