Well, I've called all around and any of the wood "reclamation" companies aren't real interested in pine boards. Those that may be would require me to take it all down, sort by size and stack and bind all the boards up for shipping, and they're in different states I figure they're not going to pay much if anything for it once they figure their transportation costs. I could give it to habitat for humanity I guess, but again, someone would have to carefully dismantle it all, stack and take it there and we don't have a truck. I was hoping against hope there would some company out there that would come and take it down and haul it away - I'd give it to them for free just for their labor. Now if it was cherry, or hickory or something interesting like barn siding I think I'd have some takers! :-)

Thanks, Pal. Yes, we are going for a light mid-tone for the walls. I am hand sanding this myself. I don't want to do any more work than necessary! The oak beams are a bit of a challenge bc those were stained very dark in the 1970s. The woman who grew up in the house told us the floor was a light oak color before her parents redid them in a dark Jacobean stain in the 1970s. Seems like the dark stains hit here in the mid-1970s and before it was originally "natural" looking. pamghattan, thank you! I work on it a little at a time. It seems like I have made little progress. But then I see the old photos and I realize how much fresher it feels. Well at least the dinning room feels better. Hamamelis, renewing is definitely not the trend. But the warm glow is wonderful. The wood was so damaged and darkened with age the place lost the glow a bit. It felt dingy and not just dark. This side of the house wouldn't have worked white anyway. It needs cozy colors. as we update and fix, if something is original and it works, or it can be made to work, we try to keep it. If stuff has been previously replaced or something is damaged beyond repair we do what we think is best to make the house modern and livable, in keeping with the spirit and idea of the house. I appreciate your feedback. We realize the wood--even painstakingly refreshed --isn't for most folks.

All the decor and little knick knacks are going - these are pics I was able to snap in secret during our last visit. Anything grandma leaves behind is going in storage before we move in. The lighting will absolutely be replaced - the room will be much brighter, but I'm still dealing with dark orange/brown cabinets and walls. I'm not sure about the measurements because I was trying to be conspicuous and not look like I was thinking of taking a demo crew to the whole thing while grandma was around. But raising the cabinets is a challenge due to the fact that removing the extraneous high cabinets is a job that is a bit beyond me and I am trying to stick with DIY projects. Moving is going to cost us a lot, so I'm trying to keep home improvement projects as cheap as possible right now. And I'm doing any and all projects solo because my husband works out of town for months at a time. I can paint, I can't remove cabinets yet. I basically want to paint all the wood in the kitchen and dining room. There are some built ins opposite the kitchen - I figure I'll either paint or stain them depending on how the kitchen and dining room turn out. I love wood, I really do! I just hate knotty pine with a passion. If I can keep the wood grain but lighten things up, I'll be a happy homemaker.

Looks great! Removing that pot rack made a huge difference and the floors look beautiful. Agree with chocolatesnap though, take everything down from the tops of the cabinets and leave them clean/clear from anything. Platters up there say to me the kitchen lacks the storage to store them and that is NOT what you want buyers thinking when they are standing in your lovely kitchen.