If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
Posted by Kimberly on July 3, 2008
I have some unsolicited advice…Be careful what you wish for. Two and a half years ago I wished for a bigger house….the 800 square feet shoebox was not enough for me, the DH and Baxter. Besides, this was the house the DH bought for himself…and decorated for himself. I felt a bit like I was living in a frat house, minus the ”liberated” road signs and mandatory Sports Illustrated Bathing Suit girls.
After many arguments, lots of whinging, even more pouting and what seemed like an endless stream of open houses that were too expensive, too ugly, too small, too big, too much work and all around not perfect for us, wonder of wonders, we found a house we both liked and so we bought it. You have to strike while the iron is hot with the DH I’ve learned. The new-to-us bootbox is 1700 square feet over 2.5 floors. Which is a lot more stairs than I thought.
It’s also an old house, built in 1936. Which means it’s charming. But as I’m finding, charm doesn’t come cheap. The 1936 windows need to be replaced…all 17 of them. The 1936 floors need to be refinished….all of them. And while the 1936 knob and tube wiring was replaced, the light switches weren’t, which means that you have to go OUTSIDE the room to turn on the ceiling lights INSIDE the room. Not very intuitive.
And apparently in 1936 there were no such things as Queen size beds. This is a bit of a problem for us as our mattress is currently on the second floor but the box spring is languishing in the living room. It has repeatedly refused to go past the landing. Which means the DH gets to play with his power tools tomorrow. And let’s not even discuss how said box spring is going to make it up to the master bedroom in the attic. Can you say king size bed? The Money Pit strikes again.
On the positive side though, there is so much more space now. I know that 1700 square feet doesn’t sound like much, especially now that homes are three, four and five thousand square feet or more. But coming from a cramped two bedroom bungalow to a house where I can actually get dressed in the room in which I sleep at night….oh it’s blissful! My yarn, fabric and books all get a room and so does the DH’s 42 inch LCD. Although the tv and the computer do have to share their room. It’s a win-win situation all around.
I don’t miss the bungalow at all.
Steph said
Good ! I’m glad that you like the new home. We should stop calling it the “money pit” and only call it “the investment”. Deal?
We do I get to see it? Before you paint I hope. I’m bringing a camera…
Claudia said
I can relate. I currently live in an older home that is 3 bed, 1 bath and 925 square feet. I grew up in this house so I know how you can’t run certain appliances at the same time without blowing a fuse. Take the remodeling slow. Try one room at a time so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. Good luck!
Wendi, the Knitted Squirrel said
Congrats on the new home. Just take it a little at a time! It doesn’t have to be done tomorrow. Sit back knit and just think about the changes that you want, then knit some more!
Kelly said
Our old house, which I hated, was only one floor but had a huge attic. So we turned the attic into a bedroom. We moved our queen size boxspring up during the renovation, and when we were (finally thank goth) moving out we realized that it wouldn’t go down the stairs. The guy who bought the house didn’t have much furniture, and said he would be grateful for anything we left behind, so we left it up there. I sometimes wonder how many house owners that box spring will go through before somebody takes a chainsaw to it!