The beginning of the end?

Last you heard we had moved, then... you heard nothing... for about a month... coincidentally, we have gone without cable or internet for the same amount of time. Thus: my excuse. BUT! In that time many great things have happened! Counter tops! Fixtures! Lighting! Mirrors! Accidentally stripped the finish off of the banister! The house looks *almost* finished! And, to my utter joy, it has even been able to meet some of our friends.

So, with many apologies and a promise... I bring you the holy grail of renovations: after photos. {insert angelic voices, harps, and glorious beams of sunshine here}

Now, being that I do have a blog to run, and although the potential to run out of subject material is slim in our case, I shall save these and release them a few at a time. The main holdup being that we had no "after". We are still unpacking and I have reached the point where I feel as if anything we haven't unpacked is obviously not immediately useful to me and should therefor be disposed of. Bear in mind that most of the "afters" required me to move copious amounts of boxes and piles of randomly assorted "crap" out of the way, quickly snap some pics, then move "crap" back into its temporary living space.

This was one of less high-maintenance areas of the home. Most of what was done here was done to the rest of the house, as well, and it is yet to be decorated.  We removed the wallpaper, removed some of the plaster walls, insulated, and reapplied drywall, patched some holes, reframed the front door and special ordered our beautiful Fleur de Lis full light front door. We applied new paint to all the walls, repainted the trim, and I ordered a semi-flush crystal basket entry light. Bling! I felt as if it really fit the style of the home and coordinated well with the new front door. We have a matching light fixture at the top of the stairs.

The stairs are yet to be completed, but that's another story, and perhaps their after photos will just go last...
 
Without further ado, I bring to you our entry way and/or foyer.

 

This photo is of the hall, as it existed pre-James and Bridgette. Please note: Wallpaper.

At the rear of the hallway was a wall with a door leading to a butler's pantry. To the right was a hall closet that we removed to add square footage to the kitchen. We have since turned the butler's pantry into a walkway connecting the hall, kitchen and the living room, as well as a small guest bathroom.

Here, we are framing out the guest bathroom (thats a pocket door frame you can see back there).

 

 This was after the wallpaper was all removed. We decided to take out the entire wall surrounding the door, since we knew it would need to be reframed and insulated. Also... gaping hole in the ceiling.

 

Ah! Breathe a sigh of relief! Things are clean again! This was after we refinished the floor, repaired the walls where the closet had been and walled in our guest bathroom.

The stairs are still a work in progress, but here you can see our new light fixture, and it is a lot more obvious why we decided to go with a full-light entry door. Sunshine!

 

There you have it, just one small but important area of our home. This is the first place you will see when you walk in and it most certainly makes a big impression. Setting expectations for the rest of the house! We hope you won't be disappointed.

Next... hmm... maybe I'll post pictures of the kitchen?! Or the bathroom?! You'll love it!