the chandelier is up and other house updates

It's hard to believe that it's been a week since my parents left.

During their visit my Mom came down with a cold and the day after she left I got it too. Which is why I've been MIA in the blog world lately--although I've still managed to get some exciting things done around here since my parents left. Somehow working with my Dad always seems to motivate me.

(I can't wait to show you what we did last week. I just need to upload some pictures for you).

Our vintage chandelier finally got hung in the kitchen--yippee--and I did manage to get a few pictures to show you.

Here's a shot showing the plugged recessed holes in our ceiling.

This house had some scary sub-standard wiring issues we needed to address.

I love the details of this old piece.

And just for fun here's a few Before shots.:

Previous Owners:

 

Today:

Our goal is to eventually re-model this kitchen--it's poorly designed with peeling cabinets- but until then we keep plugging away trying to make it fit our needs.

Adding lots of white paint and new wood flooring throughout our house has helped.

And we've made it more functional for our family by adding a table that's used as a kitchen island and this new fixture and seating to create a nook area.

This side of the kitchen stayed dark until I found this fixture.

It's amazing how much lighting affects a room. All of a sudden we're eating on this table now.

Before

The previous owners had a sectional in this corner and a TV on the opposite wall.

A round table was squeezed into the space where you cook.

After

The ceiling on this side of the room originally had six holes of recessed lighting that had serious wiring problems. We opted to fill the holes (too many anyway) and wire the area for one central chandelier instead.

We still need to paint the ceiling but I'm sorta waiting until we redo the kitchen because I really want a wood ceiling.

Before I go I want to share a preview of some of the painting I've been doing while I've been nursing my head cold.

My awesome, mega-talented Dad really worked his magic on my living room when he was here.  

First, we added some wood casing to my entry and totally changed the entire look and feel of this boring wall.

Project: Adding trim

But the biggest change was in my living room. I've been dreaming of adding a wall of bookshelves to this room but there's limited space.  When it came to this wall, my Mom kept asking us why we were taking so long but we stared at this one wall for quite awhile, took our measurements, looked at my Pinterest photos again and headed to Home Depot. And.... voila!

   Project: Bookshelves around doorway

Can you see where this wall is headed?

It took me a week to finish painting this---what a job--but these shelves totally transformed our living room. These are my phone pictures, stay tuned for some better ones.

In the meantime--I'm off to let the refrigerator repair man in. Oh. Did I mention that our year old refrigerator suddenly stopped working--right after a huge grocery trip? Thank goodness it didn't happen until my parents left.




I hope you're staying healthy and warm these days.




xo
Leslie




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