A 71 watt bulb ...

Kaleb changing the lightbulb in the kitchen ... Ahhhh what a difference ONE bulb makes! :)

Looking good!

Standing in the hallway looking into the rooms ... Ahhhhh it's looking good! :)

Taking the bricks outside.

Brick workers: Lauren and Kaleb

We'll just stack them right here ...

Lauren

Kaleb moving the bricks from inside to outside.

{Working}

Kade

Tory, Kade and Robert - :) (Thanks for your help today Dad - we love you!)

I am so excited about this new entry way from the front room to the dining room. On Monday night we were not so happy with how it was turning out ... Tory worked some magic with it today and we are loving it! :) Moving on.

This is the doorway in the kitchen that leads to the basement and the side/back door.
I want to put an old door there ... Good news: Looks like it will work!

Evolution of a room ...

(Above) The front room when we started ...

As it is now.

Notice that the only thing left of the brick wall is a little stack of salvaged bricks in the middle of the floor. We took the wall down so we could put a wall up to separate the family room from the dining room. It's in the works ...

Stay tuned: This room is full of possibility! :)

Retro green shelf paper

Above: retro green paper

Always a little amazed at the layers of contact paper in old closets ... This stuff was retro - way retro.

PS: I am excited about all the big, old closets waiting to be filled with stuff. It will be nice to have the storage space.

Before and After - The vintage kitchen heat vent

Yipes - pulled this thing out of the kitchen and thought: You need some love!

Amazing what some fresh paint can do to add life and beauty to an object ...

Before and After - Kaleb's room

Please notice the smile on the wall (faint white on the left) ...

As it is now ... Waiting for new windows and the floor to be refinished.

Notes: I just finished adding a second coat of white to all the trim today. The room is looking great. I had no idea how much time it would take to get these rooms looking good. It felt good tonight to snap the photos and say out loud: "WOW!"

As I turned out the light to leave I think the room actually whispered: Thanks! :)

Inspiration ...

Sitting on the buckets of mud ... waiting for inspiration about tile, paint and where to put a book shelf...

Consulting with the Expert :) ... "Here's what I would do with that bathroom!" Thanks Dad!

Thank heavens for the Pottery Barn mailers ... full of great ideas - I love how they include the paint color and numbers on the side margins. [Brilliant]