progress ~ day three

 The contracting work is moving along quickly. All these photos were from yesterday - day three of work. 

The fireplace mantle and surround are up, primed and painted with one coat of paint, so far. It's a simple design...we could've had other molding pieces put on to make it more elaborate, but our living room is small and not at all "fancy", so we wanted to keep the design simple as to not overwhelm the room.

The pass-thru ledge is also installed, primed and first coat of painting done. The light between the living room and kitchen is already amazing, even on a cloudy day and with a plastic barrier in place. Someone had asked on Instagram why we didn't have the entire wall removed. This wall is a load bearing wall. To have it removed would require major engineering work. We're not willing to go through that - mentally or financially! We also have different shades of hardwood flooring in the living room and kitchen. The flooring in the kitchen is a dark hardwood and the living room is a blonde hardwood. So, same sort of situation: no desire to tear up hardwood flooring in the kitchen (that's the older stuff, though it still looks good) and replace it with the flooring that matches the living room to make it all seamless.

 In the kitchen, the ugly, faux wood molding and door frame were removed from the opening going into the basement and replaced with white molding. Bottom halves of the walls that had the wainscoting got new drywall and everything primed to get ready for painting.

Believe it or not, all that's left for the contractors to do now is to paint the kitchen, the living room wall where the pass-thru was cut, and finishing up all the tiny details. They said they should be done today! Only four days of work - not bad. Though it has seemed like two weeks. ;-) I don't know how people go through major renovations that last weeks or months while living in the house. It's been stressful. But, I know, will be totally worth it.

I'll be back soon to show you the completed work!