Crown in mudroom/laundry room

First, I'll aplogize that it's been almost a month since I last posted! I guess things have been busy around here, and we haven't been working on the house as much. But, that will change. This weekend will be more working on the mudroom and I'm going to try to at least get primer on the dining room walls! We got a steal at the Ballard Designs Outlet this weekend in Alpharetta---a great new chandelier for the breakfast room nook---very exciting! I could have spent hours at that place. I think I loved the rugs the most. Good to know they're there when I need them!

Brooke puts up crown around the mudroom walls. Looks much better just doing that one thing!
He also framed out the window---it was missing several pieces of wood, so this too made a big impact.
And, another view of the crown and window.
These are the gross and disgusting steps up from the mudroom into our kitchen! We've bought the wood to replace these old steps---oak, and we'll stain them in the same wood tone as the kitchen floor. Also, new handrail, banisters, and newell post. The backs of the stairs will be white. I'm thinking of painting the mudroom walls in a color called Roxbury Caramel by Benjamin Moore and paint the ceiling the same color as the kitchen.
Here's a better view of the finished paint job on the fireplace. The plant to the right normally sits on the hearth area. Obviously, I need some window treatments and something on the mantel. There's an outlet on the mantel, so I'm thinking 2 skinny lamps would be perfect...

Sunday afternoon...

I'd been staring at our drab brown bricks and ugly concrete "hearth" for too long...I decided to make a move and start painting...first priming...
Then painting it black...
And finishing the first coat...it will need 2 coats, as you can tell, but overall---so much better and it adds a more finished look and a focal point to the room.
Brooke worked on the mudroom today. He framed out the doorway between the laundry room and project room.
And then he hung the sheetrock. Next weekend we'll begin on the tile (hopefully!).

Next!

And, onto the next project---the mudroom. This is the view walking in our side door from the carport, facing the laundry area. The door to the left at the top of the stairs is the door into the kitchen. We think it was a garage at one time, but now has been neglected and is very dirty and in need of a spruce-up. The framed out part going into the laundry room will be divided by a double french door with glass panels. This way, we'll be able to separate the room into 2---laundry area and pantry/craft project area.
This is the view standing in the laundry area looking out towards the carport. The fridge will stay in place and we'll put in countertops and cabinets for additional storage.
Standing on the steps that go up to the kitchen looking towards the side door. We'll also replace this door with a full glass french door. The old concrete floor will be tiled in a natural/beige tile, and the walls in the "craft room" will probably be painted one shade darker than the blue in the kitchen to make everything flow. I think we'll paint the laundry area a beige color (possibly one shade lighter than the living room). I'll be searching for a fun fabric to go on the windows out here, but something that's inexpensive and will tie in with the kitchen.

Brooke starts the first work out here---pulling down some of the old framing. We bought sheetrock and 2x4s at Home Depot today so he can build a frame to hold the new french doors...oh, what fun we have on Saturday afternoons! :)

SNOW...again!

We had a bit of accumulation last week---very exciting!
Looking out the front door...
Across to the golf course...
Boone discovers snow...not sure that he really enjoyed it. I think he's a bit too pampered to be outdoorsy!
Our beautiful wreath from Grandmother! Thank you!

living room done (well, at least the paint is!)

Well, the living room is done...at least for now. The walls are very bare, so we'll have to work on that, but we're glad to have the paint done. Other than accessories, we'll have to get the floors re-finished at some point, but for now, the rug is a nice cover-up!
Boone decided to pop his head into the picture.
And looking back towards the screen porch. The two dresses won't stay there, it was just the easiest spot for now.
A bit more done in the kitchen---recessed lighting turned on, a new pendant light and some new lamps---got 'em at Target---wood grain on the base...
A more up close shot of the pendant light---it's from Pottery Barn, but got it for a steal on ebay!

Time to paint the living room...

Brooke begins to put primer on the paneling. Gorgeous paneling, but it's EVERYWHERE in the house. We had to brighten things up a bit. The ceiling will remain untouched, and of course the hardwood floors will be re-finished at some point.
More primer... The contrast of the dark paneling to the bright white.
And today we began putting color on the walls. It's one of my favorite colors---Peanut Shell. It's a special mix from a paint store in Macon. We had them call the "sister" paint store in Chattanooga to mix a batch. It's just the right blend of beige and gold.
First coat is on and begins to dry. We'll probably have to do two coats, but we hope to finish it this week!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We had a great weekend. Mom and Grandmother came up for the day on Saturday and we had lunch at a cute restaurant downtown overlooking the river, then did a bit of shopping. Grandmother bought us the beautiful wreath for our front door. If you'll notice our roof has a bit of snow! We woke up to flurries this morning. Being from Macon, I'm sure we were a bit over excited about the tiny bit of accumulation!
The "Welcome to Signal Mountain" sign has snow on its roof!
This is a train display that a family on the mountain puts up every year. It's at the entrance to our street, right at the top of the mountain. It's lit at night with a Christmas tree in the train depot. I've seen lots of kids climbing on the train. I'm sure there will be some Christmas card pictures taken in front of this.