I probably should not be allowed to shop in a home improvement store unsupervised. I'm not dangerous or anything. Let me rephrase that. I don't cause anyone bodily injury or property damage. No running with saw blades, climbing the shelves, hijjacking the forklifts, or drinking the bug killer. No, none of that. But give me half an hour to wander the aisles, and my debit card will be cowering in a corner, desperately crying "Uncle!" Much like at a dessert buffet, my eyes are bigger than my stomach, er, house. Gazebos, paint, light fixtures, kitchen appliances, french doors, POWER TOOLS! OMG is that place fun.
My husband and I have been working on some fix-it projects around the house lately. Some, like new aluminum soffits and fascia (with a little siding repair) are necessary and boring. Some, like the new floors we've been scouting (spoiler: bamboo is a leading contender), are exciting and expensive, and extremely scary. Over the holiday weekend, we tackled one that's fun, affordable, and only somewhat scary: trimwork. We have two large archways between our formal dining room and our family room that are plain plain plain. We're talking 72" wide by 12" deep bare drywall, with the skimpiest baseboard around the bottom. Basic, builder-grade nothingness that does not suit my preferred aesthetic. Not that I can afford my preferred aesthetic, at least not in one lump sum. By necessity, we're the tortoise in this race. Unless someone has an "in" at HGTV for a free whole-house makeover? Anyone? Anyone? The silence is deafening.
Our new fancified archways are coming along splendidly, no thanks to me. So far, I'm the shopping-and-spackle person. We requested assistance from my in-laws over the weekend and got my father-in-law. So, I drew child-care duty, and the boys got to play with the tools. Last night I returned to the renovation utopia that is Lowes for an additional trim piece (they claim that I measured wrong...I wasn't driving the saw, so I can only presume that they're telling the truth...).
On the way to the lumber aisle, I took a shortcut past a lovely selection of area rugs (planning ahead for those hardwood floors, you know). My detour of choice also happened to pass their selection of vinyl flooring. The last time I looked at those options was when we built the house, and I was suprememly underwhelmed by the choices then. But now, oh my. Some of those actually looked like stone. They weren't even shiny! And the pattern was random from piece to piece. Visions of a redecorated master bathroom danced in my head. I would still love real tile floors in there, but I think that plan would involve removal of vanities and the (cultured) marble tub surround, and thus the shower as well, and nevermindIwon'tredothebathroominthislifetime. Peel and Stick. I can do that.
Account balance: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid!
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