Don't get me wrong... I'm glad I'm not a renter. But I swear when one home improvement need arises, a million more get added to the list. I miss the days of being able to call a landlord and have the problem fixed right away. (Unless you are a college student and rent from a well-known slumlord. Then he will simply send a bouncer from one of his bars to take a look at your broken fridge. Said bouncer will give you an extension cord and wish you luck. True story).
Our summer of battling the sprinkler system came to a head last night when one of the pipes broke. We're hoping it's an easy fix since it's an above ground pipe. Of course, this means we're not running the sprinklers while it is nearly 100 degrees outside, so our grass will suffer and our HOA will likely fine us for brown grass.
Then there's the gutter on the roof that is still pulling away from the house. This is why you should not rely on someone who owes your father-in-law a favor to fix the gutter for free.
Still, I'm just glad we are able to afford the luxury of a house. We spent three months in an apartment just before our girls turned two. It wasn't fun. It's not something I want to experience again. I guess I'm just going to have to win the lottery and hire a team of employees to take care of all my lawn and home repair needs! (In that case, I'll hire a house keeper, chef and chauffeur, too!)
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
August 23, 2011
April 19, 2011
It's About Time
We have lived in this house for nearly four years. We haven't done much work on it. In all honesty, it doesn't need that much work (thank goodness), but the bachelor who lived here before us had horrible taste... at least when it came to choosing paint.
I call our TV room "the cat puke colored room." If you've ever seen a hairball, then you can visualize what color the walls are. For whatever reason, he thought that color transitioned nicely to burnt orange, which is the color of the dining/kitchen area. (The kitchen and TV room are essentially one big open space). The downstairs bathroom and the girls' bathroom upstairs are also a lovely shade of cat puke. The rest of the downstairs is white, mainly because there's no logical break in the walls to paint the rest of the downstairs, unless you want the entire upstairs to be that color, too.
Speaking of the upstairs, we did have to paint the girls' original bedroom before we moved in. I'm hoping the bachelor used it for a study because it was that trendy red everyone is gaga over. Good for a study, not so good for a bedroom for four little girls. We painted it lavender. Let me tell you, covering up red is no easy task.
Our bedroom is somewhat neutral, browns and grays. Unfortunately, the paint job is so bad that I'm not sure we could ever cover it up if we wanted to. There's paint splattered on the ceiling, spots where you can see through to the white. I just really wish I could have been here to see who did the actual painting.
This all leads us to the master bathroom. To me, a bathroom is a sanctuary. A place to relax in a scalding hot bath and get away from the worries of the day. I won't go into the fact that this bathroom has a regular-sized tub. (Someday I WILL live in a house with a luxurious garden tub). But how the heck are you supposed to relax in a forest green bathroom? There's no light! It's not bright. It's dark and depressing.
Since Hubby is tired of listening to me complain about all the icky-colored rooms in our house, he has finally agreed to paint the bathroom. (It may have helped that I had one of the girls hand him a paint sample and say "This is what we should give Mommy for Mother's Day). In just a few weeks (we need to find the time to actually do this), I will have a nice neutral colored bathroom. A bright, cheery place to relax, on the rare occasion that I find time to relax in a hot bath. It's about time!
I call our TV room "the cat puke colored room." If you've ever seen a hairball, then you can visualize what color the walls are. For whatever reason, he thought that color transitioned nicely to burnt orange, which is the color of the dining/kitchen area. (The kitchen and TV room are essentially one big open space). The downstairs bathroom and the girls' bathroom upstairs are also a lovely shade of cat puke. The rest of the downstairs is white, mainly because there's no logical break in the walls to paint the rest of the downstairs, unless you want the entire upstairs to be that color, too.
Speaking of the upstairs, we did have to paint the girls' original bedroom before we moved in. I'm hoping the bachelor used it for a study because it was that trendy red everyone is gaga over. Good for a study, not so good for a bedroom for four little girls. We painted it lavender. Let me tell you, covering up red is no easy task.
Our bedroom is somewhat neutral, browns and grays. Unfortunately, the paint job is so bad that I'm not sure we could ever cover it up if we wanted to. There's paint splattered on the ceiling, spots where you can see through to the white. I just really wish I could have been here to see who did the actual painting.
This all leads us to the master bathroom. To me, a bathroom is a sanctuary. A place to relax in a scalding hot bath and get away from the worries of the day. I won't go into the fact that this bathroom has a regular-sized tub. (Someday I WILL live in a house with a luxurious garden tub). But how the heck are you supposed to relax in a forest green bathroom? There's no light! It's not bright. It's dark and depressing.
