This is what most of the people that have ever been to my parents house remember, the holiday dinners. Shabbat, Rosh Hashana, Thanksgiving and of course Peasch, and don't forget ever other holiday in between even the Jewish ones you had never heard of. My mom cooked a delicious dinner and my dad hosted a wonderful night. I hope that I can continue that tradition.
This is what the grand living and dining room combination looked like when my mom moved out. It is a striking room, loaded with afternoon light and with a fantastic sloped ceiling with hidden lighting.
I decided to keep the layout similar to the original. I just simplified color palette and got rid of the flowery wallpaper.
Before
After
Here I am about 5 years old sitting on the very long white and gold couch. The couch that was then replaced with a plain gold couch.
Here are my parents on that couch.....
Here is my brother... Josh sorry don't hate me!
I replaced the couch with a couple of easy chairs and a very modern ethanol fireplace. It is really cool looking. It does not need venting , but it does not give off very much heat.
Basically its just for the ambiance. I think that it gives this room another purpose. It is a place for entertaining and snuggling by the fire.
The built in room divider that separates the front door from the rest of the house seemed the perfect place to put a bar. The bookcase showcases my silver candlestick collection. The bar is housed in an old mission style dresser.
My piano is in the same place that my parents had put our old piano and the electric organ after that.
Well this past week has not been the most exciting one. There is a lot of work getting done, I'm not complaining. But it is not the kind of things that make a great impact on pictures.
The plumbing and electrical systems have all been updated and inspected and though that is not exciting, it is important. Also the overhang on the outside roof line has all been redone which again looks great and is important. The glass in the downstairs windows has been repaired and replace....you get the picture.
I have been obsessing over wall colors which sucks because I don't have my proper lighting, my window covering or any furniture for frame of reference and I still have to make decisions of what colors to paint the walls. I have found out that whites and grays are the hardest colors to choose because they look total different in different lighting. Also I had hoped to save the wood paneling in the den but it is not staining evenly and there are still some shadows of the pictures my dad hung there in the same place for 54 years.
My biggest decision this week is that I have decided to carpet the basement. I'm doing office type low pile commercial stuff. I think I'll go with Edwards Carpet here in St. Louis, locally owned and highly recommended. I will wait to install it until the work is done.
I'm still considering the fireplace. Now I've decided to move it to the living room. It would be a modern ethanol burning model. I've blocked it out in painters tape to get an idea of the size to order. But I'll wait till the place has furniture in it to make a final decision. I'm not sure where it should go. My contractor promised to come back and hang it for me,
This week the kitchen counter tops go in the the bathrooms are being worked on.
Here are my parents on that couch.....
