We usually reserve eating in the dining room for when we have company or on Sunday evenings when I actually use the good china and silver. But tonight was a celebration of the completion of the last few weeks of chaos and confusion – plus lots of sawdust, noise from the automatic nailer and numerous “gosh dang it” comments from my personal handyman.
This morning he was inches away from completion of the dining room floors but those last few rows of flooring proved to be the toughest – especially when you consider our house was out of true by about an inch.
Almost finished.......
I offered my assistance which fortunately was not needed so I spent the morning doing laundry, packing for our trip and generally staying out of the way. Next up Burl had to reinstall all the wood around the stairwell and at that point I got to start cleaning the floor. Several dustpan loads and 6 Swiffer sheets later, we were ready to put down the dining room rug and start moving furniture out of the living room.
Before we ever started this project I knew I would be totally rearranging everything I could – Burl doesn’t seem to realize that going 7+ years without moving furniture in this house has been pretty difficult for me! We started by turning the dining room table and from there I was off and running.
The dining room looks pretty good now and all I need to do is unpack all the crap/stuff that was in the cabinets. That probably won’t happen until we return in a couple of weeks and I have decided that a lot of it will stay in storage bins as I got for a more minimalist look and only put out what we actually use.
Ready for a dinner party
The living room is another story because with luck the piano will soon have a new home in Des Moines which means I will then move the entertainment center/bookcase to where the piano is. Then I can shop for a couple of chairs and another table or two to make it more inviting. I hate to get too settled until I know what furniture will actually reside in this room but again, I’m going for the “less is more” look.
Clutter be gone!
Temporary living room arrangement
For now it will stay like it is but I have added a table at the end of the couch near the French doors and have a new lamp that should provide a great place for me to be comfy and read. I’m not totally enthralled with the couch but not sure what I want (loveseat maybe? leather?) so this area may be in transition for many months given our travel plans through March.
But it’s nice to be settled again and my handyman gets a well-deserved break for a couple of weeks.
When we return – the main hallway awaits. Hopefully putting down the flooring there will be a breeze – it will only take 2 boxes of hardwood and we’ve already used 25!
Now it’s time to finish packing and wrap birthday and Christmas gifts that need to go to Phoenix.
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