Mission accomplished

In an uncharacteristic move, our downstairs projects are done with time to spare. Finishing Wednesday night as opposed to Saturday afternoon, at the last possible second before folks come over? Impossible! But true.

The details: Wall torn down, closet reframed and rebuilt inside, some new pieces acquired, and existing art rearranged.

The view coming down the stairs (and here's the view before):

I painted the inside of our front door red on a lunch break Monday (this is how one gets a massive To Do list accomplished before a rushed party deadline, by the way). I love it so much... why didn't I tackle that project ages ago? I also finally threw out the awful entry rug left behind by the previous owners, which I'd yell at for being ugly at least once a week but somehow never got around to replacing. Also, I think we can all agree that our next lighting project needs to involve a dramatic pendant light for the entryway, right? Framed in that gorgeous light coming in from the transom? It's a must-do. As for the console table, it works as a cozy space for us to drop keys and mail without being too obtrusive for passersby or the stairs.

Allow me introduce our two new beauties (which are not new to you at all if you follow me on Instagram)... the Dolly twins! We found these as floor models at two different stores and never looked back. Floor model acquisitions were the only way we could quickly furnish the "new" room, and at a steep discount to boot, so I'm thrilled that we struck gold with Dolly I and Dolly II. We've been trying to get away from how low and bulky our existing furniture is, so our goals with chairs were for them to have legs and not be squared-off. The rounded backs work great for the entryway function of the room, since they don't create the effect of being a new wall. That would be silly, since we paid someone to remove the wall for us and all... (PS: When is Fanny going to get a job modeling furniture and start paying rent?)

Bonus regarding the Dollies: super-comfy. Right, Fanny? We're going to eventually replace our trunk coffee table behind her with something leggier, and likely put in a storage bench or two square storage ottomans under that painting... but not this week.

Here's the view back to the fireplace wall, where I finally tackled another project that's been on my list for ages: painting the interior of the little shelves the same green as the wall. Everything looks much more composed right now (although that sprawling pile of firewood: maybe not so much... at least it's cold again!). We also redid the cords for the unfortunately sized television, which resulted in a freak accident where T got five stitches and then removed them at his office desk, but that's another story. This, however, I can say quite literally - we put blood into this room re-do!

I'm going to save our nerdy hall closet rebuild for next time - get excited!! Hee hee... thanks for playing along, folks. Show and Tell is way more fun this way.

Now, let's all say it together: CROWN MOULDING!