and the next project is...
Homeownership is like crack.
Well, maybe that's a bad analogy. I really wouldn't know. But what I do know is that there is constantly some improvement or other to be made; some project that's completely enticing, and would be totally doable if only I were to win a perfectly reasonable and thoroughly realistic lottery prize.
Today I had a contractor with whom I've done business before out to measure my kitchen floor and give me an idea of what it would cost to replace the vinyl with laminate. This has been a "next year when I get my taxes done...okay, NEXT year when I get my taxes done" kind of project: I've been wanting to take care of it ever since I moved, and I can finally do it. While I'm not much of a kitchen-dweller (read: I don't cook), I hate the floor with a passion. First of all, it's linoleum. This by itself is enough and really needs no second of all, but nonetheless: It's ugly, it's dirty, it's old, and it's ripped. Also, did I mention ugly? I love laminate--it's affordable and high quality and will last for ages, and it's much more attractive than vinyl. So I had Brian out today to talk about it, and I also asked him about replacing my bay window, which is also not of particularly excellent quality, with either another bay window or just a regular, straight-across variety window, or even taking the whole thing out and putting in sliding glass or french doors.
Then I asked him about my front porch, which is...well, you can probably guess at its quality if you've read this far. Anyway, long and short of it is that it would be less than I expected to just jackhammer the front porch and re-pour it. It would also be less than I thought to extend the roof out over the front porch, thereby getting rid of the god awful metal awning that is only over the front door and the picture window. It would ALSO be less than I expected to redo the countertop in my kitchen, replace the sink, and get new backsplash. It helps that my kitchen is miniscule and only has 16 sqaure feet of countertop.
But you see what I mean?! Just thinking about all these projects makes me wish I could afford to do all of them, and of course I can't. Even though each one in itself is not a huge ticket renovation, it would still take some kind of miracle for me to be able to do anything besides the kitchen floor this year, and probably much of anything next year. This is why I find myself wanting either, 1) To win the lottery, or 2) To find one of those cushy work-from-home gigs that I'm fairly certain don't actually exist.
I make my house sound a little like a trash heap, and it's absolutely not. It's just that there's still so much that would be great to do, and it's hard to think about all of it and not be able to do it. But I guess that's just one of those lessons those grown-up type people used to talk about when we were younger.
New backsplash though....that iridescent glass tile is so pretty. Sigh. WANT.
Well, maybe that's a bad analogy. I really wouldn't know. But what I do know is that there is constantly some improvement or other to be made; some project that's completely enticing, and would be totally doable if only I were to win a perfectly reasonable and thoroughly realistic lottery prize.
Today I had a contractor with whom I've done business before out to measure my kitchen floor and give me an idea of what it would cost to replace the vinyl with laminate. This has been a "next year when I get my taxes done...okay, NEXT year when I get my taxes done" kind of project: I've been wanting to take care of it ever since I moved, and I can finally do it. While I'm not much of a kitchen-dweller (read: I don't cook), I hate the floor with a passion. First of all, it's linoleum. This by itself is enough and really needs no second of all, but nonetheless: It's ugly, it's dirty, it's old, and it's ripped. Also, did I mention ugly? I love laminate--it's affordable and high quality and will last for ages, and it's much more attractive than vinyl. So I had Brian out today to talk about it, and I also asked him about replacing my bay window, which is also not of particularly excellent quality, with either another bay window or just a regular, straight-across variety window, or even taking the whole thing out and putting in sliding glass or french doors.
Then I asked him about my front porch, which is...well, you can probably guess at its quality if you've read this far. Anyway, long and short of it is that it would be less than I expected to just jackhammer the front porch and re-pour it. It would also be less than I thought to extend the roof out over the front porch, thereby getting rid of the god awful metal awning that is only over the front door and the picture window. It would ALSO be less than I expected to redo the countertop in my kitchen, replace the sink, and get new backsplash. It helps that my kitchen is miniscule and only has 16 sqaure feet of countertop.
But you see what I mean?! Just thinking about all these projects makes me wish I could afford to do all of them, and of course I can't. Even though each one in itself is not a huge ticket renovation, it would still take some kind of miracle for me to be able to do anything besides the kitchen floor this year, and probably much of anything next year. This is why I find myself wanting either, 1) To win the lottery, or 2) To find one of those cushy work-from-home gigs that I'm fairly certain don't actually exist.
I make my house sound a little like a trash heap, and it's absolutely not. It's just that there's still so much that would be great to do, and it's hard to think about all of it and not be able to do it. But I guess that's just one of those lessons those grown-up type people used to talk about when we were younger.
New backsplash though....that iridescent glass tile is so pretty. Sigh. WANT.