Here we have the old living room which will be our study. Aaron and I will both have desks in here (thanks Mom for the beautiful oak rolltop!). We'll also be lining the walls with bookcases (as soon as Aaron makes them!). I love the huge window in this room which is to your left if you've just come in. This is the room where we're removing 3 feet of wall.

Welcome to the new great room! This is the half-wall I removed that was separating the dining area from the family room. They are now one uninterrupted space, allowing flexibility for large parties around a large table! Straight ahead of the half-wall is the wall that's being recessed. Can you see how tight that passage is?! Yipes! You can also see into the kitchen a bit on the left there, and notice the gas fireplace off to the left.Here's the kitchen as seen from the dining area. Notice the paint chips on the half-wall? We're going with the middle one for an accent in the family room and study. I took this shot above the kitchen sink primarily to show the window space which wil be enlarged to bridge the entire space.This is the "Master 1" bathroom. Doesn't it make you feel like you're in a stylish 90's prison? Eventually, this will be the "girls' bathroom." It's off the 14x15 bedroom and is perfect for two little girls who will quickly become two teen girls! Yes, the plan is to eventually adopt another daughter, and another son. But, you'll have to wait for that news!Evidence of the depravity of the painting skills that used to live here! Can you believe this? Here are the stairs leading to the "Master Haven," the 15x19 room with it's own bathroom and walk-through (yes, walk-through. I'll explain in a moment). This suite is bound for renovation too, but not just yet.
This is the tiny bathroom adjoining the upstairs master. Hence the renovation.This is the walk-through closet as seen from the bedroom. See that room in the back of the closet? They billed that as a "home office" in the MLS listing. It's kinda creepy, though, because it has no windows and is in the center of the home. Not my idea of a nice office. Closet, sure. Office, not so much. So, the present closet will become part of the new-improved master bathroom and the "home office" (panic room? time out room?) will take over the closet's duties. But, like I said, that's a future project and we have our hands full with the renovations downstairs.Another view of the someday closet. See the kiddy-corner wall? Remind you of anything? It's right above the kitchen sink wall that has the matching angle. Oh, and that little door in the back of the room? It leads into the attic, via an immediate 4-ft step up!So, when's all this going to happen? Tomorrow, in fact. Well sorta. The movers are coming tomorrow to pack everything up (thank goodness we never unpacked about half of the stuff we moved here from Idaho!). Friday they come back to load the truck and we head to my folks' house. Saturday we rest! Sunday we're having a family birthday party for the kids and Aaron. Monday morning Aaron leaves to drive the Big Blueberry down to the house. He'll be finishing the bed and bath painting, supervise the revision of the load-bearing wall, and direct the move-in activities. He may also try to get some of the flooring in, depending on the pace of the wall revision. I'll be staying with the kids at my folks house. We'll join Aaron on the weeknd (by plane). Aaron starts work on Monday and I begin my new office hours. Pshew!