to do or not to do

Hey.

Remember when I bought a house?

No? Well I did, we closed in November and moved in the first weekend in December.

I was so excited to take you on a grand tour of my first home but I kept making excuses.

Totally lames ones like:

"After the holidays"
"When we hang stuff up"
"When I get window coverings on every window"
"When we paint"
"When I knock out some of my to do list."

You get the idea.


Here we are, almost a year on and I am still heistant to pick up the camera. I think it is because we are a year on and the house is nowhere where I thought it would be in terms of G-ifying it, in a good way and a bad way.


Good way:

Hey.

Remember when I bought a house?

No? Well I did, we closed in November and moved in the first weekend in December.

I was so excited to take you on a grand tour of my first home but I kept making excuses.

Totally lames ones like:

"After the holidays, so people can see my living room without a Christmas tree"

“After winter, when it isn’t so dreary outside”

"When we hang stuff up"

“After spring, when it isn’t so water logged outside”

"When I get window coverings on every window"

"When we paint"

“After summer, when it isn’t so freaking hot”

"When I knock out some of my to do list"

“After Mr. G’s  party”

You get the idea.

Here we are, almost a year on and I am still hesitant to pick up the camera. I think it is because we are a year on and the house is nowhere where I thought it would be in terms of G-ifying it, both in a good way and bad way. The good is for a newerish married couple we got some nice furniture from our families. I will say that we so blessed to have such a giving family that really made this house a home a lot faster than we thought.

I am not saying that things make a house but it is nice to have a big dining room table to have family meals around, a guest bedroom so anyone can come and stay and a man cave for my husband.

The bad is that there is still no paint on the walls, our dining room has nothing hung, we still have windows that are bare and nothing on my to do list has been accomplished.  This to do list isn’t extensive, there will be no sledge hammers involved but some upgrades will prove to be more in depth than others.

We talked about making some big changes, one being the kitchen. It is on the small side and we would love to extend it just a few feet but we can’t justify it. Yes,  I can justify getting my dream kitchen all day long but without boring you with details we won’t get our money back for the money we would have to put in to it.

And honestly I am not heartbroken; I actually like my little quaint kitchen.  I will say when I am tackling a huge meal I look at my lack of counter space with despair but how often does an occasion like thanksgiving happen?

 I find that I am caught between do I really want to put all that money and effort in to something that we plan on leaving in 5-7 years? Or do I say to hell with it and do it, nothing like LOVING my space now? I really don’t want to make my dream here because I knew when we bought this house that this wasn’t where we were going to be forever.

Call me bitter but I don’t want to make the kitchen that I have in my head just to sell the house.

Hubs agrees.

Hubs and I have been talking about the little things we want to do that will make us happy now and that aren’t massively expensive or time consuming

Home improvement 2012 looks like-

Living room- Paint, get matching furniture

Dining room- paint, add bead board, new chandelier, add rug, and add window treatment

Kitchen- add cabinet pulls

Kitchenette- window treatment, paint, add artwork

Master bath- glass shower door

Guest room- window treatment

Master bedroom- add art work

Outside- add storm door, landscape the crap out of front yard and back yard.

I think this is all pretty do able.

So the plan is to take you all on a tour of the before house this weekend.

Don’t judge me but we are having company so I know the house will be in tip top shape and photo worthy.

 I ask you, what do you think is too much for a house that you know you won’t be in forever? Would you reno to your heart’s content? Or would you hold off?