And, we're back!

Well, it's hard to believe it's been one week since we moved back to our restored Brady Bunch house that was decimated in September after a roofing error.

The great folks at Zinz have restored our house to even greater glory. When this drama began three months ago, many people tried to console us by explaining that the house would be better than ever, which is precisely the last thing you want to hear when your house has been destroyed and you are forced to flee. In the cooler light of dawn, everyone who said that was right.

We still have two bedrooms and the Orbit Room lounge to put back together, but here's a quick tour of the main floor

Here's the new entrance featuring the Herman Miller bubble lamp, which is our way of maintaining the mid-century vibe amid all of the updates.

In the old, walled configuration, this was a TV area. In the open concept, it's a sitting area which better highlights the fireplace as a feature. We also had the fireplace better insulated and even framed in wood to match the contemporary wood features of the new design.

The highlight of the main floor is the new kitchen, featuring the new island/bar. The backsplash actually accentuates the fireplace with its browns and grays. The cabinets are a warm maple. The bar chairs are from the old pub table we used to use in the family room.

Here's the Kenmore kitchen dripping in stainless steel. The tile flooring now wraps around the bar and continues all the way to the back door to the garage.

Off of the kitchen is the dining room, pretty much in the same place as before. We have turned the table  so it is now horizontal to the back wall. The seriously cool Danish modern lamp that hangs above it (not pictured) is the last remnant of the old ceiling.

The living room area is behind the bar. The wood floor is new and was stained and sanded in place to match the floor on the second floor. The beams above were stained to match the maple cabinets.

One of our new additions was a 47-inch Vizio smart TV on a new stand that swivels so we can watch the TV from the living room or the bar. That was one of the innovations we sought for the new open concept. I love this freakin' TV, FYI ...

The new living features much of our old stuff, including the couch we bought after last Christmas. We did add two new chairs and a new painting.

The chairs were bought at Overstock.com and we like how they add to our cool contemporary, mid-century vibe. These two pictures are from the Overstock website, FYI.

The painting is a canvas reproduction of artist Jeff Kolker's "Chicago River at Michigan Avenue." We will, eventually, surround this painting with the framed pictures of bridges my Dad took at Mill Creek Park. It's a way to get a little Chicago into our cool new digs. And the oranges, grays and browns work with our new decor.

Our house continues to be a work in progress. Given the work we need to do, yet, we have opted to NOT do a Christmas tree this year, as we don't need one more thing to move or put together or take down in a week or so ... And we just finally today found the Christmas gifts that need to be mailed!

Much to do...

More later,


Mark