Our New Foyer!

So about two weeks ago I blogged about our changing foyer soon to be complete with a built in bookshelf! Well friends the time has come for the big reveal!

It took a little bit longer than we expected, but then again, what house project doesn't!? The results though are SO worth the wait and extra effort. At least I hope Josh feels that way since he did a lot of the grunt work. ;)

The difficulty came when we realized the floor was just a touch un-level/sloping, and unfortunately the bookshelf was slightly uneven as well. As luck would have it (not that I believe in luck, but I can't think of another transition phrase), they both were leaning the same way so unfortunately one's off-ness did not fix the other.

This is where Josh's grunt work came in. What did we do to fix the problem? Sand, sand and more sand. Yup. Josh sanded the tar outta that shelf until it was level when placed on the slightly unlevel ground. I'm so grateful for a hard-working, non-flustered, dedicated husband. See when kinks come up in our projects, Josh is calm... hardly anything ruffles him. I on the other hand, get all tense, flustered, and am easily overwhelmed. Perhaps it's when things are out of my comfort zone that I have the hardest time trusting, but yet that's exactly what I need to do. Josh and I are a great team, and we've solved many little bumps along our home improvement way. So I need to trust that he is more than capable and together we can come up with a good solution.

I didn't take any pictures of sanding but oh well.

So are you ready friends? Here is the big reveal!

Here is the foyer before we even moved in:
(Here we're measuring in preparation to build the bookshelf!)

Mid-progress- after we've ripped out the carpet, the old rickety banister, and installed new floors:

And finally: NOW!

Of course there are still more changes to come- staining the railing, hanging a 3rd picture in the 'walks of life' series, perhaps a collage of photos on the other wall, & painting the foyer;  but we are SOO happy with the results! It feels wonderful to have thought up an idea, planned for it, seen it built, and to finally embrace the end product!  I love being a home owner with Josh and wouldn't want to do this whole adventure with anyone else! 

Now onto continuing my current project... give you a hint- the preparation for it is in this picture (and no it's not hidden in what we affectionately call 'the tool bar'):