Tuesday, November 22, 2011

a reason to be THANKFUL!

With Thanksgiving only a couple of days away I starting thinking about the things I'm thankful for. Of course, family was the first thing that popped into my head. But, what next? With the weather changing to cold, damp, and rainy, the answer was easy...my warm and cozy home to snuggle up in!

My house has not always been warm and cozy. It has been through a couple of addition/remodels. The last one being three years ago. We started with no particular deadline. That immediately changed once we learned we would be hosting our son's wedding in three months! Doing all the work ourselves (mostly Hubby), we didn't have much of a social life that summer.

Hubby demolished three walls opening up
the kitchen area and expanding the dining room.




Wow! Look at all those electrical wires...they all needed to be rerouted!
Luckily, my electrician works cheap!

The really cool step-up architectural feature that Hubby worked so hard to create over the dining room table during our previous addition/remodel project was now in the wrong place! So, after investigating the situation he went to work to fix that issue.




What a mess...cabinets were scattered where ever we could find a place to put them. The sliding glass door in the back ground had to be removed to make way for a stove and microwave. We found a home for it in our newly enlarged dining room.


My youngest son was still living at home and helped out with some of the heavy lifting.


There's Hubby cutting right on top of the counter...doesn't he know
we have a cutting board?



I did help...really! I was the clean up girl and there was always something to clean up. I also did all the plaster work and painting which was challenging at times. As you can see from the photos, I had to texture and paint in random areas here and there working around the mess.




Notice the hideously bright orange dining room wall? Hard to believe but that is
the start of a gorgeous, rich red finish that will have the look of leather.


 Once most the painting was done, Hubby started laying the new flooring.


This is what the place looked like two weeks before the wedding! I was beginning to feel a little panicked and questioned whether we could finish on time. With help from my very generous father-in-law, we were able to wrap it up the day before the wedding which gave me just enough time to whip out all the wedding flowers!


I wouldn't have chosen to take on a major remodel and a wedding at the same time
but you do what you have to do! And, I love the results!


The new kitchen sparkles with stainless steel and glass tiles.


I love this bar area for entertaining! Hubby - nicknamed the mixologist by one of our friends - never leaves this area during a party...he's the perfect bartender!



With much cutting and hammering, Hubby was able to create a beautiful storage area and focal point for the dining room reusing some of the old kitchen cabinets.
I sanded, primed and painted them a soft black to accent the red leather wall finish.




Now that all that hard work is just a fading memory, I'm grateful that I can
just grab a cup of coffee and sit back and relax in my warm and cozy home!

Hubby got his reward too!




12 comments:

  1. Wow, your home is beautiful - you certainly worked hard to get it there!

    We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK, but I hope yours is lovely - Happy Thanksgiving to you and your Family! x

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  2. Everything looks beautiful! I remember seeing it at the wedding, but you didn't have the new dining room table and living room furniture yet. It all looks amazing! I'm thankful to have a cozy home also, especially with all the rain. And, I'd be even more thankful if I could figure out a way to have my boys keep the house clean!! Have a great Thanksgiving!

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  3. It all turned out amazing! So much more open and bright. I would have been really stressed with such a deadline though...my usual pace is s-l-o-w.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. It turned out wonderful you are lucky to have such a talented husband. Congrats

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  5. It looks fabulous! I can't imagine the stress of having that and wedding planning going on!

    I found you via link party. Thank you for sharing! :o)

    http://justagurlintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-make-custom-wall-art.html

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  6. Oh my! I'm glad I followed you back to say thank you for the compliment regarding my cornucopia. What a treat was in store over here. This renovation turned out so gorgeous!!! You and the hubby can be so proud. Every detail is so beautiful AND professional. Kudos!!! : )
    Mary Lou

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  7. Hi Kathy
    amazing post :)
    and do not miss,,,,

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    It is fun :)
    WELCOME
    HÃ¥kan ( The Roseman)

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  8. What a journey sweet Kathy!! But look at these amazing results..Can I come over for a cup of tea...well perhaps after the wedding...heehee..Im sure that by the we may have to add something a wee bit stronger to the tea ( : Hugs,Cat

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  9. oh my what a beautiful redo!!
    Love the kitchen, what a difference!

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  10. Wow! It turned out beautiful!! I'm jealous!! :)
    Thanks for sharing at Show & Share!

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  11. Very nice! I'd love to do that to open up the kitchen-dining room, but we have a 70's "wall-of-brick" fireplace dividing the two. So, cozy, it will remain...

    Beautiful remodel!!! Love the dark, rich colors you chose.

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I look forward to reading what you have to say. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!

Have a great day!
Kathy