Project #1: The Dining Room

Most of my time at the house over the last couple of weeks involved meetings with HVAC installers (3 new furnaces-one for each floor), roofers (stop leaks, replace large parts of roof and gutters), and floor guys (refinish) to collect bids on all of the mechanical work (i.e. lots of $, not a lot of fun). Similar meetings with the architect (convert 2nd floor apartment) and kitchen designer have been a little more exciting.
Meanwhile, we've been trying to come up with a plan of attack to get the house livable. The dining room is gorgeous, with beautiful old woodwork, beamed ceiling and unbelievable built-in sideboards. Unfortunately, all of that woodwork was covered in a thick layer of dirt, followed by a dusting of mold. (Main picture was taken when we first toured the house.) Eww! So with my trusty respirator and rubber gloves, I set to work cleaning all that gunk up. Finished it all up today and a coat (or two) of primer is next on the agenda. (I love this color on a box from Tiffany & Co, but in a dining room--not so much.)