How are you doing? Everything okay? My mood goes up and down, up and down. Yours too? I read a good line last week.: “if you’re falling apart, you’re human.” Sums it up for me occasionally. But we forge on. Because that’s who we are!

I’m working on putting together photos of a whole-house renovation that recently finished up. I can’t wait to show you, but it takes longer than you might think. I’m excited about several new posts that are coming up.

For right now, however, I just want to show you one of my favorite things that we changed in that renovation project.

In many older, traditional homes, the rooms are all very separate. Now that big, open spaces are the norm in newer homes, these spaces feel cramped. Even when they’re a good size. The question here was how to open up the room - thereby also opening up the Kitchen, which you see way in the center of the background.

The answer was to take down some walls.

I know it sounds like a big deal, but as far as renovations go, taking down walls isn’t that bad. It’s mostly just sheetrock and lumber. Taking them down can give you a LOT of bang for the buck.

The hardest thing can be rethinking where you put the now-gone coat closet or the pantry, or whatever was standing in that spot.

It just takes some thought. Thinking is also not that big a deal.

Look at what we did:

Big difference! The room still feels cozy, but not cramped or so separated.

Let’s compare, just for fun:

The walls that came down housed a small coat closet and a small pantry. The pantry was generously replaced by a huge new Kitchen. To replace the coat closet, a Mudroom was created next to the entrance from the garage.

This new Mudroom is so much nicer - and more convenient - for an active family.

I’ll show you the new Kitchen very soon. It’s an unbelievable transformation. But for today I just wanted to check in and show you this one little area where removing some walls was the right answer.

Don’t be afraid to remove walls. Don’t be afraid to rethink where you put things. Opening up a room like this makes it all feel fresh and airy.

That’s it for today. As I write this we’re heading into a new year. I wish you all health, love and happiness!

With sparkle and texture,

Anne