I’ve learned a critical lesson: If you want to see quick progress, don’t start with a bathroom. After spending what felt like an eternity in the primary suite, we’ve finally moved on to the living and dining area and the house is truly transforming.
Opening the Great Divide
The space was initially chopped in half by a load-bearing wall: on one side of the great divide was a paneling-clad den with a fireplace, and on the other side was a large formal living room with avocado green carpet. From the first time we toured the house, we knew that the wall—or at least part of it—needed to go.
After weighing our options, we settled on a 12-foot cased opening for both budgetary and aesthetic reasons. By keeping the opening on the smaller side, we only needed two LVL beams instead of a steel beam, and we were able to create two distinct rooms that still feel connected.
Rethinking the Floor Plan
If you read my previous post about the first floor floor plan, then you remember we planned to anchor our seating and TV area on the fireplace, move our dining space to the previous formal living room, and add a powder room on the remaining portion of the load-bearing wall. Well, after much discussion and lots of tape on the floor, we’ve gone in a different direction.
The powder room will instead to be located to the left of the foyer, the living room will take advantage of the wall space in the old formal living room, the fireplace area will be a cozy conversation space for reading and listening to records, and the dining area will occupy the space between the fireplace and the kitchen where we’re taking out a non-load bearing wall.
And, surprise surprise, we took down another wall—the wall creating a tunnel-like foyer from the front door to the kitchen—to create a more open, welcoming space with better circulation.
Drywall and Subfloor and Paint, Oh My
While the formal living room had smooth drywall when we purchased the house, the den walls were covered in dark paneling that created a carpeted cave. We considered keeping the paneling and painting it—after all, I love a good accent wall—but in the end it wasn’t going to work due to the walls we opened and took down. So we removed the paneling, along with all the old carpet and popcorn ceilings in both rooms, disinfected ourselves, and then installed new subfloor and drywall. After lots of screws and mud and paint and sweat and tears, the spaces look like regular rooms again.
To no one’s surprise I wanted to paint the walls the same creamy white we used in the bedroom. However, everyone was surprised when I announced I wanted to do contrast trim throughout, meaning paint the trim and doors a darker color than the walls. I went with Behr’s Tranquil Gray to keep the palette neutral and calm, and I’m obsessed with the subtle contrast it’s creating. We’re only painting the baseboards, door casing and doors a contrasting color—I wanted to leave the crown molding white to make the ceiling feel higher.
Don’t worry, we’re not painting everything. From the get-go, I’ve had a grand plan to limewash the fireplace. However, now that I see the brick next to the white paint, the fireplace is off-limits! I love the warmth and character it adds to the space. We haven’t laid our flooring yet because we’re still doing demo work, having moved on to the kitchen (!!!), so we’ll likely wait until the kitchen is further along before we install the hardwood.
As I mentioned at the beginning, we’re making progress and the house is taking shape. We’re hoping to move in by Labor Day before Dan goes on tour, which gives us roughly seven weeks to wrap up the main projects on the first floor. We may have to pull some late nights, but I think we can meet our self-imposed deadline. But coffee and prayers will certainly help.
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