slowly but surely

progress in the home renovation department is always on the slower side around here (due to two energetic little ones and a husband in school!) but it happens!  and every little bit counts :)

the past little while we've had two projects to tackle:

first up, the mudroom!

after installing new drywall, mudding, patching, and priming, we were ready for paint!  the first color i chose (cumulous cloud by martha stewart) was a little too blue for my liking (it clashed with the blue kitchen walls).  of course, i realized this after we brought it home!  but, lucky for us, the kind people at home depot were so wonderful to add and subtract colors until it was just the gray i was looking for (dolphin tail by glidden).  

once the room was painted we were able to finally (we've had them for months!) install the cabinet & shelving we bought at ikea.  we were also able to get rid of this eye sore and put everything neatly away.  yay!!! 

(max loves to help his daddy.  we got him a "tool set" for his birthday and he thinks it's just about the coolest thing ever.)

i'm still trying to figure out the shelves (and what i want to display) but for now, it's holding the three appliances we use most in our home: the whirley pop (best popcorn ever!! buy yourself one for christmas :), our blend-tec, and my beloved pressure cooker :)  eventually i want to put up hooks under the bottom shelf for coats, and put a little bench/basket for shoes/etc...but until then, i'm happy as a clam!  this room looks so so much better.  (for evidence see part one and part two of the process!)

our second project involved electric work, studs, insulation, and drywall.  this playroom is going to be the best room in the house!!  our amazing neighbors + friends spent a huge chunk of their saturday helping us out.  they are so knowledgeable and skilled at building and have taught us so much.  we couldn't have done it without jeff + kim (and jayda, who entertained the kids while we worked!)  we couldn't let them sneak away without snapping a picture, but this is the best we could do :)

the first thing to tackle was the electricity.  it was a beast and i honestly have no idea how they did it but somehow they transformed this mangled mess:

...into this!!!!  isn't it beautiful? (i never thought i'd think an exposed light switch was beautiful, but it is!)

my main job was helping out with the insulation (i stapled while danny cut them to size) but i was glad to finally be of assistance.

here is the room in all its drywalled glory!!  ahhhh.  what a wonderful sight!  we've still got plenty to do (and not enough time to do it!) but most of the difficult things are out of the way.  hallelujah!

and in case you've forgotten what we started with, here is a little reminder...complete with a popcorn ceiling, wallpaper glued onto cement walls, nasty blue carpet, and makeshift 2 x 4's.  i'd say it's come a long way :)