Demolition!

A LOT of demolition has occurred during the one week we have owned this home.  Wow.  I cannot believe how much was accomplished and I also cannot believe how excited I am to see it all in action.  I was a little bit concerned that I might freak out when I saw things being torn out and walls being exposed and moved.  But I was NOT!  Yay for that!  I was actually thrilled to see the house this way.  Seeing it without dated colors and fixtures and old carpet allowed me to really envision the plan we have for it.  Our contractor has been excellent, so we are lucky in that respect.  I think it is at its worst today, so I will share some demo pictures! 

The kitchen one week ago on closing day:

And today:

We are slightly altering the floor plan.  We removed the utility sink from the laundry room in order to gain 2 more feet of space in the kitchen for better flow and more cabinetry.  The pantry was taken out and moved down two feet and reframed.  We are going with a pocket door for the new smaller laundry room to save space.  The opening to the dining room was enlarged so the counter-depth freezer can fully open without the door hitting the doorway to the dining room (no picture of this angle - oops).

Here's the demo'd version of the future playroom:

I am thinking of opening up that large walk-in closet you see on the left in this picture to enlarge the playroom and create another little play space.  Later on, it would make a great area for built-in desks for a homework station.  We don't really need the storage in this room, and I personally think open spaces are always better.  The opening would go about as far down on that left wall as you can see in this picture (in both directions).  This is the fun of demolition - you get to the bare bones and you can see the possibilities.  Once you've had your contractor move one wall (in the kitchen) and realized its not very expensive to do, it's a bit addicting!  What do you all think??  Should we open it up?  (I'm on board, my mom thinks it sounds great, Brett likes the idea, but I could tell by the tone in my contractor's voice that he's siding with the painter and I am crazy.)

On Wednesday new hardwoods will be laid downstairs, and as soon as we can muster up the courage to pay the gargantuan bill for our carpet we have selected (who knew carpet was so expensive!), we will schedule that to be installed.  Any carpeting advice out there?  Is it worth getting the better quality product to avoid having to replace it in less than 10 years?  I know the horrible builder grade carpet at our house in Cary was nearing the end of its useful life after only 6 years of shoeless petless use.  So, we have selected a nice wool carpet (all natural) for the upstairs. It's not much more expensive than standard carpet, but when you multiply it out by square feet and add padding and installation and taxes...OUCH!

More photos next week, hopefully it will be in a better state then.

Thanks for everyone's facebook input on the "white" saga.  I feel even better about my "crazy" choice.  Although I still have not settled on my white.  I'll let you know what I choose!