About two years ago our daughter and her husband moved into their home here in Charlotte. You may remember if you have been following this blog that they bought a 1950’s ranch style home and totally remodeled it. As a reminder, here is a picture of the home when they bought it:
…and here is a photo of the home one day before they moved into the remodel.
The room that used to be the kitchen became the dining room. This is the former kitchen.
The kitchen, after demolition, became this.
…and here is the finished after. 
Progress on decorating it came to a halt in order to welcome their first baby. But, a few weekends ago, Kathleen and did the final staging/decorating. It has now gone from this:
to this….
The long table on the left had been chalk painted by us. It was completed even before they moved into the house. The table first looked like this in the store where it was found:
Kathleen took the apron off of the back and added it to the apron on the front and made a very l-o-o-o-ng table. Then we painted and waxed it after adding a board to the top that used to be part of an old school building.
In order to complete the new dining room, Kathleen painted a mirror to hang over the long rococo table. The old finish on the mirror was cherry. Now, it matches the table.
I think that you will agree that the room has come a long way and is well on the way to helping create wonderful family memories.
Let’s take another look at the outside of the original home.
See the giant oak tree that is in the back yard and is almost as wide as the whole house? A few weeks ago, Patrick noticed that it had a crack in the trunk. He called in a tree surgeon who said that the tree was in danger and needed surgery! Patrick called in a few more tree surgeon/arborists to get more opinions. Then, one windy morning, Kathleen noticed that the tree was leaning more than it had been the day before. The arborist quickly came to see what he could see. “Ma’m, it is up to you, but I think that this tree could come down any minute. You are not safe in the house. We need to get it down right away.” Long story short, the family had to evacuate their home, and the tree limbs that endangered the house were taken down with the help of a four or five story crane parked in the drive and some very brave and skilled young men who were transported to the top of the tree by the crane operator.
My suggestion to you is to inspect the old trees on your property and be sure that you are not in harm’s way while sleeping in your bed! Thank you Lord!
So, the saga continues here in Charlotte. The house is safe from falling tree limbs and one room is down and many more are “wip.” That is my abbreviation for, “works in progress.”
Create and be happy!
If you have a project that has been left undone for a long time, get inspired. Roll up your shirt sleeves and get after it. Remember, where there is fear, there is no creativity.
Create and be happy!
deborahwoodmurphy 