Since Hubby is tired of listening to me complain about all the icky-colored rooms in our house, he has finally agreed to paint the bathroom. (It may have helped that I had one of the girls hand him a paint sample and say "This is what we should give Mommy for Mother's Day). In just a few weeks (we need to find the time to actually do this), I will have a nice neutral colored bathroom. A bright, cheery place to relax, on the rare occasion that I find time to relax in a hot bath. It's about time!
February 08, 2011
The Bachelor
You don't have to spend much time in my house to realize the original owner was a bachelor. Just take a look at my kitchen and you'll know no one who has ever used a kitchen designed this one.
It starts when you are confronted with the island. Who thinks islands are a good idea? They take up space and, at least in our house, become a "catch all" for mail or whatever else is in your hands when you walk in the house (we enter from the mud room just off the kitchen). Although, if you look at my cabinets, you realize the island is a necessity.
I. Hate. My. Cabinets. They go all the way to the ceiling. What a waste of space. At least if they stopped before the ceiling I could put some cute decorations on top of them. But no, some really tall bachelor decided shelves that require a ladder to reach (OK, maybe not a ladder, but a stool) would be a great use of kitchen space. I have several cupboards in which I can only reach the bottom two shelves. I'm 5'7" people. I shouldn't have to struggle to reach things. If I need to reach anything higher than those bottom shelves, I have my daughters stand on the counter (with me holding them for support) so they can grab what I need. What am I going to do when they grow and should no longer take on that role?
The appliances are another wonderful leftover from the bachelor. First of all, they're black. I realize some people prefer black appliances, but this particular stove shows any and all grease specks, no matter how small. Secondly, they're Amana brand. There's nothing wrong with Amana, except for the fact that only Sears carries that brand. Sears is not conveniently located to our home, so when we need replacement filters for the fridge, well, it let's just say it's a pain.
The fridge. Yes, clearly a single person lived in this house before us. It has to be the smallest refrigerator in the history of refrigerators. The only thing smaller would be a dorm fridge. I need space for food for six. There's barely room for the 3-4 gallons of milk we go through in a week. Hubby is great at the video game Tetris, so when I come home from the grocery store I make him deal with the refrigerator and freezer. He's very good at cramming every thing in there and still making it look orderly.
The kitchen does have one positive aspect. It merges directly with the family room/TV room. This means when I'm making meals I can still see what my daughters are doing. When they were younger, I could even put up gates to "trap" myself in the kitchen and keep inquisitive toddlers away from the oven.
I take comfort in the fact that at the closing for this house, the "Bachelor Owner" and his girlfriend were preparing for the arrival of their first child. Hopefully now that he's had time to see a house through the eyes of a parent, he realizes the error of his ways!
It starts when you are confronted with the island. Who thinks islands are a good idea? They take up space and, at least in our house, become a "catch all" for mail or whatever else is in your hands when you walk in the house (we enter from the mud room just off the kitchen). Although, if you look at my cabinets, you realize the island is a necessity.
I. Hate. My. Cabinets. They go all the way to the ceiling. What a waste of space. At least if they stopped before the ceiling I could put some cute decorations on top of them. But no, some really tall bachelor decided shelves that require a ladder to reach (OK, maybe not a ladder, but a stool) would be a great use of kitchen space. I have several cupboards in which I can only reach the bottom two shelves. I'm 5'7" people. I shouldn't have to struggle to reach things. If I need to reach anything higher than those bottom shelves, I have my daughters stand on the counter (with me holding them for support) so they can grab what I need. What am I going to do when they grow and should no longer take on that role?
The appliances are another wonderful leftover from the bachelor. First of all, they're black. I realize some people prefer black appliances, but this particular stove shows any and all grease specks, no matter how small. Secondly, they're Amana brand. There's nothing wrong with Amana, except for the fact that only Sears carries that brand. Sears is not conveniently located to our home, so when we need replacement filters for the fridge, well, it let's just say it's a pain.
The fridge. Yes, clearly a single person lived in this house before us. It has to be the smallest refrigerator in the history of refrigerators. The only thing smaller would be a dorm fridge. I need space for food for six. There's barely room for the 3-4 gallons of milk we go through in a week. Hubby is great at the video game Tetris, so when I come home from the grocery store I make him deal with the refrigerator and freezer. He's very good at cramming every thing in there and still making it look orderly.
The kitchen does have one positive aspect. It merges directly with the family room/TV room. This means when I'm making meals I can still see what my daughters are doing. When they were younger, I could even put up gates to "trap" myself in the kitchen and keep inquisitive toddlers away from the oven.
I take comfort in the fact that at the closing for this house, the "Bachelor Owner" and his girlfriend were preparing for the arrival of their first child. Hopefully now that he's had time to see a house through the eyes of a parent, he realizes the error of his ways!
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