Before photos: Living room

We struggled for a little while to decide how to use the space in our house.

The structure started its life as a small-ish (approx 1100 sf?) 5 room ranch house -- a kitchen, living room with fireplace, and three bedrooms.

In 1963 (?), the kitchen was enlarged a bit, creating a space for a dining table, and an additional bedroom was added off the kitchen.

Later on, in the 1970's, the garage was turned into a finished room, and a new garage was added.

The house's previous owners used the former garage as a combined family room and dining room, and kept the original living room as a living room.

We are leaning towards using the garage room as a big living space -- something less formal than a traditional living room, but nicer than a rec room/playroom style family room -- and using the original living room as a dining room.

Here are the before photos:



The paneled wall has a door to the garage. I took the photo while standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

The carpeted area was the family room and the tiled area was the dining room. Not shown, but on the right hand wall of the tiled section, to the right of the chandelier, is a sliding door to the pool. Also not shown, on the left hand wall of the tiled area, is the entrance door, which leads to the front yard and driveway. On the same wall, but along the carpeted section, is a bay window that looks out to the street.

We are DEFINITELY ripping out the carpet and the tile. We will probably put down a pre-finished oak floor in the room. We're also considering painting the paneling and built-in units, leaving the doors, ceiling beams, and the trim work as they are now.

"After" photos to come ... in several weeks, we hope!