open up | The den had been an addition, and was the only part of the house where the flow didn't feel quite right. Drew and Nicole opened up the space, removing the doors separating it from the main living space, and replacing the window with French doors. Though installing doors sounds like a major project, Drew insists: "Adding the French doors was fun and not as hard as you might think. For one, we got to pull out sledgehammers and go to town on the wall… OK, so you have to be somewhat careful with it, make sure the wall isn't load bearing, and rework any electrical stuff, but having that all worked out isn't too laborious. The doors themselves we bought pre-hung (on hinges, within a wooden frame), so we just measured and trimmed the opening three or four times, leaned the frame in and wedged it in place with rubber mallets. It did take four of us to handle the frame, though." (Click to view the old space) >