It's getting closer....

So, maybe it doesn't look like much now, but I can visualize it ALL Done!The original inspiration. I priced this one. Whew! Way too pricey for my blood. So I treasure hunted my own. At $25 each, these side lites are just the ticket. A little sweat equity and....

This is our new front door and entry from the inside. For those whom I've been boring with the installing, sanding, priming, priming again, painting, painting and painting yet another coat of 3 colors of paint - buttercream side lites on the outside, red door on the outside and soft white on the inside - I'm sorry, but this is really, really exciting to me.

You see, when we bought this old place, it had four front doors and no one ever knew what door to go to. So we removed and rebuilt this section to be our FRONT door entry. The plan is to finish building my dream porch - a raised, covered porch with wide stairs. A far cry better than the two doors that had old, form-follows-function plywood ramps.

Now, even though we still have three doors on this side of the house, this is our new, official FRONT door. The other two are BACK doors. One into the new, middle back hallway and the other into the back hallway that will lead into the pantry/kitchen - great entry for unloading the groceries from the back driveway.

The circular driveway is no longer, as well. No more sitting in the family room (the "blue room" - which is no longer blue either, but will forever be referred to as the "blue room") and feeling like cowboys and indians with the cars driving in a circle around the house. We plan to put in some grass and a little bit of landscaping where the road used to be.

Anyways, back to the entry way. This weekend the doors and side lites are finally painted, inside and out! Yesterday, I thought they were finished, but then as I was peeling off the painters tape, it pulled off the paint from the lower section of the door! Nice huge bubbles of peeling paint!!! ADVICE: DO NOT USE latex paint that has vinyl in the ingredients! ONLY use 100% Acrylic Latex. It doesn't peel. It covers beautifully. It is very, very strong paint. So strong, it sticks to your fingernails and you have to scrub and scrub to remove it. AND it can be sanded should something bad happen. The darned vinyl-type latex paint, when sanded, just balls up into little rubbery boogers! Great. Nothing better than a Do-over!

So, tomorrow, I'll start on the ceiling by putting up the pine tongue and groove strips. It should begin to look really cottage-y in there. Next, I'll prime and paint them white. Then, I'll start work on the walls. I'm planning on adhering 2" strips at 14" intervals, capping them horizontally at 5', and then painting the whole lot a little darker cream.

Next, will be the floor installation. Hickory flooring boards - the click and lock type. After installing the nail-down oak hardwood in A.J.'s room and the middle back hallway, this should be a breeze!

Check back for the finished results. Hopefully, things will move along quicker than the doors and side lights did.

Happy Sunday night!!!!