Family Room photos...

Well, the family room project is finally winding down and I have photos for those of you who have hung in there with me and patiently waited (with bated breath, I'm sure!☺) to see all the changes. You can find them in my Picasa Gallery here:

Family Room photos

Just click on the album titled "Family Room - B&A" and view individually or use the slideshow link - you can pause or adjust the speed to your preference.

They're coming, they're coming!...

Hot damn!! Yay! Cool beans!! Oh joy, be still my heart - the cabinets are being delivered tomorrow!!

All we really need now is a lamp, an area rug, and a few odds and ends. Then this room will finally be done! Jeez, I won't know how to act. We've been at this for what seems like forever - since April anyway - I'll have to find something else to obsess about! ;)

Pictures will be forthcoming in the next few days.

Too much of a good thing...

Ikea has taken up most of our weekend. The closest store to us is in White Marsh, near Baltimore, which is a little over an hour down the road. The next closest, in College Park, is about the same. So Saturday we drove down and to look for and found some cabinets and wall units that we thought would work for the family room. After much measuring and figuring out what we would need, we came back home to double check the space and remeasure to make sure we would be getting everything right.

Sunday Lew drove all the way back to White Marsh to pick it all up. And, of course, as these things always go, you know that particular store didn't have everything we needed. Soooooo, after checking to make sure they had what we wanted in stock, he drove another hour or so over to the College Park store and successfully ended up with all the pieces.

So today he starts putting things together and ... you know what's coming ... naturally there was a damaged piece. As I type, he is on the way home - again - from the College Park store with a good unit. *sigh*

Much as I love the place, a 3-day weekend devoted to Ikea is too much even for me! However, I do think we're finally on the downside of the family room project. Once we get these installed, we're just waiting on the fireplace door and other cabinets to arrive and then it'll just be a matter of finding the right odds and ends of decorative pieces to finish up.

Then I'll post some pictures. :)

We have progress!

Hot damn! The family room renovation has begun. The contractor showed up this morning, just like he said he would. The electrician didn't but he'll be here Tuesday. The room as we knew it has already changed. The miserable painted oak trim around the fireplace is gone, gone, gone (yay!!) and we have the beginnings of a mantle. The framing for a half-wall that breaks the room into two distinct areas is up and waiting for the electrician and some dry wall.

The tile for the fireplace wall should be in within the week and the cabinets are in process. We have to pick up paint, schedule the flooring for installation, and decide on cabinetry for the other side of the room.

We're on a roll and I be excited!!

Mantle

Half wall (support pole will be enclosed)

In record time...

This is one for the books. From beginning to end, it took less than a month! That just doesn't happen at our house. Usually we have to talk things to death, agonize over the decision-making process, and then put it on the back burner to stew awhile before we finally get around to doing whatever it is. It's an exercise in futility that, trust me, you don't want to go through.

So anyway, earlier this month, after deciding that a red front door just might liven up our nice but boring white house, we collected numerous paint chips, made a decision, and Lew painted the door yesterday and this morning! It's over, it's a done deal, and we have a beautiful red front door. Damn, it looks good!!

Ain't it purdy?? :)

Will wonders never cease?

Woo Hoo!! We have a winner! The electrician said he'd be here at 1:30 today and lo and behold, miracle of allllll miracles, he was!! Not only the electrician, but the contractor too! Be still my heart!

So, the family room makeover plans are starting to move along again. Have no idea when actual construction will start but, hey ... a little bit of something's better than a whole lot of nothing at this point.

Now, if we could only get the contractor doing the porch work to show up, I might just be a happy camper!

Welcome home...

Oh joy! About 3 weeks ago we sent our well-worn chairs out to be recovered as part of our family room redecoration. They were returned today, and oh yes!! Jeez, do they look good! Almost like new! Well, take a look-see...

They were really in the sorriest shape. Most of the buttons had popped off and the leather (which used to be peach-tone) was so worn it was well beyond the cleaning stage. They're now covered in a gorgeous brown micro-fiber fabric and oh boy, is it soft! We wanted to keep them because (a) they're as comfortable as can be, and (b) trying to replace them with something equally liked has been next-to-impossible.

So, I am pleased. Let's hope The Man is too. If nothing else, he'll be glad to have his comfy chair back to fall asleep in! ;)