where I've been for the last...um...2 weeks... Just in case you were beginning to worry...
Adventures in home owning #4: I had fully intended to be nearly unpacked and settled by this point, but it's funny how much things change when your rose-colored glasses fall off. How your perfect, just turn the key new home becomes a war zone of projects. The day after moving we began to notice a lot of loose ends around here. Like a the (smelly soaking wet) new carpet in the (slightly flooded) basement. Like the freshly stained (paint smeared) hardwood floors that scratched and scuffed on the drop of a dime. Like the sparkling new upstairs toilet (that needs to be plunged every other time you flush.)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, we still love this place to pieces. Really, we do. But I do believe it's safe to say that next time, if ever there is a next time, we won't be so quick to fall for the flip. In hindsight, we shouldn't have been so blindsided by some of the cut corners around here. Live and learn.
Call me an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, but my experiences as a homeowner in the last 2.5 weeks have only reaffirmed my mantra: If you want it done right, do it yourself.
As I was saying, our beloved hardwood floors began scratching and scuffing the split second our belongings hit them. They had been nicely stained, but not sealed. We're changing that. Slowly but surely, we're managing to push our pile of still-packed cardboard boxes from room to room as we put 3 coats of poly on every square inch of this place.
But before you feel sorry for the Cinderella shown above, I can assure you, I've had a trip or two to the ball. More on that later.
I am enjoying my quiet, quality time with the floors. It makes this place feel more like our own.
(And even though the boxes make fabulous baby barricades, I won't miss them when they are gone.)
7.22.2010
in case you were wondering
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12 comments:
Oh, Jess....such gorgeous floors. And although I can't speak from experience, I am sure that every second of that poly-ing will be worth it to maintain that impeccable hardwood!
I am so in love with your home, and cannot wait to see more once you unpack and crush those boxes! But...totally understand your current frustrations. Oh the things we overlook when we're wrapped up in the charm of a place! Mine was just an apartment, but I feel your pain. :)
And yes...The Corn Palace. The place is the stuff tacky, tourist dreams!
P.S. Can we wait for that life-swap until after your floors are finished? I'm not nearly as patient or handy as you. :)
the floors look stunning....before you know it you will be unpacked and settled in your new home!
looking forward to seeing how everything falls into place!
K.
Your floors are beautiful! Sorry to hear that you've run into snags... we, too, bought our first house from flippers and found much of the same lack of attention to details once we moved in and really looked at things. But your home is still gorgeous and no one else will look as hard as you! :)
Your floors are beautiful! I understand what you mean about 'live and learn'. My hubby and I bought a house a few years ago, and what seemed to be 'perfect' wasn't that at all. We had to fix everything. And I mean...everything. *sigh* We no longer have that house now, we were fixing things up every few months. That got old...fast. God will bless you for the hard work you are putting in now - trust me. ;) Have fun fixing up and decorating your new place!
Your floor looks absolutely gorgeous! Wow! I know what you mean about endless projects, including some unexpected ones... the joys of home ownership!
oh Jess.. Nick and I both sighed for you.. but it will be worth it.. you hardworking gal....
and those floors, I salivate for a house with that much charm..
hang in there and we anxiously await your unpacking too.
I wonder if any house becomes a war zone of projects. Ours wasn't flipped, but we have just barely gotten our heads above water almost 6 months after moving in. And there's still about 300 projects we really, really want to get done. Soon. I completely understand.
yes, maybe not so good for you to breathe BUT they are beautiful!
Jess - I sympathize with the work that goes into wood floors (and the large number of sticky-backed felt and sliders you have to attach to every leg of furniture that touches them!) but I still wouldn't trade mine for carpet.
The work you're putting in now is an investment! Blessings on your settling in!
The floors are gorgeous and it will all be worth it in the end! Keep your chin up. We've been in our house 5 years now, and there will always be projects! Pick and choose as you go along... and take time to enjoy the fact that it is all YOURS!
In case you didn't know, the Method brand wood floor cleaner is AMAZING. And it smells good too ;)
theiheartblog
This could be very therapeutic! You look so calm. :)
What great floors!
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