Main floor reno

SO, towards the beginning of summer, we decided we wanted to do a bit of work on our main floor.  We have a quad style house, and had an eating space in the kitchen (pictured below) and a dining room next door.  We were finding though, that if we ate in the kitchen with guests, we were constantly banging our elbows on the wall; and if we were in the dining room, we couldn't move the chairs on the carpeting to get in and out.  Since our family is growing, and we like to have people over and sit in the same room as them, we decided the wall had to GO.  

Here's the dining room below.  I should also mention the carpet was really really really really really bad.  The Kappers + light carpet = HORRIBLE disaster.  You can see some of the stains in the picture even.  But it was getting to the point where I was embarrassed to have people over because it was so disgusting. (Hello Kedzie)

So one day the wall got knocked down.  It was CRAZY! 

And we got rid of our kitchen table because I didn't want to have two tables. (although I did love that table with all my heart).  We decided to get new flooring throughout since I wasn't in love with our kitchen laminate (it was the 69 cents a square foot kind and terrible to clean), and I didn't want to put it elsewhere in our house.  

I didn't take a before picture of our living room, but I do have pictures just from us living in it.... So here's a birthday party picture from a while back! 

Then it came time to choose a paint color that would be ALL over.  This was highly stressful.  I ended up choosing Revere Pewter, which is a Benjamin Moore color I had matched by someone else.

We painted the trim around the windows white, and painted all the walls in the kitchen/living/dining/entry areas.  Our hero Dean Kuper even came to help, and he DOMINATED the ceiling line once again.  Thanks Deano!!! (and his daughter Anna helped too.)

Then it came time to have the floor put in.  When they moved my piano, THIS is how disgusting the vent was. AHHHHH!!!!!!!!! It was INSANE.

There was also a surprise under our laminate flooring in the kitchen.... TILE! 

We had recessed lighting put in our living room too, so I had to empty out the pantry in order to have access to our attic.  The mess was overwhelming. 

We lived in chaos for a week or so and started eating meals in the family room at a little white kid's table.  And it was when Ben was gone.  Lucky Ben. (And hello again Kedzie)

I thought I might lose it, but I didn't.  That's the good news.

Then, it was done, and we could put our stuff back!! I LOVE the wall down!! I love having ONE eating space, and I like how open it feels now.  (Like the lighting?) 

I love our light fixture.  Ben found it.  He rocks.

I'm still working on curtains, but feel pretty good about finding pillows, an area rug, and accent chair I love! (Old Time pottery is the bomb.com) 

I still need to do a bit of cleaning next to my piano... 

Ben picked out those pictures above the couch in the picture below.  I love them because they just seem to tie the whole business together. 

I am absolutely loving the change, and I'm so glad we finished it before the baby came!  I have some curtains ordered online that are coming in the mail, so we'll see if we like those and can get them up in time, but I kind of doubt we'll manage that.  Overall I feel like we have more space, and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the new floors!!!!

I think we'll take a break from home projects for a little while, but I'm so glad we went for it this time!