blowing away bob

About a week ago, once we finally got a bedroom together, Nathan said, "We've got to get Le [our next-door neighbor] over here, she is going to be so excited to see the changes." I replied, "a lot of people are going to be excited. People have been watching us and waiting to see what happens to this place. There are a lot of people cheering for us." And we were both blessed by the thought of that.

So, without further adieu, the result of one long month with the Thums (sorry we have been so self-involved and "busy")...

 Outside before...

Outside during...

Outside after...

 Back room (part A) before...

Back room (part A) during...

Back room (part A) after...

 Back room (part B) and ceiling before...

Back room (part B) during...

Back room (part B) after (we moved the laundry so I have a closet now!)...

Back room (part B) ceiling after (tongue & groove wood with solid stain in Caribou by Sherwin Williams)...

Half-bath floor before (super gross linoleum) ...

Half-bath floor after (carrara marble in herringbone pattern, with trim upcycled from the back room)...

More half-bath, just for fun...

New, dual-flush toilet (and deer bust, of course)

utility room before (A.K.A. Nathan's scrap yard)...

Utility room during...

Utility room after (and my new office)...

New laundry with utility sink!

Living room loft before (sans railing and sub-floor)...

Loft during (yes, that is a backpack vacuum)...

Loft after (railing that matches original and lets in a whole lot more light that a drywall knee wall!)...

Upstairs bedroom before...

Upstairs bedroom after (with a door!)...

And the living space is clean, sans random scraps of construction materials...

Bob the appraiser came back earlier this week and he was blown away. With every room he walked into it was like seeing a kid on Christmas morning. He looked at us like a proud papa, congratulating us on a job well done. Granted, we are not "done" and I don't know if we ever will be, but this makes our house feel a whole lot more like home in the meantime. I think I might even find time to do some baking this holiday season.