Progress? You bet.

Our contractor started May 23rd. He has a crew of guys but usually only 2 or 3 are at our house everyday. They are fast, nice, and do really good work. It was so exciting to see them get started. I remember walking in after their first day there and thinking they got more done in one day than Brad and I could have done in a month! 

These shots were all taken around the middle of June. 

The laundry room:

Wood paneling off, sink out, closet doors off, popcorn ceiling down, countertops off. Still hadn't ripped out the tile floor...

Task Area:

Nothing too exciting here. The countertop is off and the light fixture is removed.

Oh, except this! They removed the Star Trek Command Center...Yep. That was the mother board that controlled the speaker/communication board that was IN EVERY SINGLE ROOM. Hello, dry wall patchwork.

The Office/Guest Room

 Yikes. Look how bad it was looking. Turns out termites really liked this room. Thought it was delicious. Mold liked it too. Loved to grow here. Geesh.

So the guys got after this room! It was one of their first priorities and in just a few days it started looking like this:

 Aaaah. Better. Mold and termite free sheet rock!

The Kitchen:

 Countertops and sink removed. (Remember this is way back in June. Things look SO different now.)

Living Room:

 Remember how I just gave up in a fit of cussing fury after scraping the living room popcorn ceiling for 3 hours and only getting a 1 ft. x 2 ft. square done? No? Well I did. And turns out I was almost redeemed. The guys said that it was so hard they were going to just sheetrock over it. But, I said almost redeemed. Turns out that was gonna be more money. So they had to end up scraping it. Man. I can't believe they didn't quit their jobs that day! I'm glad they didn't though because our smooth vaulted ceiling looks AH-mazing!

























They also removed the built-in wet bar in the corner of the living room. The breakfast bar will eventually run all the way to that wall.

Hall Bath:

 Dan got after the shower with a sledge hammer and did some serious damage (read: improvement!) He removed the surround and low bench...plus the rotten drywall!

Master Bath:

I know the award for worst rooms is still up for grabs, but the Master Bath was definitely in the running. And man, oh, man just getting that tub and those mirrored tiles out made a world of difference!

The Dining Room:

 Probably the first change that literally took my breath away was when they widened the doorway from the dining room to the kitchen. What was a standard doorway size, is now double that and who knew that something so simple could make such a drastic difference!? Now when you walk in the front doors you can see all the way back to the kitchen and the house feels so much more open! They also removed the horrible spindles and the soffet that was above them so the ceiling feels taller, the room feels bigger and everything is SO MUCH BRIGHTER.

And just wait until you see what it looks like now!!!

My stylish friend Micca

My friend Micca is just one of the coolest people in the whole world. I love her for so many reasons: she makes me laugh, she's a good friend, we have a blast together...and she has SO much style. Her home is a sanctuary full of treasures and she pulls off farmhouse style with well, style. Everybody that has ever been a guest in her home felt welcome, cozy, and surrounded with love. She inspires me.

The last time I stayed the night I snapped a few pics of some pieces I want to straight up copy. Both were her mama Charlotte's... A lady I unfortunately never got to meet but love any way.

Here's the iconic farm table. It easily seats 10 and more if needed. Brad has his work cut out
for him!



And the tractor stools. It was Micca that sent me a text months ago that simply read, "tractor seat bar stools!" I complied and immediately began searching for tractor seats!


I hope mine turn out 1/2 as cute as hers!!!

Because she is so cool she is in the process of renovating a barn in west Texas into a vacation getaway AND a master bath/closet renovation! She is a dreamer AND a doer!!! I love it though because we continue to share ideas, text pics, and compare deals. I am so lucky to know her for so many reasons!

Dining room chandelier

I'm on the hunt for a light fixture for over the dining room table. It is centered in front of the big bay window and should be fairly large.

Originally I had thought about this light:



I love it so much but I just don't think it is substantial enough.

I found these the other night while browsing on my phone...

(side note: do you know how annoying it is to online shop and design a house when the only Internet you have is your phone? Don't worry...the Internet is getting hooked up tomorrow!)

Anyway. Thoughts on these?

Front door

I'm thinking of painting the front door. It's a huge double door and is solid and heavy. It's got a fairly retro design and is stained dark but in need of a facelift.

I saw this and liked the look of the cool aqua tones next to the gray.

Gray, white, bronze sconces and this?

Crown Molding!!!!

I know I am so behind on the house updates but this can't wait!

They started hanging crown molding today!!!

Two more dining room table inspirations...

Here's two more pics I've marked to show Bradley for when he builds our new table...

The tree trimmers.

The two HUGE Oak trees on either side of the house got a haircut. Brad has been working away at clearing out all the overgrowth around the house, but these two were beyond his capability. We called around to get a few quotes and that alone was an adventure. Tree trimmers around these parts are a unique breed. The laid-down mohawks, one-eyed overall wearing breed. 

We ended up hiring the mohawk's crew and watching them work was fun. They brought a big double-bucket truck and hauled away TONS of branches. 

Slowly, the front of the house became visible again!

 Stay tuned for the before and after of the front! It totally changed the look!