You've Come a Long Way, Baby: Dining Room

A view of our new house, past and present. A reminder of how far we've come, and a morale-booster for the upcoming weekend of work.

This little series has been fun so far (post 1, post 2, post 3) but I have to say, this one takes the cake. The "before" photo just completely takes my breath away. Yes, it really was that bad.

The carpet was beat, the wallpaper reeked of nicotine, the trim had "ripened to the color of turning cream," as Marilynne Robinson puts it. (Anyone know her fabulous book Housekeeping? It's excellent.) In this picture we were in the middle of stripping the paper.

Now:

Sighhh. Ok, the floor still needs some love, but it's miles better than dingy carpet. The trim got two coats of "ultra pure white" semi-gloss; the walls got two coats of Valspar Cliveden Gray Morning. Also, new sockets and switchplates throughout. It's amazing how much difference something like that makes.

This is the room where our beautiful new light is going to hang. I can't wait.

This weekend, Patrick has gigs both Friday and Saturday nights, which means I'm going to get to spend some quality time with the much-neglected-but-not-forgotten Great Room, where I'm finally going to turn some attention to those flowers I traced so long ago. (Ok, it was only a month ago. Somehow it feels like eons.) We'll see how far I get.

Also on the docket: a dump run, moving things in to the built-in cabinet (which is finally done!), and lots and LOTS of drywall-patching time logged for Patrick. If there's one thing the stairwell needs, it's drywall patching.

Happy Friday!