the contractors have finished

We are thrilled with the new open space! It's still a mess and we now have tons of work to do, but getting rid of this wall really helps us move forward. Here's what we're looking at:

We can't believe how much of a difference it made! The kitchen will mostly be the area where there is currently carpet (it may spill out a bit into the living room). The walk-through will be to the right of the column and to the left will be cabinetry/appliances. We've only made preliminary layout decisions, but now that we can really see the space we're going to get serious about the plan.
In the following picture you can sort of see how the ductwork is all tucked as high as possible and grouped together:

The next steps are to:
come up with the basic design;
decide where plumbing and electrical will be going;
and start the framing and drywalling process.
We'll also be drywalling the living room ceiling and the master bedroom ceiling (both are just exposed joists right now).
There are lots of other random jobs that will continue - speaking of, we installed doorknobs on a few closet doors. I basically followed the directions and they all work perfectly. These were doors that had no previous knobs, so there was chiseling and hole-sawing involved. Be careful, because this picture is about as exciting as hunting moose:

Also, upon request - here is a picture of the doors-as-headboard. There are going to be quite a few changes... actually everything will change, except for the headboard. Remember the wallpaper we were indecisive on? It's going on the wall behind the bed. The linens will certainly be changed; new side tables; the ceiling will be a solid surface - yeah, yeah, you think we should keep the beams - they look interesting in the picture, but they're a mess in person and they have to be covered. Also, the sound travels 100% through to the upstairs bedroom and that is less than ideal.

Gratuitous dog picture - ole blue eyes:

duck tour; brick work (cont.); leo

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day! We enjoyed the long weekend with friends and Project Rowhouse took a break.

Have you guys heard of the Duck Tours? It's your typical city tour - cheesy tour guide, families, amphibious vehicle, superfluous photography, wait... what's that you say? Amphibious vehicle? That's right people. The 'bus' turns into a boat and rolls right into the harbor. We took the tour last weekend and I'd recommend it. We learned some interesting things about the city and you can get some great views of our 'hood from the harbor. I must warn you - just after they force you to pose for a picture in front of the bus'boat, they hand out kazoo'ish duck quackers to each passenger. Everyone uses them, often. Loudly. You'll do it too.

This is the end of our street from the water;


and some construction going on nearby (as seen in the previous post).


As far as the house goes - we feel good about the pace right now and have been surprisingly productive during the work week. We've moved onto the next step in the brick exposing process and I love it. Muriatic Acid:

The box is so dramatic. Lots of things are poison.

This stuff is pretty amazing for giving the brick a finishing 'scrub'. It is acid and safety precautions must be taken. Wear the proper gear, have ventilation, keep baking soda around for neutralization (for spillage and overspray), etc. I'm going to give credit to Baltimore Rowhouse (a fellow renovation blog) for describing the muriatic acid process in detail. More info here. Check out the results:

We love the way it's looking. Even though the process is taking a while, each step is quite rewarding.

Any thoughts on that wood board going up the wall? There is quite a bit of damage behind it. There will also be a column nearby where the contractor will be removing the wall. Our thoughts are that we will finish them both in similar style.

Closeup - so fresh and so clean:


We also have a new addition to the home. Meet Leonardo D'Shrimpleton, aka Leo:


Part miniature dachsund, part miniature poodle; his eyes are bright blue and he's relatively tiny... sort of an impulse, but we really like him!