Though it needs a railing, newel post, trim, and some touch-up drywall, you can now see where we’re headed with the stairwell project…

Here’s the new view from the dining room:

And here’s the new view from inside the stairwell:

When you compare it to a photo pre-removal, you can see how much more open it feels. It was a nice improvement since the stairwell is very cramped and steep. It’ll also make it easier to get our clawfoot up there.

Now, if only we had a straighter ceiling………. but wonky lines are part of that old house charm, right?

Removing this section of the wall took a few hours, about as long as it took me to fight my way through Home Depot this morning. Because, of course, we needed supplies on the craziest shopping weekend of the year. And as usual, I ended up in self-checkout behind someone who clearly shouldn’t have been allowed near that particular aisle, or even an ATM machine. Yee-freaken-haw.
In other news, we decided to have the tub professionally refinished. We found a local guy who will do it for $400, inside and out. We’ll drop it off at his shop, and he’ll have it back to us in about a week. We’re going with an all white finish, and he’s going to smooth the exterior because the original cast iron finish is quite rough. By the time he’s done with it, he says it’ll look like a brand new tub.
For the amount of money we would have spent on a kit and cleaning supplies, plus the time and energy it would have taken, this is one I’m very happy to hire out for. I wasn’t totally convinced that the DIY kit was a good idea, and not having this on our to-do list means we can spend that time on other bathroom projects. Which means we’ll be soaking in a nice relaxing bubble bath that much sooner!