I love working on my house. Home improvement projects are a great way to learn, spend time with family (who actually know what they are doing, by the way), and unload fistfuls of money that would have otherwise gone to things like X-Box games, chrome accessories for the motorcycle, or car payments.
But really, improving the house is a lot of work. Since we generally do the work ourselves (under the supervision and with the guidance of experienced help), we can keep the costs down and only have ourselves to pat on the back when the job is finished. The bathroom, completely redone since we moved in, looks 100% better than when we moved in. New tile in the shower and on the floor. A new vanity and sink, mirror and lights, and all new faucets and fixtures make the room look much more updated. And the new coats of paint give it some life. It's not like we expect people to notice, but if we had not done the work, friends and family would definitely have noticed that the work needed to be done.
We've worked on other rooms, like the dining room (finally painted after a LOT of sheetrock work), the living room, and the main hallway. The guest rooms will get new paint in the springtime, but guestroom #1 will soon be converted into a nursery, complete with a new, fun paint job, stuffed-animals, and baby-related furniture.
The sliding glass door and the new deck have been the largest projects by far. Lots of work, lots of sweat, and more deck screws than I care to mention. All this has added to our enjoyment of the house, since we have a place to grill and enjoy the outdoors without fear of having the old deck crumble to the ground beneath us. See the new door and deck (completed summer 2002).
So, now that we've finished the deck, of course the next project is the kitchen, which will require (with current plans) that we remove part of the deck. Does this make any sense? Of course it does... when we re-do the kitchen (new cabinets, tile floor, countertop, and finally adding a dishwasher), our hope is to notch out the wondow-side of the kitchen with a big "bay window" from floor to ceiling, adding almost ten square feet to the room and three large windows. It'll take a lot of planning, and even more work, but the 1973 kitchen will be updated to a 2003 kitchen. Definitely worth the work!
Posted by MEK at January 12, 2003 11:27 PM