House Update-Worse Before Better

Right? That's how these things work, correct? Because that's where we are. Take a look. 

This shows the floors after the nasty tiles were taken up. Actually those look better. But the walls. The walls have the linoleum taken down and the house looks...questionable? Like shady deals and hidden secrets happen here. 

But they don't. 

Finally a better picture of the dining room. Sans tile and better-ish but I want to clean so.bad. I want the clutter gone. I just want to fix it! Patience Jessica. Patience.

Cute kittle niche. For a chair? A window seat? A desk? To drink tea? To write? To enjoy my African Violets?

I don't have African Violets...yet.

And the hallway void of yet another mismatched floor covering but revealing a giant terrible, mismatched patch. I have to figure out a solution. Soon. Any suggestions would be helpful. 

I'm thinking of finding a grate to fill the space and add more character. Or trying to feather in a patch...both seem like a pain but something needs to be done.

So lets talk about the kitchen some more. It's first on the agenda. Clearly. 

Ground Up-Floors refinished in a more brown tone--over the years they have yellowed and read more orangey. Bead-board from moulding to ceiling paint in a...color still to be determined. Creamy white? Light green? Light blue? Bright white? I'm working on it. Moulding/door in a color called Whipped Cream. It's a wonderful basic white but yummy color. New Base Cabinetry. All Cabinetry-including pantry in a White/Cream color...again still looking and weeding out paint swatches..I'm just.about.there! Countertops butcher block. Fridge in the corner shown. Farmhouse sink centered under window. Dishwasher to the right.

Brick will be sealed. The area where the built in was will be built up with some old spindles, butcher block will be put on top and I will have about another foot or so of counter space plus a tiny bit of storage-think oven mitts. Stove will go next door.

Pantry will basically stay the same but I'm debating on keeping the cabinet that was hanging here. But after seeing our cabinets I think I might need the extra storage.

It's small but we really think it will be efficient...and pretty. Priorities!

Moving on...

There's a hole in my laundry room floor.

And we have begun de-wallpapering. Thats when the real mess started. 5 layers. Each getting prettier-seriously. I tried to salvage one wall in the bedroom with no luck. It was the last layer and just didn't work. I'm still a little sad. It's a much easier job than we thought it would be which we are thankful for-just time consuming. 

So it's worse than before. And these are good pictures. But we are beginning to see "The House." Not the wallpapers, the nasty curtains, or the bad linoleum. The actual house we bought, the house we could imagine it to be. And thats scary and encouraging all at the same time.

Blessing!