Let's Do This

Andrew and I started to tackle our biggest home renovation project to date - the family room.

You have never seen our family room before. That's because it's ugly. I mean, technically, our house was move-in ready. We didn't have to make any changes; however, I will readily admit I'm picky and very opinionated when it comes to house things - color, material choices, etc. So obviously I had a list of things I wanted to update, and this was the grand daddy of them all to date.

So anyways, our family room has looked like this for about seven months now.

Blah. Don't know what to look at? Yeah, that's the problem. There is so much going on. The room has just been added to and added to. Timeout. Let's start over.

I really like exposed brick. However, I would really like to talk to the person who designed an entire wall of brick and decided, "yeah, I think the fireplace looks really awesome on only one side of the wall with these three sweet stones staggered across the wall. this is totally functional and aesthetically pleasing. there is an obvious place to hang stockings, and people are really going to want to gather here."

And, then definitely need to talk to the next person who decided, "this space is really lacking storage. I'm going to build a well-quality corner cabinet with all different types of angles, screws, nails, etc. Obviously, half on the brick and half on the wall is the way to go."
And, really, really would love to chat with the person after that who said, "time to update the floors, definitely going to tile around this cabinet - wouldn't want to tear it down, it's just too valuable to the house. never mind the carpet and fancy linoleum underneath; that's just adding character."
Come on people.

So, last weekend we started the demo. I am already feeling better.

Remove the shelves, remove the rest of the cabinet, remove the nasty carpet, remove the linoleum, ahhhhh....
This weekend, we are repairing and painting the wall where the cabinet used to be, and Andrew has been tiling the corner of the room shown above.

I have to say, Andrew is really awesome at DIY. He's very resourceful and willing to entertain my crazy ideas. Plus, he really likes it because he gets to buy new tools! So far, during our last two projects he has gotten a 10 pound sledgehammer...

pry bar...plus, a shop vac and tile saw. He's currently researching table saws for the last part of the fireplace reno - actual built-ins against the open brick wall of the fireplace. Exciting!

Anyways, that's where we are right now. I need to get one more coat of paint on the wall, and Andrew has to wait two days for the adhesive on the tile to dry before he can apply the grout.

I am pretty pumped. For one, this has been the eyesore of our house...the one room that we haven't touched (besides the hall bath) and that isn't complete. For two, once we finish the projects in this room, we can buy furniture! YAY!