Time To Catch Up (and I need your vote)

So.....I have made a couple of trips out to the house but haven't posted any updates because although lots of little things are getting done, there haven't been many projects finished. I always like to show the before and after photos but I guess I will show some before and during photos instead.
We have a new yard fellow(#3) and I think he is a real gem. He works hard and is easy to communicate with. The last two either didn't show up or didn't do much when they were there. It's going to take some time to get the yard to the place where we can do some actual landscaping but in the mean time we have to keep it under control because everything grows so quickly in Florida. So here are just a few of the many projects we have underway...

I started painting the kitchen cabinets. We bought an entire kitchen on Craigslist for $2500. Uppers, lowers, pantry, you name it. They don't look like much now but they will be beautiful when I'm done with them. They take a lot of time because I have to do three coats of paint on each side.

They will eventually be glazed and look something like this...

I also found this great copper vent hood on Craigslist for a steal! Jimmy just put it up temporarily so we could decide how high to hang it. I think it is going to be fabulous!

Every bedroom in this house has a sleeping porch attached to it. The one that the two smaller bedrooms share was in really bad shape. It had old metal tilt out windows and only insulation for the ceiling. The floor was nothing but the old planks and joists. It has all been redone with tongue and groove on the walls and ceilings, hardwood flooring and new vinyl windows. Before...

and now it looks like this...

I'm going to build a base for a twin sized mattress to make this a perfect spot for extra kids that come to visit.

Luke has always wanted a secret room so we decided to  turn a hall closet into one for him. It's not quite finished yet but getting close ...

I also built a window seat for the breakfast room off of the kitchen. I haven't had a chance to paint it yet but I'm really please with the way it turned out.  The top is on a hinge for extra storage. Sorry about the terrible photo!

I had a great old trunk that I bought at an estate sale with the intention of using it for a nightstand or end table but it just didn't work for that so I made it into our bar for the dining room...

I bought a little vanity bench and took the cushion off

and there you have it!

So now I need your opinion on something... I plastered over the ugly red brick over the fireplace and then I painted it gray. I don't think I like the color and don't know if I just want it to match the wall color or choose a different color. Let me know your thoughts please. You can either comment on this post or email me your ideas.

Here is the before...

here is after plaster...

and here is after paint???

Well, I didn't mean for that to be such a long post but I guess I had really fallen behind. I will try to keep up better from now on. We are going out for Thanksgiving so I will post again when we return. I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families!

Thanks for stopping by,