The Dining Room Continues

 Hello dear friends.  Are you still out there?  Yes I am still alive and kicking,  It has been some time that I have not only written, but it has been some time since I have been working on the house.  Last I updated you all I had the dining room all gutted and drywalled and there it stayed for some time.  In the last few months I have been very productive with getting things put back in place.  Not completed fully but, getting closer.  As we know, projects like this are a marathon.   Please excuse the mess in the house, but the dining room currently is being used as a TV room so I have to live around it all.  Let me show you what I have been up to. 

I added this small trim around the ceiling and where the chandelier will go.  I really like it.  It is a simply yet elegant touch that when the room is all put together I think will fit nice.

I have the big picture window all trimmed out in oak.  This is the same profile as the original that I had milled.  The stained glass as you might remember is original.  It was removed from the house and was gone for about 25 years.  I tracked it down, brought it back and now it is all framed back in where it belongs.

Here you can see the ceiling detail with the windows framed in.

Here you can also see the original hutch back in and framed in.  I wish I could tell you what a NIGHTMARE it was to put back in.  It took me DAYS.  Why you might ask?  Well when they took it out they put some pipes behind it.  These pipes will be removed at some point but I can't right now.  So I the hutch stuck out about 1" too far.  I had to disassemble the bead board I put on the back and plane it down to just the right thickness so I could push it in to be flush with the trim.  It was really an awful experience, but it's back home where it belongs and I couldn't be more thrilled that it is home. 

Looking in from the foyer into the dining room. 

Lastly after all the trim was installed I had to remove the old dirty shellac on the pocket doors.  I am sure some people's initial reaction is thinking "Matt you removed the original finish!!".  Not true.  I know the house was finished in natural white oak.  While I would LOVE to keep it this lighter color, the hutch is already all done in a lovely honey color.  So I will match the doors and trim to the hutch color and it will all look like it belongs.  

So in conclusion Matt is EXHAUSTED, but happy these pieces are done. I am so close and yet so tired.  Next step will be to finish the wood and then hang the wallpaper and fixtures and it will all come together.  That will have to wait for another time, but I feel good and accomplished and after 18 years of working on this house, I can wait a little bit longer to finish the dining room so that it is done right.