Friday Morning Thoughts on Remodeling Stuff

1. Holes can be put in floors and walls can come down much more easily than you thought.
2. This is both alarming and encouraging.
3. You can live with things that look horrideous for a long time and not even notice them anymore.
4. When your contractor asks you how to turn on the light in the basement and you wade in the dark through a maze of benches, boxes, Christmas lights, and laundry to get to the far back corner where you twist a bare bulb that's hanging gingerly out of the ceiling until it turns on and he looks at you like you are completely out of your mind, it occurs to you that perhaps you should see about asking someone to install a light switch. That you've lived here for ten years and this is the first time that it's occurred to you that you could see about asking someone to install a light switch is, literally, a lightbulb moment.
5. Make mental note to find therapist with which to discuss.
6. Which will increase the budget.
7. When it comes to picking out flooring, it's shocking how much unattractive fake-tile flooring in earthtones there is in the world.
8. You don't like earthtones. Or dark tones.
9. The salespeople, everywhere you go, tell you that everyone likes earthtones and dark tones. Except for you.
10. You are freakish. You like gray. There was one fake carrara marble one, but it was discontinued and unavailable. Because "nobody" liked it.
11. You have a lot of work to do on ornament kits, but you can't seem to stop reading Scandinavian blogs about gray walls, wainscoting, whitewashed floors, painted floors, gray floors, and navy gingham.
12. Enjoy myself during the day to decorate the room of the bathing.
13. You have started speaking English as translated out of Norwegian by Google translator.
14. Thus even further complicating all communication with Ron, the contractor.
15. You have decided to stick with only colors from the Bejamin Moore Historic Collection, since the last two colors you painted anything (Wythe Blue and Buxton Blue) were perfect.
16. Which has never in the history of your life happened before.
17. There are some things you are willing to splurge on (light fixtures) and some things you won't pay a penny more than fifty cents to five dollars for (tiles and towels).
18. The reason that bathrooms look so pretty in books in magazines is because they don't have the self-propogating piles of hairbrushes, hair dryers, shampoo bottles, bathmats, mouthwash, plungers, L.L. Bean catalogs, electronic football games, toilet paper rolls, ponytail holders, and pumice stones that seem to clutter up yours. Because you have pedestal sinks. (And the bathroom is literally only four feet wide.)
19. You decide to only allow Kiehl's products into your new bathrooms, like your friend Linda. You will ban Darling Husband's ginormous bottle of generic bright orange mouthwash that doesn't fit in any cabinet and frisk all incoming grocery bags at the door.
20. And now the budget really is completely blown.

Comments

[Elaine]

#3 and 4 are both my weakness. I love your list. It's nice to be able to laugh about things that don't go easily.

[Christina]

I'm so with you on the gray! I'm from Denmark and I'm sitting in a gray painted room as-we-speak. Love your blog.
Christina

[molly]

#18! SO TRUE.

[Susan @ pinkportugueseroses]

So Funny!!! I love your light bulb moment. LOL!!!

[Andy]

We had a budget?

[Kat]

Try to find a flooring installer that will order commercial flooring for you, because it comes in a much wider range of colors. Ours was willing to get Armstrong vinyl tiles for us... looks like old-school linoleum, comes in every shade of the rainbow. Our kitchen floor is now turquoise.

[Abbey Rice]

We put vintage-y white hexagonal tile in our bathroom - little 1" tiles. Love it. Maybe wouldn't work for your asthetic, though?

And yeah, pedestal sinks...bathroom looks GREAT when I hide everything for guests, but it's a little cluttery when we are, you know, living and all.

[Kar]

The joys of remodeling. We had one of those lightbulb moments while digging in the attic on time with a flashlight. The electrician was called the next day to put a light in there. Amazing how one can find things fast up there now. I'm laughing with you on all your little thoughts. :)

[Victory Garden Yarn]

Here here on grey floors! How on earth could they discontinue GREY for crying out loud!? Good grief. Good grief, indeed.

[Kelly]

Slate is your friend...it's gray, and it's cheap!

[Julie G. in Iowa]

Only you can make the trials and tribulations of home remodeling humorous! Keep your chin up - every day is closer to a new and improved "room of the bathing".

[Dianne]

OR when you realize said budget was really only about half of what you needed to finish said project! Just keep thinking about how much you'll love everything when it's all finished!

[Natalie VV]

Oh, well, for starters #5: Skip therapy! That's what blogging is for. Now you'll save loads!
#4... so familiar! So sadly, hilariously familiar.
#18... ditto. I want the glamorous and glossy catalog look, but we LIVE here. Right?
#21... humor. All of this can be endured and enjoyed, because you have a wonderful, healthy sense of humor!

[Alisa]

heehee!

[Annette]

Oh you crack me up! Good luck with all the remodeling. I'd be curious to know, what are some of your favorite Scandinavian blogs?

[Debbie]

In the past year I have had my entry way, kitchen, dining room and guest bathroom re-modeled. I know how crazy it made me, but I love the results. You will love the results too!

[CarolineC]

Totally hilarious, and so totally correct. ♥♥♥

[Laura A.]

Thanks for the laughs! I can't seem to get rid of my clutter and *so* know the feeling of doing something one way for years only to be forced to see it through someone else's eyes and then having a "blush" moment.

Good luck with the flooring. And don't stress too much if you can't get a perfect match. Is there a "wood" like neutral or off-white out there that you can just cover up with rugs (and Clover's pillow)?

[Bethany]

So glad you're going with something in the gray family. You'll have to let us know what you pick. I was just standing in my bathroom this morning thinking, "Gray! That's what it needs. A gray paint!"

[Tabitha]

I like gray. I have nice charcoal-y gray laminate floors in my kitchen and sunroom. The kitchen has navy walls and white trim and the sunroom walls are gray. My favorite rooms in the house:) Keep searching! I hope your bathroom turns out exactly the way you want it to!

[Leila]

You are funny!
I agree about BM historic colors. They just turn out right. Also the California Paint historic colors.

[debbie]

Oh how I wish I had the $$$ to remodel because #3, 4 and 11 are my reality. I'll have to live vicariously through your remodel :)

[Mama Urchin]

re #1: Did you know cutting a granite countertop is also no big deal. That's what they tell me at least, the truth remains to be seen.

[Nancy]

Do you know about Marmoleum? All natural flooring, been around forever and lasts as long. I'm in a room as I write with a grey-ish marmoleum floor. It might work for you.

[Sally]

Hilarious! I especially liked the English via Norwegian via Google moment!