Last weekend the hubs and I cleaned ourselves up as best as we could and went to see the play Wicked up in Durham.

We even had a neighbor snap a picture of our fancy-pants moment, because let’s face it – we don’t get dolled up very often.

Since we were headed up to their neck of the woods, this was a nice opportunity for us to go out to dinner with Dirk and Alaina.  It was an even better opportunity for us to check in on their kitchen progress.

When doing a major room remodel, it’s important to think about how any major structural changes (moving/eliminating walls) might affect the other rooms in your home.  You want to make sure that the change improves not only the target room you’re remodeling, but that it improves the entire look and feel of your home.

It used to be that when you first walked into Dirk and Alaina’s front entryway, you could look off to the right and see into their main living area and a peek into their breakfast area.  Boring.

But by removing part of the load-bearing wall that divides the front half of their house from the back (with the help of licensed contractors), the view when you first walk in has changed from blah, to booyah!

Wait, not that.

This:

I can see the lake!

This window that’s cut into the wall is actually going to be a raised bar.  This was a very smart move for eventual resale, because your eyes are immediately drawn to that beautiful lake view right when you walk in the front door.

The entire living room appears much bigger, just from this single “window” cut into the wall.

Before:

After:

They also removed the wall that divided the breakfast area (in front of the large window) from the rest of the kitchen.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

What a transformation.  It looks huge!  (The room – not the hubs’ hand in his pocket.  Get your mind out of the gutter.)

Behind where I was standing is the soon-to-be butler’s pantry where wonderful things are happening as well.  But you’ll just have to wait for the final reveal to see that.

They are installing their unique floor this weekend, so stay tuned for updates and how-to instructions in the coming weeks.