Entryway - the sleeper project

As I mentioned, the entryway was a bit of a last minute decision and I think because of that we weren't really expecting to be wowed by it. Holy.Cow.
The number of comments we've received on the finished entryway alone tells us that we made the right choice to do it. It's that whole phenomenon of you move in to a new house and you know what's there isn't exactly what you'd choose and isn't exactly modern, but in the grand scheme of things is liveable.  Until you change it.  And then you realize just how ugly you really thought it was.  Our contractor rocked and this was knocked out in a day and a half. 

I've realized that it's kind of tough to see a big difference from the photos, so you'll have to take my word for it...either that or come to my house to see the old tile which is still living in the laundry room :)
Check out the transformation below!

And my little entry nook!
Tabletop not fully decorated yet, but love the table we found (HomeGoods)
and the mirror (Target).

The floors that wouldn't end

To make a long story short, the floors are a big part of the reason the blog hasn't been updated in awhile - they started the stress train. They have been the most frustrating part of the reno to date.
Pro tip: if you move into a new house and you think you're going to want to re-do floors, ALWAYS do it before you move in. Always.

However, after four loooooong days of no furniture and dust an inch thick on every wall on our first floor, we have absolutely stunning new main level floors.  We went with laminate in a "pecan" color made by Hampton Bay, which I think will look incredible opposite the light entry tile and the white and light gray kitchen. I think I mentioned at some point that hardwood doesn't do well in the desert - apparently it needs the humidity. Major bummer, but laminate is almost impossible to scratch plus really easy to clean.  And I am amazed after having hardwood floors in DC how you can hardly tell the difference!

A before and after sampling below: