Dark Walnut

That's the color we chose for our new hardwoods (well, part new and part refinishing of the old). I really couldn't be happier with the result, but I could deal with not having to dust every surface left exposed to the sanding. Ick! I wanted to make before and after photos on www.picnic.com, but of course my Flash player at work is an old version, so I can't use the site. And, I will never post them if I do it at home, because I still have a laundry list of things to get done before the big move Thursday. And, really, why won't blogger just let us post pictures side by side? Annoying...

Without further ado, here they are!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER (I should've paid attention to my "before" pictures and taken the "after" pictures from the same perspective... oops.

BEFORE

AFTER (well, sorta... still need to paint risers and railing)

BEFORE

AFTER (horrible picture)

BEFORE (yes, this is really what the carpet looked like)

AFTER

Carpet goes in tomorrow (bedrooms and upstairs hallway). CANNOT wait to see it all done. It's amazing what a difference the hardwoods make in updating the feel of the house... pictures truly do it no justice, but there will be more to come. :)

And, I just want to state publicly that I am so very happy I married Matt. Besides the fact that I'm crazy for him, he is sooooo handy. I mean, truly, he never ceases to amaze me with the things he can do. Exhibit A: he wired a 220-volt outlet for our dryer by reading something online. And then, he just did it (after a trip to Ace Hardware and then another to Home Depot and another to Lowe's... gotta love when they have every amp circuit but the one you need). Exhibit B: the dryer still doesn't fit in the closet (one inch people, one freaking inch). After a lot of deliberating, our only solutions are to remove the doors and hang a curtain (eh...) or to cut a hole in the house at the exact, precise measurements where we can push the dryer directly to the vent and not need any hose or other contraption. This makes me very nervous. Or, we could re-frame the wall and extend the closets out further... that sounds like a lot of fun, huh. So, I think Matt is going to spend Saturday cutting a hole into our house for a new dryer vent. Please pray for us. Ohhhhh, and we have mold in our return plenum and trunk, so more money later, we'll be replacing that! But, other than those things, so far so good... one day at a time.