Pictures of the house!!!!

I have been wanting to do this for so long, but I haven't taken the time to post pictures of the progress we've made on the house. So hold onto your hats, and here we go....

This was the living room when the former owners lived here. (That's actually my realtor on the couch.)

Here's our version of the living room. Note that the fireplace no longer extends to the ceiling. We still need to build our mantel, and I'm hoping to do that before Christmas, so that we can hang our stockings on it. (It will be the same color as the fireplace, but wood.) The wall color is a warm beige. Also notice the absence of the popcorn ceiling. You probably can't tell, but John did a great job with the new ceiling texture.

This may seem like a small thing, but I get excited every time I use the front door because I love the look of the new light switch and outlet covers, and the clean trim and white door against the beige paint. Unfortunately, new door handles aren't in the budget yet. And the linoleum floor you see in the entryway door will soon be wood!
And now for the kitchen. This little office space has been invaluable. I sit here for hours working on our finances, checking emails, blogging. This is what it looked like before.

And now. This is the first part of the kitchen to be completed with new antique white paint and sleek new handles. We still need to finish painting the upper section green. And unfortunately the counter will be ugly for quite a while. But we're very pleased with the overall look. The rest of the kitchen is getting close, with just a few doors to paint and hang. I can't wait to post those pictures!Here's one more picture. This is what it looks like standing in the dining area looking into the living room. When we finish the mantel, we will also put a small ledge on the hole in the wall between the two rooms. Does that make sense? If not, you'll just have to wait for the pictures of the finished product.

John was skeptical about painting the kitchen green, but the color is actually very bright and happy. It's hard to get a feel for it with these pictures. It looks very yellow in the first picture, and too cool and minty in the second. The actual color is somewhere between the two. It's almost the color of a Granny Smith apple, but not that dark. I guess you'll just have to trust me that it's cute.

Now you have proof that we've been working hard. I wish that everyone could come visit us and see it in person!