Before and After: Living Room Wall Removal

We finally painted and cleaned up our freaking house. We are still waiting on the couch and I still need to get an updated house tour to y'all. Which means I need to clean again. And take pictures. And edit them. And post them. #lazy (UPDATE: turns out, I got a lot of these pictures snapped this weekend. I'll be giving you a new house tour post in TOTAL in about two weeks me thinks. GO ME!). Anyway, here is the final after of our wall removal project. To say we are satisfied with it is the biggest understatement of the year.

Painted!

New rug! New coffee table! Where the flip is our new couch!???

As I am looking at this next picture, I keep thinking... maybe we need to put recessed lights in the hallway...

I just freaking love how it all turned out. I also love that it is done and we paid cash for it. I also love the new baseboards and would now like to replace all of the trim work in our house. I love a lot of things and I have a DIY/Updating/House problem.

So that's the before and after of the biggest project we've done to date. Wall removal... CHECK!

What's next you ask? How did you know I would have a list ready!?

This is where the living room list currently stands:

• Get couch
• Coffee and side tables
• TV stand
• Install TV in wall– no wires!
• Area rug
• A buffet/dresser for wall directly across from the door
• Matching table lamps
• Paint living room
• Crown Molding
• Bench or small hutch (in the gray) right by door
• Remove the bi-fold closet doors and turn space into more of a mudroom? Or just get better doors?
• Add can lights on side of room by TV– super dark over there
• Eventually take down the wall that is directly across from door and put in an island to open up the kitchen
• Maybe install new hardwoods throughout first floor?

As for the rest of the house, we are debating between granite and a new backsplash, gutting the upstairs bathroom, a shed out back, and crown molding/updating the trim work. So you know, just a few things...

Wall Progress: The Opening of all Openings

Here was the plan:

On day one while I was sitting at jury duty, this happened:

Here they are building out the header.. when it was all framed out I started to understand the plan even more.

All framed up:

The next day they got it all drywalled and one coat of mud put up. I just can't get over how open this has made the house already. The header is going to house the two pendant lights that came in from Ballard Designs. And the butcher block countertop is going to rest on the cabinets that are going into the nook that has been created by the little half wall that was built. 

Here you can also see the switch that was put in for the pendant lights. Jeff also installed an outlet over on the side: perfect for crockpots, smoothie making, and juicing. 

Looking down you can see the notch on the right where the butcher block is going to go. 

Here's a shot of the heating vent that is going to get routed through the toe kick of the wall cabinets that are going to get installed.

All that is left is a round of sanding, mudding, sanding, painting, toe kick platform building, heater vent running, cabinet install, pendant light install, and then countertop install.

We are also taking the opportunity to install can lights in the living room and kitchen. Which means that the light box in the kitchen is finally getting removed.

So, I've got a math riddle for you (cough, cough, Ashley, cough): we need 64 linear inches of cabinets. We originally assumed that we would get two 32 inch cabinets, but wouldn't you know it.... Lowe's and HD and everyone else only carry 30s or 33s. So, math people, what combination of cabinets could we get to have 64 linear inches of cabinet love using these widths:

• 9 
• 12 
• 15 
• 18 
• 21 
• 23.5
• 24 
• 27 
• 30 
• 33 
• 36 

Oh, and I already know we could a 33 and a 21, but I think that would look lopsided and silly. I'd like some combo of two smaller flanking a larger one. May the math gods be with you!