Not So Wordless Wednesday This Old House

Before I get into this, I wanted to thank everyone who posted on the comments yesterday. I am overwhelmed at the kindness and support that was offered. So many of you took the time to not only read such a long post but to comment about your own experiences offering so much wisdom and insight on such a delicate topic. Because of all your wonderful support, I feel much more equipped and empowered to accept having my stepdaughter with us for those 6 days. Thank you all again for sharing and yes, I will be posting about it when I get back. Thank You, Thank You.

Now getting on to the "Not So Wordless Wednesday"

In December, I showed both the kitchen and open dining area in our old house that was built in 1891 and then remodeled by us for 8 months before we moved in.

Today is a trip around the family room.  This room is located on the back side of the fireplace that was photographed in the dining room post.

Let me start by saying this is not a huge family room.  It measures roughly 18' x 19' with 10 foot ceilings.  Part of that 19' is made up of a 4' sunroom that was added to the home during the 1930's as a place for those suffering from TB to take advantage of the sun. This sunroom was two stories high, however, we removed the four-foot addition on the second floor as it ruined the look of that side of the home by cutting through the original roof line.

Getting back to the family room pictured here, it's hard to imagine that when we bought the house, this 18' x 19' space housed:

1 bedroom
4 closets
1 hallway
1 full bath with tub
1 separate half bath with laundry and
3 ceilings

We tore everything out to the bare bones and had to replace the floor since there had been a combination of old hardwoods and linoleum going in both directions.  Here is the finished room.

This is the view standing beside the fireplace on the kitchen side.  That little pink cottage in the corner has been a big hit with our 3 1/2 year old.  She just received it for Christmas and spends hours playing in it.

Not sure it is that obvious in the photo but behind that red sofa is the desk with computer where I just happen to be typing this post! And that window behind the little pink cottage is where I tried like hell to get a picture of the Olympic Torch going by the front of the house.

Here is the view looking into the family room if you are standing on the other side of the fireplace.

This is the view when looking from the back corner of the family room towards the kitchen.  My husband picked out these antique schoolroom light fixtures. My choice was pot lights. The dropped part of the ceiling that has been painted the same red as the kitchen houses plumbing and ductwork from a ventilation system. We had some of the antique tin ceiling left over from the kitchen so it was used to cap off the bottom of this dropped section.

And this last photo shows the view if you are in the corner of the family room looking towards the dining room side of the fireplace. The large dark grey square beside the cabinet (which is there temporarily) is a water feature that we use to humidify the house and above it is a glass window that is in the main floor half bath since it does not have natural light. That's probably the next room I'll photograph.

And that concludes our little trip around this once studio apartment that has been converted into our much used family room. Is it just me or are there orbs all over the place?!