The Dining Room- Part 1

So I wasn't exactly sure where to start....or I guess I should say re-start.  Thought it might be easiest to take you through each room.  Not necessarily in the order they were completed but kind of a tour through the house.  The front large windows of the House look into the Dining Room and this is not a "formal" dining room but the kind you eat in every day because your kitchen is too small for a table.

I will be honest.  The room was hideous when I bought it.

Wallcovering covered the walls, tile floor had been installed over the wood (what???)  The ceiling fan had pictures of barns on it....oh yes.  And the built-in curio screamed country.  

The only thing I loved were the three big windows.

Usually when you buy a house you don't look forward to ripping off wall paper but with this house it was about one of the easiest things on the to-do list so day #1...off it came!

 And that weird paneled cabinet behind me...it had to go so we even broke out the sledgehammer!

 So now with that cabinet gone there was a nice large opening from the Dining Room into the Living Room which made a huge difference in making the first floor feel a little more "open-concept"

 But of course now the wall, ceiling and floor had gaping holes in them...but that was fixable.  We ended up taking a sledge hammer to the tile floor to get it to break up and then we scraped it off.  Then the thin subfloor was removed to reveal the gorgeous hardwood floors continued underneath them...not sure who would ever cover them up in the first place but the trick was going to be the fact that they were now coated in a thin layer of glue (which by the way you cannot sand off because it gums up a sander pretty quickly).  So my some of "my crew" (but mainly my mother) took this task on inch by inch.

Here are the two pictures side by side so you can see what a difference taking out that cabinet made...and even what a difference taking off the dark paneling made!  The next week a greater discovery was made....the rotten corner.  If you didn't read about it the first time you can read about it here.

But don't worry because if you can't look past the fact that there is a hole in my house (glass half empty) and focus on the sun shining through (glass half full) you know there are good things to come!  

Here is a sneek peek of that same corner in Part 2!

The CREW that made it possible

Remember this crazy girl who bought a "scary fixer upper" and decided to blog about it?

She's baaaaack!  Don't worry...I didn't buy another house....but I did think that it was about time I started blogging about it again.  (And maybe some other projects along the way!)

First I wanted to introduce you to my CREW (which stands for: people who put their blood sweat and possibly tears into my house and did not get paid a dime).  Also known as my demolition/cleaning/floor-scraping/carpentry/whatever asked helpers.  I know I didn't get a picture of my painting helpers....but maybe those will turn up as I dig through the past....

 

Not only did this girl learn at IUPUI...but her big sis got to teach her how to properly use a sledge hammer!

This young lady at heart always wanted to help and she always made me smile.

The two hot girls above know how to tear down walls...yeah that's right (and are available for hire).

 This lean mean working machine sure can scrape glue off a hardwood floor like no-body's business.

 This sweaty dude has been challenged beyond measure...just wait till you see the niches he has built for me!

She didn't obey the construction rules of NO open-toed shoes...but I did give her a swing with the sledge hammer since there was a rule that if you were onsite you can't just stand there and look pretty.

This awesome lady tackled mold with me....what more can I say?

 This strong girl battled itchy insulation...and a BIRD....but thats another story.

And of course my children....you didn't think I would let them get off scott free did you?

Read the posts below if you are new to my blog (or want to refresh your memory).  

And hopefully less than a 18 month lapse will happen before my next blog!