Home Improvement Cravings
Friday, February 26, 2010 | 1 Comment It’s been a few months since we’ve undertaken any home improvement projects, and I’m starting to get antsy. There are plans (oh so many plans) in the works, but none of them are imminent—mainly due to the realization that mortgages are expensive and someone’s wife isn’t keeping up her end of the income bargain. Just in case we win the lottery, here are the four projects I’m coveting:
A New Master Closet - Approximate cost: $1,000.
Right now we have a deep (but narrow) walk-in closet that has ugly, sagging shelves on one side and two rows of hanging space on the other. There is nowhere to put a long dress or coat, and there are no drawers, so most things are just stacked into piles that begin leaning over in slumping messes almost immediately. Bill and I agree on the need for a better system, but haven’t quite come to see the solution in the same way. Bill wants to install a ClosetMaid system, I want Elfa. It doesn’t matter now, because either way the price tag is too much.
Redesigned Basement - Approximate cost: $7,000
We’ve been working on the basement for almost a year now. We’ve painted twice, gotten an amazing sofa (which required some home repair after getting it down the stairs), installed some wall art, and gotten the gigantic television professionally installed with all the concomitant wiring that goes with a “man’s sound system”. But really we’ve just scratched the surface. We want to create row of cabinets and bookshelves to frame the aforementioned giant TV, install a dry bar with compact refrigerator and wine chiller, change the curtains, swap out the two ceiling fans for something “not brass”, and perhaps add some wall decals. What’s stopping us? Before we do anything major we need to replace the off-white carpet, which currently shows every stray dog hair and muddy paw imaginable. And a DIY laminate hardwood replacement is going to run us about $3,000, not to mention the time and agony associated with the project. The picture is the current “favorite choice” for flooring.
A New Pantry – Approximate cost: $900
Our current pantry suffers from the same ills as our closet – poorly fitted, sagging shelves. And since our little nighttime incident where the cupboard shelf collapsed under the weight of our plates, the pantry is now stuffed to capacity. Oh how I long for a neatly organized space where everything has its place, I can easily reach up to the top shelf, and the spice packets don’t pile up in the corner. We’re also thinking about relocating my office upstairs and turning the room off the backyard deck back into its intended purpose: mudroom. We could easily use one wall for extra pantry storage, which would make it just that much easier to justify lots of canning this summer.
Backyard Makeover: $30,000 - $50,000
We have an amazing backyard in terms of space and sunshine and trees. But the grass is sparse at best (thank you dogs!), there is no landscaping, and we’re surrounded by horrid little mosquitoes during the best times of the year. Ultimately, I’d love to replace the deck with a conservatory, so that we have an enclosed space to enjoy the backyard. Bill wants a Jacuzzi/lap pool, and the dogs kindly request some place to swim that they can get all muddy without angering anyone. We also want to replace the fence because 1) it’s old and 2) the neighbor dogs can reach through and bite anyone brave enough to approach the property boundary. As they have demonstrated on my leg last summer.
Then there is replacing the carpet on the upper level with hardwood floors, re-doing our master bathroom, and decorating the extra bedroom upstairs to be a nice office (as opposed to the current “cat room with some random office furniture”). All expensive, all time consuming. But oh! it will be a dream home someday. And in the meantime, I think I may just pop over to the Home Depot and get some plant food. If I can’t begin any major home improvement projects, at least I can revive my dying houseplants.
Reader Comments (1)
Bravo, Bros! keep going like this, more good info again.