Picking Up the Pace

This has been a SLOW house tour - sorry about that.  We had company this weekend, so I didn't have time to blog.  My Mom and Aunt came to visit, so they got a real tour of the house on Friday, and then we spent the rest of the weekend relaxing around the house and enjoying my mom's cooking.  Yes, she was a guest in my house and she still did the cooking - completely her choice, she just loves to be in the kitchen which is a great bonus for Curt and I!

So, in an effort to get the 'before' posts completed before the house is ours and we start knocking down walls (which is THIS FRIDAY!), I figure I better pick up the pace and maybe do more than one room at a time.  In this post I'm going to try to cover the last two rooms on the main floor - rooms that were being used as a dining room and a kitchen, but that will change!

Their Dining Room - Our Kitchen

In my previous post, the last picture was of the wall to the left of the fireplace, I explained that we would be taking that wall down and opening it up to the kitchen.  So, here we are on the other side of that wall.  There has been a significant change in the plans since that last post, and it's been decided that the fireplace I talked about, and showed pictures of, is getting taken out.  That will allow us to make an larger opening and we can use part of the front room in the kitchen layout as well.

Wow, I forgot how much stuff was in this room!  Thankfully it's almost empty now, but I don't have any pictures of it like that.  Anyway, that is the wall that will be knocked down, opening the kitchen up to the front room from the previous post.

This door currently leads into the hallway - we're getting rid of it though.  Once that wall is gone and the two rooms are open to each other, there won't be much use for this door.  And, getting rid of it allows us have that extra wall space for cupboards.

And in this picture, I'm standing at the door in the above picture, looking into the room.  That window overlooks the driveway, the west side of the house. 

There is a big change coming in the area above - right where that shelf is sitting, that is going to become a hallway/mudroom.  We're putting a door there, making a entrance from the driveway - the opening on the left side of the picture will stay there, it opens into the next room I'm going to talk about.

Their Kitchen - Our Family Room

This room is at the back of the house, so it has potential for great views of the water.  Curt had the great idea of turning this room into our family room, and immediately I could picture us enjoying the room year round - in the summer, with the patio doors open, enjoying the boats go by AND in the winter, curled up with a blanket and a warm fire.  Now, there isn't a fireplace in this room right now, but we'll be adding one - we're still debating between putting a wood stove in here, or, moving the fireplace from the front room back here.

Maybe it doesn't look that bad in the picture, but this is a pretty pathetic kitchen!  It's not a bad size, but these were the only cupboards in the whole room...and, I'm pretty sure those are the same cupboards I had in my dorm at Redeemer University College. 

This picture shows a pretty cool feature of the house, the back staircase.  These stairs actually lead up to the old maids quarters!  At least I'd like to think it would have been the maids quarters?  The main part of the house is old enough for that type of thing, but this part is actually an addition, so I'm not really sure.  I'm going to stick to saying it's maids quarters though, because that's cool history :)  There is a bedroom and bathroom, and they can be completely closed off from the rest of the house by simply closing a door. 

Unfortunately, these stairs are going to be taken out...and although I'm a little sad about that, I know that it makes the most sense and things will look great.  Taking them out gives us a little more space in this room, and the corner where the landing is an ideal spot for the fireplace.

So, this is the last of the space on the main floor, we'll head upstairs in a post tomorrow (hopefully!).   

The Dining Room

I have to start this post with a quick house update - we were able to do another tour of the house today, and I am very happy (and relieved) to report that the current owners have done an amazing job of clearing out their junk!  It's not all gone, but I'd say about eighty percent of it is gone...and, the stuff that is still there is the bigger stuff, so maybe they're just waiting for a chance to borrow/rent a larger trailer or something to transport it all?  After seeing it today, mostly empty, it seems that much more real!

OK, now back to the house tour...the next room I'm going to show you is another large room at the front of the house (when standing at the front door looking into the house, this room is on the right).  The thought is that this may have been a second living room type area; but, we are going to change that - we are going to make this room our dining room.  It's pretty big for a dining room, but, it makes the most sense.

I have discovered that I don't have great pictures of this room...I took a lot of pictures of the small details in here, like the baseboard and window trim, but didn't really get anything to give you an idea of the overall layout/shape.  This is the best I have...

Ignore the desk...remember, the previous owners were storing stuff here.  I wish I had taken my camera today, I could have taken some new pictures that would show the house, not the owners stuff.

I also took a lot of pictures of the main 'feature' of this room, the fireplace!

As you can see, the mantle is...elaborate!  I have a picture just like this on my phone, and when I show people, they all ask if we're going to leave this as it is.  I don't really have an answer though, I just can't decide...I mean, it's beautiful - all the intricate woodworking - but, not sure it's our style?  Take a closer look and let me know what you think...

There is a big change planned for this room...

Now, look past the random wire hanging there...and, if you're seeing the plastic on the ceiling, ignore that too.  As you can see, this is right beside the fireplace; and, to the left of those suitcases is the french doors leading into the room.  This is a horrible picture, but I'm showing you this because that wall is going to change - we're going to create a doorway or opening of some sort there - and, it will lead into the new kitchen. 

So, the next room on the tour will be the future kitchen.  I've also been busy looking at pictures of kitchens to get some ideas, so I think I'll include some of those too - it might be interesting to have 'before', 'maybe' and 'after' pictures :)

Note: We were at the house today with a co-worker of Curt's who is going to do the work on the boiler and fireplaces for us.  One of the conditions we included in the purchase was that we could have three more visits to the house before it closes; this has been very helpful because it has allowed Curt to go in and take measurements and then to arrange trades to come in to do estimates.  We get the house in two weeks, and have one visit left...we've saved that for when my Mom and Aunt come to visit next weekend!