More Progress in our Family Room

Hi friends!!!

I hope you all are happy and well!

I'm excited about the progress we've been making on our family room project!

I updated you on it about a month ago, but a lot has been accomplished since then, so I'd like to document it here.

The renovations we've worked on over the years usually take several months to complete because we really only have nights and weekends to work on it. As I'm sure you can imagine- laundry, meals, homeschool lessons, and Micah's job all still require our attention, and don't let us off the hook just because we're in the middle of a project.

So, I don't have "after" pictures just yet, but "progress" pictures.

Come on in, I'll show you what we've done...

~ Corbels ~

Micah designed and made a corbel set to finish off the beams in the family room...

They're made from a very old oak tree that once graced our front lawn. It was a beautiful tree, but we lost it in the tornado several years ago.

Micah has gotten creative with the "tornado lumber" as we call it, ever since.

I think they're a nice touch.

~ Brass Chandelier ~

I was so happy to see that 90's ceiling fan go!

I purchased this light a couple of years ago at a friends' antique shop. 

It's been waiting patiently in storage all this time and now it's finally hung!

This is exciting stuff!!!

~ New Plaster ~

We had to remove some very old and crumbly wallpaper from this little hall area.

Micah re-plastered and textured the walls...

And I painted it all to match the colors in the family room...

~ Flooring ~

The photos above show the difference between the finished and unfinished hard wood floors.

We've lived in this old farmhouse for eight and a half years, and we're still refinishing floors!

Before we could get to these floors however, the old carpet had to be ripped up...

It was a green carpet with a leafy pattern and it was here when we moved in.

We know that this family room went through a renovation by the previous owners somewhere in the 1990's, so we assume the carpet is from that.

Like everything else in this room, I was happy to see it go!

We got the kids involved and had them help...

They thought it was fun!

Projects like this can cause the entire house to feel like it's in an upheaval.

That can really wear on me since I'm home during the day with the children trying to homeschool.

It affects the atmosphere of our home life. And that is everything to me!

At the beginning of the renovation I prayed that the Lord would calm my nerves about it and allow me to feel ok throughout the process.

I've been doing my best to make sure at least some areas of the house are clean and tidy...

And I'm still playing happy music and making nice meals...

We've been carrying on as if everything were normal...

(Our family Easter Sunday...)

But the house has been a tremendous mess!

Our front room has been forced to store the family room furniture...

I just keep telling myself that it must get worse before it can get better, and it'll all be worth it in the end!!!

We ran into a little roadblock with the hardwood floors.

When they were exposed after the carpet had been removed, not all of the boards were there!

Some pieces were missing...

This problem delayed the sanding process for about a week.

We had to figure out how to fix it!

We joked and said we could perform a floor graft. (Like a skin graft, haha!)

And that's what Micah did!

We decided to take some boards from this area of the room and have this section re-carpeted...

 Micah then used those boards to patch in the missing area...

Again, the kiddos helped...

These are just the types of problems you bump into with such an old house.

Thankfully, Micah doesn't shy away from hard, tedious work.

Each little piece was cut and nailed in by hand...

Once the carpet is installed, no one will ever know, and most likely we will forget all about it! 

Here it is, done and ready to sand...

This was during the sanding process, and from another angle...

Once the floor is done, it will all be down hill from there!

I can't wait!...

We had a guy from Home Depot come over to measure for our carpet install, so it's starting to feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel!

Like I said above, my home means everything to me. We have literally put our blood, sweat, and tears  into this old farmhouse. 

I've dreamed for years that this family room will one day be a beautiful and cozy place for us to enjoy, and now we're finally getting close!

I picture antique art on these crisp white walls, live plants basking in sunbeams, and rows and rows of interesting books on the shelves.

I know this room has it in her!

And I plan to bring out her full potential!

Hopefully my next post on this family room will finally be the "after" shots!

Check back with me soon...

xo,

~ Courtney ~