So, in January we moved for our 12th time in 8 years of marriage to a house that we gutted from the 1940's and tried to remodel in 2 months. We got to the point we could move in one day before we had to be out of our other house, which was also the day we left for southeast Asia to visit Jason and his family. It was nuts. Here are a few before, during and after pictures.This was the main floor bathroom before - complete with shiny gold wallpaper on walls and ceiling and carpet that Tyler got to tear away from around the toilet.
This is the demolition stage (Carlos' favorite part)
And this was it mostly finished, although you can't see the whole bathroom. I finally got to use the pebbles I've had my eye on for years. (on the stair, around the window, around one of the cut-outs, and transitioning to the hallway).
This was the kitchen before.
during.....we knocked the wall out between the kitchen and living room and put up a big beam. We learned a lot about weight bearing walls. We also took out 3 doorways in this area.
Here's the finished product. We love the cork floors and concrete countertops and Tanner (my youngest brother)installed all of the cabinets (and the floor). Lucky for us Tanner didn't have a job yet, so he spent a month helping us out. Tyler also got in on the demolition action. 
We put a drinking fountain in the kitchen too, but you can't see it in any of the pictures. That's Rivers' favorite part. My favorite thing are the transitions I came up with between the cork and wood floor and between the bathroom and wood floor. I think they 
look pretty nifty. 
I also really like the new alder wood doors and window sills. That nice hardwood was under carpet - although it definitely didn't look nice at first. We didn't trust ourselves with that huge sander, so we had someone else refinish the wood. I'm a little bit too daring when it comes to trying to do things ourselves, so it's good that I have Carlos to reign me in. I did hand trowel texture the walls though and of course paint and/or stain the whole interior. Rivers completely designed her whole bedroom - she wanted it to be like you were outside, so she picked out green walls and a blue ceiling with clouds and a sun light. She also wanted a sliding bookcase in her closet, which was actually a great idea. 
