Let’s pull back from yesterday’s close-up shots of the fireplace and show you the monstrosity in context:
Please forgive all the junk piled up on every available surface. It’s actually much better than it was only a couple weeks ago. There were moving boxes piled where the couch is now, the couch was piled high with towels and blankets that needed to be washed before going in the linen closet, the console on the right was still living on the back patio, and the mantel was cluttered up with all kinds of junk…most of which I merely moved onto a different flat surface so I could photograph the fireplace.
It’s all about shuffling stuff around at this point. Obviously we want to find a place for everything and make the room all clean and tidy and pretty, but it just ain’t happening right now. One of these days, though, all our junk will have a home. If I have to beg, steal, cheat, or kill, as God is my witness, all our junk will someday have a home.
That doorway leads into the living room (you can see the doors of the two closets by the front entry), in case you wondered where this room fit in.
Notice the big blank spot behind David’s “desk” (which was our dining table in another life)?
Yet another built-in that moved out with the previous occupants. Probably an entertainment unit of some sort. Honestly, I’m glad they took it and hope they’re getting some use out of it, because I would have torn out and tossed the thing anyway.
Oh, and the glass door on the left goes into our teeny tiny laundry room, which in turn leads into the garage. Just FYI.
Since we revised our plans a bit–and especially since we may be hosting a missionary homecoming in about six weeks–this room is next on the to-do list. Top priorities are as follows:
- Scrape off the remaining apple wallpaper trim by the kitchen (you can see it in the second photo above)
- Prime and paint the walls and trim
- Change out the ceiling fan for a light fixture
- Possibly add a second light by the big window (there’s a plate there where something obviously used to be, but there is literally zero lighting in this room right now)
- Rearrange some furniture (including bringing in the Ikea shelves that are now in the dining room and possibly moving David’s computer elsewhere)
There is a ton of other stuff we want to deal with eventually (ahem, fireplace and popcorn ceiling) but that’s the minimum we need to get done in order to make the room liveable. And by liveable, I mean ready to be decorated for Christmas. Our tree will probably go in front of the big window, and you know I’m excited to have a mantel to hang stockings from, however hideous it may be.
Unless David has other plans I don’t know about, I’m hoping to get started this weekend. If we do, you know I’ll keep you updated on our progress!
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