Drywall, Mud, and Choosing a Pantry Door

So you can't see it very well in this picture, but after installing the pocket door hardware (which I did all by myself!) we put up some drywall over the framing and started to tape and patch it up. We used the Johnson pocket door frame kit and it was fairly easy to install. I'm not sure how well it works yet though as I don't have my door in yet.

After putting a couple coats of mud on we decided to have it textured by a professional. We tried doing the texture ourselves in our basement remodel a couple years ago, and we decided that in such a not inconspicuous place as the kitchen, we better not do this one ourselves.

 The guy who did it did a simple knock down texture. He made it look so easy to do, and the finished result looks fabulous! He textured both the new sheetrock, as well as the dining area so it would all match. We'll get it painted and see if it blends with the rest of the house ok. I think it will.

 So, now that I have the pocket door hardware installed and the walls put up where they need to go, I needed a door slab for my pocket door. I toyed with the idea of building my own door and staining it to match my kitchen table that I built last year. That would have been a lot of work though, and luckily our friend came to the rescue yet again. He had a bunch of doors from old projects and remodels he had done. The doors ranged from antique to practically new. Some of them would have to be cut down to fit my door opening, but others (like this one I chose) are pretty much just right!

 I decided to go with this lovely french door that is in excellent shape. This was the french door had a dummy handle so I was able to just remove that and the hinges and there is no hole in the door from a door handle that I would need to hide. The side where the hinges were will slide right into the pocket and never be seen.

My next step is to get the door cleaned up and ready to hang. I am planning to frost the glass, and I am toying with the idea of doing some fun designs in the glass. We will see what I come up with.
So the next steps in the remodel are to get the ceiling and walls primed and painted, tear out the old flooring, move the electrical and install the new lights, put in the new cabinets, put in the new floor, and voila! I will have a lovely "after" picture. Whew, it sounds like so much, but when I see how far we have already come I am hopeful we will finish before school starts in the fall.
If I am being totally honest, this remodel has been an emotional roller coaster. When we make some progress I feel so excited! If things are stagnant for a couple of days (like they were last week) I start feeling so down and discouraged wondering what in the world I was thinking taking on this huge project. It's coming along though. It's going to be awesome!