Living Room Update
After about three false starts, Lina and I found a house on 5 acres of land that we really liked. It was a bit of a fixer upper, but the land and the bones were good and we felt like we were up for the project! (And we’ve only regretted it once or twice since then…)
The Living Room
Step 1: Color and Fireplace
We started by tackling the living room - it was in good shape and just needed a new coat of paint (and maybe a wall removed).
We loved the fireplace and wanted to make sure that it was emphasized in our final plans. Our first step was removing the wallpaper and picking our new colors!
Lina also had fun marking which wall we wanted out…
We ended up going with a white and turquoise color scheme. Lina did a traditional white wash on the fireplace using powdered limestone and water. The fireplace originally had framing that looks like it came from old barn beams, so we returned that to its place one the painting was done.
Step 2: Lights, camera…. action!
Image from wikimedia commons
The living room was dark. Taking out the wall was going to help, but we knew that we wanted more natural light coming into the house.
Skylights are beautiful, but they can get pricey and they have been known to leak around the edges with time.
So we went with…. solar tubes!
Solar tubes are a skylight alternative that has a cut-through in the roof that channels light from a reflective interior into the house. They are less expensive because you can put them between roof trusses and they are less likely to leak.
We also replaced the outdated light in the entryway. (And by we, I mean Lina.)
Step 3: “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!”
The wall between the kitchen and the living room was load-bearing, so we had to bring the professionals in for this one!
They built two temporary supports, added a beam, and then installed a half-wall with the electricity routed through!
I was a little surprised when I came home and there was only the framing on the half wall- I had thought that they would finish it! But, I double checked my contract and it was pretty clear that the drywall was on us! Challenge accepted!
