This all started with a phone call from my friend, Jimi,  offering to do something nice...just for me.  In the past, I have always complained about the doorway to my kitchen not being in the right place.  So, Jimi decided that he would change the entryway for me.  Hesistant at first, I was assured that it would be a small job, no time at all to get it finished AND the big bonus, I'd finally have the doorway in the right place.

Okay, so it didn't take much twisting of my arm to talk me into this little project.  Hey, the labor was free and as Jimi reminded me, it would be done in a matter of a couple days. Zip, zip and we are done!

Project day arrives and demolition of the wall begins.  Two heads are definitely better than one and within a blink of the eye, ideas for home improvement just seemed to be popping up, one idea after another.  Since I was going to have to paint on both sides of the new wall (kitchen and living room) then why not go ahead and remove all that old 70s wall paper in the kitchen, paint the ceiling, and then paint the walls.  Oh hey, what about doing the same in the living room too.  Now that's a good idea isn't it? 

We went from painting a few walls to doing something about that terrible 70s look throughout my house.  I don't have a lot of free time (I'm a student, you know) nor a lot of money, so this project has to be kept simple and sensible.   And besides, Jimi said the project would be quick and easy.  In the kitchen, the entry way was moved and enlarged, 70s countertop has been replaced with a modern countertop, a small snack bar was created by using a moveable counter, the painting (ceiling and walls) is still to be completed.

The living room updates are still a work in progress.  The mess is horrible and all the furniture has been redistributed throughout my house with extremely limited access.  Walls in the living room and kitchen have been texturized which creates a horrible mess.

We are now at the end of five long weeks with a projection of taking a few more weeks to complete.  My helper is limited to how much time he can "help" because of his own demanding job and his personal projects that are ongoing too.  I'm restricted to living in three rooms during this stage: bedroom, office and bathroom.  At this posting, I have no running water in the kitchen.  If all goes well, that problem will be taken care of today.

More on this project as it progresses.  I've posted a picture of the kitchen as a work in progress...more later.