A Little Bit of DIY
I consider myself to be a relatively intelligent human being on most days. I can manage my money, have raised two children (with the hubby’s help, of course), and generally I can muddle through life being a fairly productive member of society.
I am not – in any way, shape or form – a contractor. I’m not an architect, a professional painter, or even a construction guy. I do, however, have big, BIG dreams of thinking that I am all of those, especially when it comes to the do-it-yourself projects I find myself suggesting to my sweet hubby.
Like me, he is not a contractor. Unlike me, he understands the basics of plumbing, electrical, and what is entailed to remodel a particular space in the house. About ten years ago, we decided to renovate our mid-1980’s home. We started with a full gut of the kitchen/living/dining room area and for 4 months we lived with total chaos. For 4 months I did dishes in the bathtub, cooked meals in an electric skillet, and generally lost a good chunk of my sanity. Thank goodness we had the assistance of my dad, who at the time was a real professional in the trade.
I won’t bore you with all the specifics, but let’s just say I will never strip cabinets again. NEVER. Since that huge remodel, we’ve redone the guest bath, painted the entire house inside numerous times, and spruced up the backyard with a new deck. Now, let me stop right there and give credit where credit is due. The hubby does most of the work. I’m more the idea guy, the guy who does all the research, checks prices and whatnot. That’s not say I’m above getting my hands dirty, because I’m not. I’ve ripped up carpet and tile. I’ve painted bedrooms and hallways and shoveled dirt. And (try to hold down the applause), I can fix a mean toilet.
So you get where I’m going with all this, right? Yep…you guessed it…we’re trying our hand at the remodel thing again, this time with the master bath. I blame it on “Fixer Upper” that show with the adorable husband and wife team who take crappy houses and make them shine. Yeah, that’s the image in my head when I think about my new bathroom, everything all shiny and new. As I said, our house was built in the 80’s and as such has needed on-going repair to keep it looking decent. Our yellow-ish tile in the bathroom is in desperate need of an overhaul, and the shower is barely big enough for one smallish person like myself. The hubby, not a small guy at all, needs a bigger space.
You’ve been warned. Prepare for many updates about the project, many of which will include a) a lot of complaining about the mess and b) a healthy bit of wine consumption. We’re in the “getting ideas and making sure we have enough money to do this” phase of the project. My handyman hubby (who, by the way, rocks a tool belt like nobody’s business), is currently working on the plans for our new space. He’s smart like that, unlike me who would rather start knocking down walls and figure it all out after the fact.
When all is said and done, we will (hopefully…fingers crossed) have a brand new and much larger shower, an entire new (and organized) closet that we’ll be sharing (he had to give up his own to make room for the bigger shower) and fancy new double vanities. There will be trendy tile on the floors, fancy mirrors and I might even get some new towels out of the deal.
I’ll keep you posted.
AJ
PS. Not sure where I’ve been, but I just discovered The Container Store. I think I’m in love……
