Room By Room: Living Room

So the living room had a lot of work done.  For starters, it had a sunken floor with a single seven-inch step down (which, if these wonderful folks hadn't remodeled for us, means that we would have had to have had a seven-foot long ramp into the living room).  The windows, while dramatic, were original to the house and if you stood next to them you could feel the cold radiating off of them.  Also they weren't made of tempered glass, which meant that they weren't to code and that if Connor eventually graduated to a power wheelchair he might potentially be able to drive right through them.  The fireplace hadn't been serviced in so long that the chimney cap was literally falling apart and as a result the flue damper had rusted open.  The wooden railing dividing the living room from the entry and dining room (now library) was for show only-- it was wobbly enough that it was pretty obvious leaning on it would be a really bad idea.  Two measly can lights were the only illumination in the whole room.  You'll find a slideshow of the whole remodeling process after the jump.

Now the floor is level so that the guys have no problem accessing the whole space, and the laminate floors make it easy to get around.  The gas insert in the fireplace means that Jeremy can light the fire with the flick of a switch.  New windows make the room noticably more comfortable temperature-wise, and the windowseats bring the windows up high enough that they meet code as well as offer a great place to curl up with a book. 

Pam Sturgill, our fantastic interior designer, arranged the furniture so that Jeremy can easily access the entire length of the couch in his wheelchair but still have a place to set his drink while he's playing Mass Effect 2 on that giant television with his new X-Box 360 (something he's been spending all of his break time in between moving loads trying out).  I love the fact that everything isn't pushed up against the wall but the guys still have plenty of space to manuever-- something I really appreciate after having lived with all our furniture in corners for the last six months. 

Other changes include new moldings, trim and wainscoting, paint, squared-off corners on the openings to the kitchen and the dining room (formerly the family room), new fireplace facade with cultured stone facade and flagstone mantle (faux painted to blend better with the rest of the fireplace), and additional lighting.  The huge beam running the length of the room was also stained a darker color to stand out more against the walls. 

And there you have it!  Tomorrow I'll tell you about the library.

~Jess