As you might have noticed in Emily's monthly picture, we have made some significant changes to the living room! It was our latest remodeling project. Ironically enough, one of the only things we didn't change was the wall color.
It started on November 8 when we had a new picture window installed. The old, original one was drafty, and the side panels were already caulked and painted shut when we bought the house. This meant there was no way to clean the cobwebs off the screens inside them, plus the ventilation in the room was not the greatest.
The same day the window was put in, Austin took a vacation day to
install new recessed lighting around the perimeter of the room. It
didn't go quite as smoothly as we had hoped when Austin hit rafters on
three out of the six holes even after carefully measuring and plotting
them out. But it all got patched up again. Austin also moved all the
cords and wires hanging down from the the TV/Dish/DVD player into the
wall.
Next on the list was a new gas insert fireplace. The previous owner had
put a gas log in the wood-burning fireplace 20 years ago. I only got
it lit twice the first winter before it died altogether and I used
packing tape to seal the glass doors closed. Before the new insert was
installed, Austin re-tiled the surround and hearth using the same tile as
in the foyer. It replaced green swirled marble and chipped hearth
tile.
The final step was new carpet. The old carpet was solid off-white.
It held up fine for 20 years in a house with an older couple, but didn't
stand a chance with two young kids. :op
I am pleased
with the results. It now feels more like a warm and cozy family den
instead of a cold (literally), old-fashioned living room. We will spend a lot of hours curled up in front of the fireplace this winter! Below is the
transformation in pictures. (Many of the "before" pictures are not the best quality because they were taken on my old 35mm camera to use up the film.)
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| Old window from inside |
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| Yucky cobwebs |
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| Old window from outside |
Big hole!
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| New window from inside |
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| New window from outside |
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| Helping Daddy drill holes |
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| Eager helper |
Before & after fireplace
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| More "helping" |
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| North view before |
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| North view after |
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| West view after |
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| South view before |
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| South view after |
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| Fireplace before |
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| Fireplace after |
2 comments:
Looks really nice guys....sit back and enjoy the winter staying warm:).
Great living room makeover! I bet that room is so much more cozy with a new, less drafty window and new fireplace. Enjoy!!!
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