Family Room

When we bought our house the family room looked nice.  I really liked (and still do) the four paneled door.  My guess is it was added as a replacement, since it doesn't match the other doors in the house.

 The room looked fine on the surface, but structurally things needed attention.

The biggest problem (that we know of) in the room was the floor joists were rotting and needed to be repaired.   Every time we stepped on the laminate it was like a wet sponge.

There were loads of wires.

There was also this odd door leading into the kitchen.  Originally this was the outside door.  When the kitchen extension was put on the door didn't get removed.

To address the rotting joists we lifted the laminate.

There was one part of the floor that had a huge gap.    See how the floorboard is just missing right before the door? 

And then lifted all the floorboards.

We ended up having to fully replace two joists and reinforce almost all the rest, plus have some foundation work done and put in a damp course.  I thought I'd do this myself.  Whatever.  Handyman Dave started coming to help.  Thank goodness.

Since the floorboards were all up anyway, we added underfloor insulation.  (I'm always cold.  Underfloor insulation has been a dream.)  We added the insulation and then put back the floorboards.
 

The builders removed the door and made the plaster good.  A local building yard took took the used door and gave me store credit in exchange.  The store credit was used very quickly.

Once we got the floorboards back in the family room became a storage room because most of the other rooms in the house were undergoing major work.

Since Niall and I didn't love the laminate and some of it got damaged in our leaky garage, we decided to sell it (on ebay, and someone bought it!) and to sand the floors. 

We didn't get this room finished before moving day, but it got the last coat of poly oil shortly after we moved in.

Slowly we painted it.  Light blue?  Why not.

Niall calls this the safe room, because it is baby friendly.

He puts the playpen/travel cot and toy chest across the opening in the kitchen to block the baby.

The fireplace with the Spanish tiles isn't a worry with kids.

George (that's what Niall named the dark sideboard we got when we lived in Cambridge) fits snugly in one of the alcoves.  And Amber's painting of the Bowery hangs above George.

We should probably get a rug.  But after all the work to get the floor fixed and insulated I'm okay leaving it bare for now.