A Girl's Dream Come True

For those of you just tuning in, you might not know that we decided to convert one of our four bedrooms into a dressing room. In old, uptown houses closets are ity-bity (since the little French descendants were so small), so we (or maybe just I) thought, “Who needs fourbedrooms when you can have a dressing room?!?!”

So ladies and Gentleman, without further ado, I proudly present the Master Dressing Room:

Before:

During:

And to-date:

I’d still like to add a vanity under the window and a little shag rug with perhaps a small bench in the middle….we’ll see.

Formal Dining Room

Our old shotgun double had a back room addition added on in the '90s. This extra room housed the laundry room, a coat closet and some storage space:

When we first saw the home we weren't sure what we wanted this room to be, but as the bar area came to life, we figured if we made the back room (left off the kitchen) into the dining area, then the whole back of the house could be one, big entertaining space.

We had to replace the door anyway because it was rotten, so we thought about reconceptualizing (don't think that is really a word, but go with it) the whole back wall and decided on two sets of french doors (each door being 2 ft wide x 8 ft tall).

We also had ripped up the floor (having to patch two, rotten spots) and decided to just carry the hardwood floor for the bar area all the way to the back doors to give it a smooth transition all the way from the front of the house to the back doors.

Here is the whole transformation in photos:

I definitely feel like the french doors make the room feel so much more grand.

And PS - that fan is coming down and will be replaced with a gorgeous light fixture...whenever we find one.

Belly up...

to the bar!

One of our greatest additions to the house we decided on, was building a bar next to the kitchen in the area most people would call a "breakfast nook."

This little area of the house needed a lot of help. The wall to the right of the window was basically falling apart, the floor was sagging and we decided to move the door frame over to accommodate the bar, but also to make the hallway a true "shotgun."

Here is the transformation in photos:

Oh and the open space to the left of the sink under the bar is for the ice maker that has been added to our list of "Things we STILL need to buy."

Now, whada ya havin?

Answered Prayers

So apparently God follows my blog, because the very next day after my last post, I was offered a position with a local Marketing/Production Agency. Can you believe it? I couldn't! It's still sinking in...

Anyways, as I said before, a new room each post for the New Year (hey, it's still January). Today I unveil the transformation of the kitchen (in photos)...ta da:

VERY before

Notice the HUGE chimney in the middle of the room?

Sans chimney

New floors!

New paint color!

New counter tops!

The day we moved in

and to date!

(We'll get a stainless range eventually, but the white one that came with house as brand new).

It's a New Year

Now that we have moved into our life-consuming project, I almost don't know what to do with myself. I was used to running over to the house to meet workers at 8 a.m. everyday for the past three+ months. Now what?

The job search continues, that's what. Ugh...there is probably nothing I detest more than job hunting. Well...maybe the DMV, but that is at least over eventually, whereas the new job process can last months!

Looking-for-employment and I have never quite gotten along. I know a lot of people who are unhappy in their job or just want to do something different and it just falls in their lap. How does that happen? Can anyone explain that to me? And I thought that now having five years of experience in my field would do the trick, right? Nope.

So as I continue to be the modern "hunter" and use my "mouse" to surf the Internet searching for the perfect new job, I will post a "new" room transformation of the house for the "new" year. For example: the before & after of the kitchen, bathroom, etc.

So stay tuned as I give you a room-by-room tour and continue to vent my lack-of-employment frustrations.

Cheers to 2011!