a door makes…

Thanks to the City for repaving the trail – really nice job!

Where was I, oh I remember…recommitted. That apparently isn’t going very well. But I have been working, a lot, and biking, and swimming, and watching TV.

Hey! The Olympics were on.

Even with all this complete lack of effort and lackadaisical approach I do have some more progress. Progress, as in I called Graham, he worked and I went to the ATM – a few times. The new door is in and amazing. Although the first week every time I came down the stairs I thought SECURITY BREACH – someone left the front door open! Graham did what would have taken us at least 3 days, 5 trips to Home Desperate and at least 2 major “discussions” (or DISCUSSIONS!). In one day, he put in the door and changed out the bathroom window. My role, besides paying him, was to stain and seal the door, repaint the trim, and put the transparency sticky paper on the window. As you can see, I completed my tasks. And for the first time since we moved into this house (22 years ago) the bathroom window now opens. See. AND you don’t have to have the shade down for privacy. After wrestling with the peel and stick paper – think idiot and super glue – I have to admit I’m a little nervous that their “comes off easily” claim on the box cover may not be true. It was…challenging, there was swearing – but it makes feel a little less like Norway in the winter!

The Ben Burrows number one rule of decorating (yes, he has one). Is that “anytime you put something new in a room, everything else looks like shit.” He is right of course and this is what I found with the door. While we probably need a screen door, ours died, and have been told that we “surely we don’t want everyone in the neighborhood to see us”, I can only say, I’m not sure about either and don’t call me Shirley. Yes, we make the run from the shower to the upstairs a little quicker now, but if someone going by wants to see what’s going on in our house they will be sorely disappointed or horrified and punished accordingly. (Some images you just can’t forget). But my point is, yes I DO HAVE ONE – is now I need new house numbers and a new light. Especially because this one is ugly and has been upside down for 20 years. So, does the outside make 11 rooms? I have a headache.

I made a few digital examples of front of the house options:

With wood shutters? With wood window boxes? Or neither? Neither looks kind of sad. Shutters look too rustic. The boxes are okay, but they do get lost in the garden. Both is too much, even for me. Something isn’t right. Maybe I need a flower holder on the other side, or cool house numbers. Suggestions accepted.

To digress even further, my two purchases of the last week have fallen into the two steps back category. One is a stencil to do “wallpaper” on one wall of the dining room. I came to the conclusion that while I have been striving for simple and minimal, I didn’t mean boring. And the dining room is boring. Apparently others agree and failed to mention it to me. Come on guys, I can live with it’s not your style, but boring, boring I want to know about. I feel like I’ve been walking around with my skirt tucked into my underpants. The other is a reclaimed wood “mantle/skinny shelf” for above the fireplace. We noticed last spring that the TV got pretty darn hot when the fireplace was on, so we need to deflect the heat some. I figured since I was going backwards anyway, may as well do it now.

So next is the stencil then the mantel. Then fix the wall in the front bedroom, paint and then do the office, then the floors. Oh and Ashley’s wedding is in 36 days. Or as she informed me today “THIRTY SIX DAYS!” Oh, and I need to keep my clients happy and make some money, a lot of money.

Next blog – I’d like a full frontal lobotomy and side of fries please.