And the Wall Came Down...

The wall comes down! 

 Hallelujah!

One of the big projects we wanted to do in our home which we've been in for about 3 years is to take down the wall between the dining room and family room.  

Our house is old, and 180 years ago they made rooms small.  That is one of the things we love about this house.  We wanted cozy.  We wanted easy-to-clean.  We are getting older and our youngest kiddo is 21.  We don't need a big house with big rooms anymore - except for holidays and friend and family gatherings.  

We didn't have one room large enough to hold everyone, so the family would scatter.  Small groups of intimate conversations took place, when what we desired was for our large and loud group to be together.  

Finally, right before Thanksgiving, we decided to take the wall down.  We were going to do a DIY, but then we had someone come in and were told it was a load-bearing wall.  That changed things.  We hired someone to do the dirty work for us.  

(Actually, Brian and Dan couldn't wait and started taking the drywall down the night before to get a preview).

Turned out it was not load-bearing after all, but what was done, was done.

Just look at that light shining through!

Removing that wall served so many purposes.  It allowed people to be together in both rooms, we were able to get a much bigger table, the wood stove warmth circulates better, and it brightened everything up.  

Originally, the carpenter stained the wood.  I sent my husband out to purchase the stain with a sample piece of wood to match.  When the carpenter stained the rough pine, it was very orange.  My husband knew I would hate it, so they started mixing different stains together to get rid of the orange.  

It turned out to be almost black.  

And they stained ALL the wood.  

We had to buy all new wood.  I had them put it up unstained so I could research how to age this and make it look like a beam.  As you can see, the research is not going very well as the wood remains unstained for now.  

Here are some before and afters:

This is the dining room when we first moved in.  We bought the dining set from the previous owners and sold our oak monster on Craigslist.  We made the light from a $1 shade from a yard sale and a light kit from Home Depot for $16.  The wall we removed is to the left.

Before (original)

The lightening and whitening begins.  We painted the table and chairs white.  I actually loved this table, but it could seat 6 max.  I found the fireplace surround at an antique store and Brian just screwed it into the wall. 

Before (progress)

Here is another view.  See how dark the wood trim is.  And I would like to change the angled corners of the openings.  See those dark stairs, they are sanded down to bare wood.  I can't wait to finish them.

 Before (original)

 Before (progress)

After 

What would you do with all the dark trim?

Before (original)

 Before (progress)

 After

Before

 After

 (I would like this wood to be the color of the table)

We are also trying to decide what to do with all the  wood trim in the house (not including the faux beam here).

Here are our options:

1.  Paint all the trim white (except the stairs which we already sanded but have not stained yet, doors, and exposed beams).

2.  Sand down all the trim and re-stain it (a lot of work and a lot of mess).

3.  Slowly replace the trim as we can afford to and stain it lighter, and either paint the doors white, or sand and stain them.

I am open to your opinions, but I reserve the right to the final say {{smile}}

We got a new table from POTTERY BARN and paired it with the old painted chairs.  That will be a story for another post though.

  White, wood, sunshine (have you heard about our New Hampshire winter this year)?

I thank God for this house every day.  
It was such an answer to prayer.  It is such a calm and peaceful place to find rest and escape the world. It is what our family needed for a season, but lately I feel the Lord trying to get my attention.  This time of rest and solitude may be ending.  Spring is coming...

Linking up:


I'm participating in Metamorphosis Monday Monday 
at Between Naps On The Porch.
http://.piecedpastimes.blogspot.com/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/
http://www.stonegableblog.com/
http://cherishedbliss.com/
http://theessenceofhome.blogspot.com/