One day, Chris told me he wanted to tear down the walls in our downstairs. As usual, his idea seemed preposterous to me. He likes to think of new possibilities, and I get attached to the way things are.
I liked the small rooms in our house. Each room had a door so it could be closed off from the others. This is one of those ways our house showed its age. No one had opened up the rooms, even when a family with seven kids lived here. I love old New England houses, and the separate rooms seemed useful -- I envisioned the kids as teenagers, occupied in different rooms, doing different things.
I liked the small rooms in our house. Each room had a door so it could be closed off from the others. This is one of those ways our house showed its age. No one had opened up the rooms, even when a family with seven kids lived here. I love old New England houses, and the separate rooms seemed useful -- I envisioned the kids as teenagers, occupied in different rooms, doing different things.
Our wood stove's heat couldn't reach the farther rooms, though, and we didn't like eating in a cold dining room. I decided to trust Chris' judgment and see what it would look like to open things up. We decided not to completely open the rooms, but left parts of the walls to divide them. We (and by we I mean Chris) put in new ceilings at the same time. Our old drop ceilings were stained and cracked, and felt like they would fall in on us.
Of course, a project of this magnitude meant a total disruption of life. When your house looks like this, it's time to take the kids out! For a week in July 2012, Chris worked long hours on this while the kids and I stayed out. All our furniture was crammed into the bedrooms, so we couldn't even hang out upstairs during the day. We spent a lot of time at the library and local parks.
Fortunately, it was a sunny week!
Fortunately, it was a sunny week!
We couldn't use our kitchen at all, so food was a challenge. Could we avoid packaged food at a time like this? We had just avoided packaged food on a week's vacation earlier that month, so I had faith that we could. I spent a couple of weeks storing up food. We had lots of yogurt, bread and muffins ready for us before the kitchen was out of commission. Since it was summer, I bought lots of fruits and veggies, too. The kids loved having picnics for every meal! Sometimes I went to my parents' house to cook some eggs for breakfast or soup for dinner. We managed to get by without resorting to boxes or cans!
Soon we had nice clean ceilings, with recessed lights! It feels like they're higher than before, but they're not. Of course, we love them and wonder how we lived for 3 years with the yucky old ones.
As it turned out, I loved the rooms being open. We switched the playroom and dining room, so now the kitchen flows right into where we eat. It's much more functional! Uncovering the chimney turned out to be a nice bonus. We weren't sure what condition it would be in, or if we'd want it exposed. But it looks beautiful, and helps our house feel more homey. At first we wanted to paint it white, but I'm glad we changed our minds. I love the colors!
The playroom became a cozy dining room:
As it turned out, I loved the rooms being open. We switched the playroom and dining room, so now the kitchen flows right into where we eat. It's much more functional! Uncovering the chimney turned out to be a nice bonus. We weren't sure what condition it would be in, or if we'd want it exposed. But it looks beautiful, and helps our house feel more homey. At first we wanted to paint it white, but I'm glad we changed our minds. I love the colors!
The playroom became a cozy dining room:
And the dining room became a playroom: