Our long awaited renovation project is scheduled to begin next Monday and we’ve still so much to do in preparation — moving furniture to storage or consignment; bubble-wrapping and packing myriad loose and delicate items; hauling the endless stream of boxed “stuff” to our storage locker — what we’d pictured as a relatively simple task now seems more as though we’re moving across the country.
And in a way, I suppose that’s not so far from the mark, the only difference being we’re planning on living in our home during the renovation. I say “planning” because doing so seemed logical to us — we’re “only” replacing the marble in our entry and having the interior repainted and recarpeted — but the contractor raised his eyebrows when we mentioned our intentions. Something about the smell, the noise, the mess…
We still need to choose carpet and paint colors. They were dependent on the marble tiles we selected which turned out to be an enormously frustrating and time-eating task that I won’t even go into. Suffice it to say that we’ve chosen the marble and can now move forward with complementary colors for paint and carpet.
In that regard, I should mention that Dawn and I live with two cats. Gracie, the tuxedo cat, is what I’d call a comparatively minor shedder. But Georgie, our straight-eared Scottish Fold, sheds so much that we’ve joked about choosing our carpet color to match his shaded silver hair. Not so far fetched an idea, right? But then we remember that Gracie’s hair is mostly black. I guess there’s just no getting out of weekly vacuuming.
A project like this, I’ve learned, is like toppling dominoes. What started out as picking out a few pieces of furniture for the family room evolved into painting, new marble tile in the entry and new carpeting. Everything is “connected” so it’s difficult to replace one thing and not that which is right next to it. So it goes without saying, I suppose, that we’re also replacing the chandeliers and wall sconces. And when it’s all finished and the contractors pack up their tools and equipment (and the smell of paint dissipates) we’ll be taking delivery of new furniture for the living and family rooms and having new window treatments hung…
And that’s when the big empty house will finally become a home. We can hardly wait to “settle in.” So let the countdown begin…