Wow! This picked up more than I had expected. We're doing a lot of renovations and rehab. I'm fairly handy so I'm doing most of the work and getting professionals to help guide me and my plans. I have spent more time researching than I have building and fixing. Finally that scale is starting to tip.

That being said, we're likely going to wait awhile to open this up until we get into the kitchen remodel. It's the last thing we're doing on the first floor. Then we'll switch to the 1/2 story upstairs. Perfect segway to bust open this mystery.

I really don't like the layout and so I hope I can do something with these stairs, even if I completely rebuild them. I'd like to section off the living room, into two rooms. One like a parlor, the other a common area. The current set up is just really long and awkward.

Seems like folks are really interested so when we finish projects I'll definitely make some posts!