Before and After Family/ Living Room

This is what the living/family room looked like before we closed on the house.

Before:

This is what it looks like today.

After:

Below is what the fireplace looked like the day we moved in. (Apparently pink and muave were all the rage during the early 90's)

Before:

After: (a closer look at the fireplace)

We are so enjoying this room now! All the effort was well worth it. For details on where we purchased the items in this room check out our house tour page. 

If you have a fireplace you would like to remodel come back to the blog soon because I will posting a detailed account of how we did it complete with pictures.

We did not remove any of the fireplace bricks but instead chose to cover them with thin plywood and moldings. Hubby and I have no previous carpentry experience whatsoever so if we did it so can you!

There are still many things to be done in this room but I am glad that the hardest part is over.  I will be hanging curtains panels I bought at Ikea on either side of the door and the window so the roman shade edges will be hidden.  We will also be replacing the door with one that has a full glass panel (to better mimic a window and provide symmetry).  I will post pictures of the changes as they occur.



Distractions Outside My Window

Adorning the streets of my neighborhood this week are rows of beautiful pear trees in full bloom. I am fortunate to have a large elegant one right outside my living room window and every time I pass it by I cannot help but pause briefly to enjoy it's exquisiteness , it's beauty takes my breath away.
To think that just last week those trees stood bare, having been stripped of their enchanting blooms by winter's bitter cold winds and today they stand regally, clothed  once again in white allurement.  It reminds me of how our lives in the hands of a loving God are like those trees in so many ways. The harsh winters of our trials threaten to tear away the loveliness He has wrought  until His mighty powerful hand sweeps in to bring forth the Spring. My dear friend, do you find yourself in the midst of a fiery ordeal today? If so, take comfort in the knowledge that God is faithful and Just and what He has promised He will surely do.