up front

i keep envisioning myself actually sitting in the living room. it is getting so very close. for nearly four months (apres 3 months in the luxury boarding home) we've been confined to the kitchen and upstairs, leaving nearly the entire first floor a construction zone.

i spend a lot of time in bed. grading papers and writing lesson plans, i often eat in bed, write this blog in bed...really- there's no other comfortable place to sit. downstairs is dusty and full of tools.We got rid of our old scrappy couch before the move- starting fresh with new living room furniture to top the renovations off.
 

this will be the most appreciated living room EVER. 

here are some current photos of her transformation. 

 

door change  

its amazing what a little switch of the front door can do. On the left is our old door. on the right- the new door. a total find from second chance, a huge architectural salvage center. they had about 500 doors and we walked away with this gorgeous walnut one.  quite perfect- except the door handles must have been for a child because they are weirdly low. no deterrent- adam moved the lock set up and we'll cover the old one's up with some sort of brass plate? fake lock? 

 

we also splurged on some beautiful wood for the trim. found this great little specialty lumber shop and spent hours looking at samples. ended up with baked poplar. yes baked, like in some giant oven. gives regular poplar a rich dark look all the way through.   not stained! here's adam sanding boards he just cut to size.

getting closer

apparently putting in a new front door is not as easy as one might think. in our new place, nothing is square and there's lots of interesting "fixes" by its former owner mr. sass. each creates a setback after throwing adam into a fit of curses.

getting closer. 

 

check out that trim!

DOOR IN. yes. weeks of solely using the back door and our sweet b'more alley makes me thrilled to exit right onto the street and park again.
  

here's the door. sharp.











remember this? here's the window we exposed when first taking down this front wall. it was hidden, above the door, behind plaster and more. the numbers are painted on a sheet of glass and comes out and fits back in. we took it out during construction, cleaned it and just put it back.

it is one of my favorite house features. i picture a 1920's brooklyn, old fashioned neighborhood. what this area reminds me very much of.

the gansers arrived! have i told you we love volunteers? particularly retired ones. they helped in a million ways from getting us a dish rack to braving a laundromat (after which adam was told to stop everything and buy me a w/d), to mudding and scraping a wall.

thanks so much for everything and come back soon!

mom and dad were up for regular weekend duty too- adding to a very productive saturday. we're  inching towards painting this room! a big big day. but first came filling up plaster holes, evening out plaster walls, and mudding drywall. next up new baseboards, new crown molding, reappointing brick, finish oiling ceilings, painting walls, hanging up trim, and refinishing the floors. in that order. i think.

the living room isn't done *yet* but i'll continue to document it's finishing touches.