Sometimes We Build Walls...

...not to keep people out but to create a place for our refrigerator to go. & that's what we've done today folks (err, what my dad did yesterday, actually) 1 house - 2 walls + 1 wall = a more cohesive and welcoming atmosphere... or something like that. Sounds good right? Here's what we came home to yesterday after work:

We immediately swung things around.


There you have it! Our less than perfect dingy kitchen is experiencing its first taste of tough love. Now our fridge just needs to bite the dust so we can justify buying something like this little beauty (notice the big emphasis on the LIKE, as in similar, as in we're not dropping 3k on a fridge.) Our plan is to have a built-in for our new fridge and extend the counter on the length of that wall so we will actually have prep space surrounding our stove top. Ohh, progress.



I noticed the other day that I've started talking to our house, I think that's a good sign.

A New Home for the Mr & Mrs

Here's the washer & dryer in the basement. So far, so good. My dad and JC installed a light on the stairs for us that we can flip on when we're doing laundry. I LOVE it, it illuminates the entire basin of the washer, I can see it better than I ever could have when it was in our kitchen. It's the little things in life.
 

Do you like the space man look it has? JC and I did the dryer vent ourselves, we stretched it out a little further than necessary. I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like it the way it is now. It's got funk.

The Day The Walls Came Down

Demolition day has come and gone in the Miller house. With help from my dad, we are now the proud owners of a home with 2 less walls. We’ve been planning on tearing these walls down since we first moved in almost 2 years ago for JC, 3 years ago for me (I live here with my bestie for a bit before J and I tied the knot). Grammie’s old house is taking a new shape and we’re loving it! She’s excited for us too and even made a point to say “Grandpa would be so happy that you’re making our house your home”, that made me smile. I love the fact that my husband are starting our new lives together in the very same place that my grandparents started theirs over 65 years ago. The house is full of love and memories. Ahh, nostalgia. But enough of the gooey stuff let’s get down and dirty. Here’s wall #1, connecting the living room to the dining room:


This angle is from standing in what used to be the living room, it’s a long narrow room with awkwardly placed furniture. This wall was where my grandfather’s piano used to sit.



Same wall, different angle. I’m standing in the little “hallway” that connects the bathroom, kitchen, and former-bedroom-transformed-into-living-room.



The washer and dryer have been moved, along with the table in preparation for demolition. Typically the table is directly under the light fixture and the washer and dryer are both pushed up against the wall. Like it is here:



Ripping and tearing...



Putting my pink hammer to good use!



Here’s what it looks like NOW after the walls were removed on January 7, 2012:



The difference is amazing - I can BREATH!

Wall #2, connecting the former living room and the former-bedroom-transformed-into-living-room:

 

Originally, we wanted to rip the wall out all the way up the stairs but decided not to since that wall holds up our second floor and we didn’t want to pull out too many 2by’s and create a disaster.



Here’s wall #2 from the other side, my grandparents old bedroom. It’s the only room in the house that has full length walls and is square. The wallpaper is where the wall is coming down… the less wallpaper we have to strip the better, plus it gives you a nice visual. Isn’t that dirty rose wallpaper beautiful? And how about that dingy yellow paint we discovered underneath it all? I actually like the dingy yellow better…



Here’s my husband shoving the wall out onto the shabby pink carpet.



Look at that sweet, sweet hole in the wall. There’s my dad! He supervised the situation to make sure we didn’t mess anything up beyond repair. JC enjoyed the demolition as much as I did. We would rip out a piece of drywall then smirk at each other.



See the demolition dust? We’re no experts but I did manage to throw blankets over our new furniture. Realistically we should have taped up and thrown down plastic but since we are replacing the floors in the near future, we decided just to wipe down and shop vac everything when we were finished.

Anyway, it’s a start… I can’t believe how much fun we had on demo day. We really enjoyed working with my dad and it was nice to have someone doing the work who we could pepper with questions and act weird around. For instance me skipping through newly opened doorways and squealing “I couldn’t do this before!” We’ve had fun showing it off and even had people comment that they can see the difference from the road (we really should get curtains…)

Next on the agenda (in order):
1. Move the washer/dryer to the basement DONE!
2. Trim up the newly opened areas
3. Figure out exact measurements for the kitchen peninsula/new cabinets
4. Paint, paint, paint. Every room in the house needs a fresh coat of paint.
5. Install baseboards/propane heat
6. Install new flooring throughout the first floor
#5 and #6 will happen this spring/summer when we won’t be depending on our heating system but we have plenty to keep us busy in the mean time.