Thanks. I was skeptical about doing the work on my own until a couple of family members had big changes to where they live and the story was the same. Behind schedule, over budget and go backs because of mosaic tile and other details not done so well. Projects started off small and now there's this mammoth one. I'm hoping projects get smaller in the future. Here we are four months in. I talked to a friend who's a builder and civil engineer about removing the wall and the plans on raising the ceiling in the family room. After some exploratory surgery we determined that it's not only feasible but quite easy. The only design change is that there needs to be a column underneath a point load but we can live with that. At this point the kitchen structural repair is done along with most of the electrical work. Since the peninsula will be on both sides of the line between the kitchen and family room I need to tear out all the flooring in there and do whatever else needs to be done. Removing hardwood flooring is easy. Set your circular saw at 3/4" plus a little and go at it. The wood needed to go anyway - the addition is only 10 years old but the floor is permanently deflected because of the gigantic bar the previous owners had here. It's also scratched up and the finish is terrible. It's also cupped, which is a huge warning sign that something bad lies below... The addition is only 10 years old but brown rot also lives in here. Before the addition there was a raised, concrete topped patio. Instead of removing it when they added to the house they took only enough for the joists to fit. The wood was sitting 1/2 inch from bare earth. It took a solid week of digging and finding creative places to hide the dirt to get rid of it all. Two feet down, 6 cubic yards. The only consolation prize was finding leftover debris from when the house was new. I now know the entire color scheme and materials they used back in the 1950s. Yay. We also got great news from our friend the builder. The framers should be available sometime the next week to have a look at what it'll take to do the wall and ceiling work, then maybe get started the following week. Awesome! That means it's time to break out the drywall between the kitchen and family room. Apparently the dark and dreary corner of the kitchen where the pantry will go was once a nice eat in breakfast area with a window. This is our first taste of what the completed kitchen area will look like.

Renee, I look for old sheet music to frame! Found a song with the name of our street in the title, and I picked up some seasonal/holiday music that I change out during the year. So fun! Fori, As for the music "library", I bought an old sheet music cabinet from a neighbor. The condition isn't great, but a word of caution: I think they are intended to hold SHEET music, not books. The shallow drawer bottoms are not solid but slatted, and don't feel super strong. It's cool, but not as easy to use unless you are very organized and know what you keep where. I also have a small metal Bisley 5-drawer unit (from the scratch-and-dent corner at a The Container Store, it's missing the bottom drawer, which leaves an open slot for music) Each drawer has one of those little slots that hold a label, so the jazz goes in one, the video game music printouts in another, etc. and we can find them, and put things away easily. The books are in two large "boxes" beside the piano: one is a sturdy basket, the other used to be a deep kitchen drawer. One sits on the floor under a small table, the basket sits on too of the table, which is just the right size to hold them. The music stands upright and it's easy to flip through. The whole set-up is not that attractive lol! My friend and here husband are both musicians, and they installed cabinetry in the living room for the music. Shelves close together to hold loose paper flat, and shelves spaced for books and binders, as well drawers for metronomes, pens and pencils, instrument tools, etc. The shelves are also attractively labeled to suit their needs; I think it's a removable/movable label. Our piano came after we'd lived here for a couple of years, it is in a corner but it is a great spot! In this living room, only a buffet or console type piece of furniture would work, because it's where you enter the LR from the foyer, so our console piano is perfect.

I love all the work you have been doing to make your new house a home. Can you move the dining table away from the fireplace? The room is so empty except for those two things, and they are squeezed together, competing for space. That last photo shows us that the table is not centered under the fan/light. Move the table to where it is under the light, please. Or do as someone requested above, and move it closer to the sliding doors. You must at least try it under the light so you will know if you need to move the light fixture when you do find the one you want.

Repose walls and white cabinets will look great. So will the espresso. That is very dark brown, like coffee, right? I love picture frames that are simple flat panel espresso colored/stained wood where you can see the wood grain but they look like wonderful dark coffee and they are a good two inches wide on a big poster. (Yikes, I always see things in terms of food, granite counters look like vanilla fudge, or jamoca almond fudge ice cream, or nougat candy. I really couldn't do that, I'd be running to the store all the time!) There is a frequent commenter here, Anglophilia who used I think repose grey on her walls and white on her cabinets, or was it white on her walls and repose grey on her cabinets? I can't remember! Why not invite her on this thread and ask her. She used Corian white countertops and Carrara marble backsplash and her kitchen looks just wonderful. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4779243/finally-my-kitchen-reveal-work-completed-in-aug-2016