The woodwork is done!

Here is the living room wall as it looked on August 19th. The new drywall was in place and Rich was preparing the wood to put up.

Here is the wall as of yesterday evening before supper!

What a huge difference the wood makes. The brick is a past memory now. Along with the old chimney and dark paneling.

Here is a reminder of what it used to look like.

The brick area was pretty unusable. But we lived with it for so many years.

Rich has to install a new cabin heater soon as our mornings are getting chilly already.

Yesterday I started clear coating the wood as I'd finished the chair rail in the dining area.

I pulled the carpeting from the stair landing. I'd like to put something other than carpet down.  I'm thinking about what options we have.

I have an idea for right now but Rich wasn't sure he liked it.
I want to just paint the wood white to make it brighter and easier to keep clean.

He says it is extra work and I say it will save us a bit of work as we won't have to address the ugly stair syndrome for a bit longer.

The next thing on our list is sanding the patches in the drywall on the ceiling and getting it texture painted.

I'm not sure where to go on this step. Buy textured paint? Hire it done? It isn't a large area, but it is the next step.

Rich is going to call our contractor now so he can come back and finish framing in the windows.

We need to pull the carpeting in the living room too and we will replace the carpet with the same type of flooring as the downstairs bedroom has.

Morris is handling this quite well for an old dog. He likes to lay on the covered couch and supervise with a hedgehog toy.

I still have some small areas to paint as you can see behind Morris.

One step at a time. It goes slower when we have to juggle work, farm work, and everyday life. But I am enjoying the transformation completely.

I keep reminding myself that this ...

was how it used to be!

Oh work work...an update.

Two weeks ago

Today

We are moving along. The other walls are just about finished except this west wall.

It is covered in pine which I am working on clear coating.

This is the area in the 'dining' room. The wood is turning out quite beautiful. It is light and airy feeling. The bricks in the living room and the dark paneling is gone.

I don't have a photo of it 'finished' yet, but this should give you and idea of how it is moving along and what it will look like when finished.

Rich has finished this wall and he is now working on the ceiling and the west wall. The old tape job one the ceiling looked bowed and cracked so we are replacing that also.

We still have to pull up the carpet on the stairs and the living room floor. We are gaining little by little.

Of course Morris is still feeling slightly put out by not having things 'just so'. He is not used to having furniture moved constantly.

And he hasn't been getting the hikes that he is also used to.

So he does pull up a blanket and pout.

However, he likes it much more when I toss his blanket on the couch and he can lay there and watch us work.

I'm sure he is thinking that we could be done with this remodel thing any time soon and he would be happy.

Inside Work Remodeling Part 2

There is the pile of bricks we took out of the living room and a view of the side of the house that faces East.
My husband says that his little cabin in the woods has become a palace and he isn't sure he likes it.

He likes it. He actually loves it. But he is still having a time dealing with how 'fancy' it looks to him.

Inside however is another story. The addition is beautiful and we are now working on the living room walls. The paneling is gone and he has started with the Pine Wainscoting.
I think it will look fantastic and brighten up the house tremendously by the time he is done.

The changes are amazing and I am trying to keep track as we move along.

I spent a good part of the day processing corn and vegetables then I turned my attention to clear coating the basement stair rail again and then using steel wool to finish it off.

I am also working on the in the wall dresser to give it a better finish. I'm getting pretty good at refinishing I think!

Today I'll give it a rub down and another coat!