the Entry

After returning from Arizona we quickly realized that with a little bean ball - our free time is consumed with wanting to spend every minute with her - especially since we both work full time! SO... we decided to finish the entry and enlisted help. The walls needed to be painted and the trim work needed to be touched up (it was gross & grimy and needed sanding smooth and restaining/ sealing). We did it a bit backwards as we thought we would refinish the trimwork at a later date - so we painted first, did the trim, and then had to touch up the paint... oops!

Our exterior house painter came and did the paint job for us and we found a restoration person to give the trimwork the TLC it needed (this again, was another wild goose chase)... All in all, I couldn't be happier or more thankful to have this work done, done well, and complete.

the Before - The trim is dark, so you can't see how bad it looks in person...
and the walls needed a lot of plaster repair (also not visible)

the Before - A better view of the trim.
You could scratch the black grime off with your fingernail (GROSS!!!)

the After - nice and crisp. All trim and walls are crisp and smooth. 

Details: The trim guys went above and beyond our expectations of sanding to bare wood all the trim work in this area, including the stair landing window. My biggest concern was dust from the sanding but their equipment kept it contained and each night we came home, we couldn't tell that they had been there (other than the progress, of course). We used Michael Light of ML Restoration. Great guy, lives in the neighborhood. We also stained the risers on the stairs, as it was evident that they had previously been stained. We used Miller Paint... and I'd have to look up the color.