Friday, March 7, 2014

Dare I Say 'Finished'?

As anyone who has ever owned a home will tell you, a home is a constant work in progress. Everyone's homes are constantly evolving to reflect their changing taste and style trends. I get that. However, my inner workings tell me to protest that very statement. I am a completely goal oriented person - I do nothing without first figuring out the end game and then working through the steps from finished to start. So the idea of a project never being done makes me want to gouge my eyeballs out. I need a moment - even if it only lasts a second before the project completely unravels again. Let me also disclaim that this drives my husband insane. If you can imagine - me and my timelines and deadlines and all for what? WHY do we actually have to 'finish' this house? And who decides what 'finished' actually means? Anyway, just a rambling of sorts but my point for revisiting this old blog is to say that I think my house might be done. We have personally touched every square inch of it with our fine tooth home improvement comb. Some spaces have been made completely new down to the studs that hold them together, while others have been given a facelift with a fresh coat of paint and a good scrubbing. In the past few months we have: - Touched up every single solitary ding, divit, handprint and slobber print on each and every wall. And by the way, if you have ever wondered if you really CAN'T touch up eggshell finish paint, let me attest to it's validity. We tried that - and then ended up having to repaint 13 walls in this house...yeah, that's basically the entire thing. - Turned the creepy 'toilet' stall in the basement into a legit looking potty place. It's amazing what a chic towel bar can do to a cinder block wall;-) - Drywalled the basement ceiling and installed recessed lighting in the storage room and family room. - Cleaned every window well in the basement - YUCK - not sure that had EVER been done. - Converted the creepy under-the-basement-stairs closet into a 'clubhouse' for the kids. It was all quite the under-taking and Jeff and I have realized through this little exercise that are life status quo does not allot additional time for home improvement projects. With a 5, 3 and 1 year old - a kindergartner and a preschooler, a business to run and a store remodel to plan, there are just no extra hours in the day. It nearly killed us trying to get those few piddly projects done - the old Jeff and Sarah would have laughed at those jobs (or maybe I should say the YOUNGER Jeff and Sarah:-/). Either way, life is busy and we are looking forward to this Summer in our happy home planting our vegetable garden, playing at the park and enjoying the patio we dream of putting in the back yard;-). Please enjoy these 'finished' photos of our little house. The journey has been fulfilling and beautiful at its finest - and exhausting and defeating at its worst. But it's a part of OUR journey, which is one filled with love and happiness and that is what makes me love this home the most.