It's been a little over a year now since I bought my first home. Renovation has been a slow process, as I move from room to room, and as finances allow. Featured in this post is the house's Great Room—it's the most complete and satisfying room to date.

Luckily, this room required the least amount of work... although I would still love to get more original art in here. At least the saloon doors and hideous light fixture are no longer present.

Here are three photos taken before I moved in last September (2008):

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Some shots of the room in its current state:

[Image]This is the view entering the room from the foyer.

[Image]Here we find Otis silently stalking all of the squirrels, birds, feral cats and rabbits that enjoy frolicking in our backyard.

[Image]Still not sure what I'm going to do about the doors to the fireplace. It'll most likely get painted.

[Image]Here's the dinette we found in Phoenix. It replaced a vintage Chromcraft set I'd owned for years. I did, however, recycle the Chromcraft's glass top—the one the Arkana set was sold with was beveled and way too small (I don't think it was original to it, anyway).

I initially wanted to do one big wall tile treatment for the dining room, but it ended up being way out of my budget. Ideally, I'd like a big piece of original art to go there instead. I've been spoiled by the awesome Screaming Lord Sutch painting my good friend (and favorite local artist) Tim painted for me—maybe I'll beg him to paint something else for me later on!

[Image]This shot leads you to one of the two entrances to the kitchen... which is halfway done. It's still in need of new flooring and counter-tops. Finances and me being new to doing my own renovation work means this is a really slow process. I'm at the point where I need to hire someone to help me with the counter-tops since they require a lot of attention.

[Image]The view from the kitchen.

[Image]You can see my covered deck that leads to a wrap-around patio through the wall of windows. One day I hope to replace the wagon-wheel-esque railing that is currently there to something more appropriate and modern. I've also neglected to change the horrible light fixture that's still dangling out there. It will get done soon!

[Image]I've reserved this little nook for my vintage robot collection. You can also see the spiral staircase that leads down to the finished basement. Painting the stairwell and ripping out the carpet are two big priorities on my checklist.

[Image]Finally, Sof' Boy stands guard over the entire house. He's also responsible for feeding the carnivorous plants in our terrariums. Thanks, li'l buddy!