Remodeling
I never write anymore, unfortunately.
First of all, I want to send a blanket apology to friends I used to see much more often. The past nine months have been a bit hectic with the major remodel on my condo. I didn't hire an interior designer, so most of my weekdays were consumed with fun stuff like:
Okay, I must admit that some of it was pretty fun. Having the opportunity to customize everything to exactly what I wanted was amazing. Whenever I'm in any of the three bathrooms or the kitchen, I look around and smile just because I love it all so much.
It's definitely been an interesting experience. I spent countless hours walking through the aisles of Home Depot, receiving curious/funny looks from the regulars who wondered what a small Asian girl in a cutesy dress was doing there. I now know much more about drywall, plumbing, stone, electrical wiring, and building codes than I did a year ago. I bought a toolkit and had fun hammering, drilling, measuring, and screwing for all the small projects (mounting a TV, installing door handles, installing bathroom hardware, hanging up a pot rack, building shoe cubbies and a 40-bottle wine rack).
What I had hoped would take a month--max--dragged on for four months. By Christmas, it was finally almost done, but then January was spent traveling. When I came back in February, I found new contractors and started phase two of remodeling; it's really nothing compared to phase one and wrapped up in about two months. I tore out the face of the fireplace from floor to ceiling and completely changed it. I also finally had the ugly parquet in the entryway replaced with the same porcelain tile as the kitchen and powder room. My cabinet guy (by far my favorite contractor to work with) came back and we designed a custom dresser/vanity together.
So it has finally come to an end. I'm throwing my housewarming party tomorrow, and it will be especially meaningful to have six family members there since they're all coming from out of town.
All in all, this has been an exhausting experience and I don't want to do it again for at least 5-10 years. Until then, I will enjoy my home in all its new fabulous-ness.
First of all, I want to send a blanket apology to friends I used to see much more often. The past nine months have been a bit hectic with the major remodel on my condo. I didn't hire an interior designer, so most of my weekdays were consumed with fun stuff like:
- going over designs with my cabinet guy
- picking out light fixtures / paint colors / hardware / appliances / toilets and other bathroom fixtures / a super awesome whirlpool bathtub
- dealing with the problems between my two main contractors
- dealing with the many, many problems that came up during construction (like opening up a wall and realizing that the original pipes weren't installed to code, so my ceiling started to sink in one section...really not fun)
- finding furniture and designing a custom sectional
- watching over the contractors almost every. single. day.
Okay, I must admit that some of it was pretty fun. Having the opportunity to customize everything to exactly what I wanted was amazing. Whenever I'm in any of the three bathrooms or the kitchen, I look around and smile just because I love it all so much.
It's definitely been an interesting experience. I spent countless hours walking through the aisles of Home Depot, receiving curious/funny looks from the regulars who wondered what a small Asian girl in a cutesy dress was doing there. I now know much more about drywall, plumbing, stone, electrical wiring, and building codes than I did a year ago. I bought a toolkit and had fun hammering, drilling, measuring, and screwing for all the small projects (mounting a TV, installing door handles, installing bathroom hardware, hanging up a pot rack, building shoe cubbies and a 40-bottle wine rack).
What I had hoped would take a month--max--dragged on for four months. By Christmas, it was finally almost done, but then January was spent traveling. When I came back in February, I found new contractors and started phase two of remodeling; it's really nothing compared to phase one and wrapped up in about two months. I tore out the face of the fireplace from floor to ceiling and completely changed it. I also finally had the ugly parquet in the entryway replaced with the same porcelain tile as the kitchen and powder room. My cabinet guy (by far my favorite contractor to work with) came back and we designed a custom dresser/vanity together.
So it has finally come to an end. I'm throwing my housewarming party tomorrow, and it will be especially meaningful to have six family members there since they're all coming from out of town.
All in all, this has been an exhausting experience and I don't want to do it again for at least 5-10 years. Until then, I will enjoy my home in all its new fabulous-ness.