Redeem 5.2 Post #3

k…say it with me…”I told you so”…or wait…”I told myself so…”

So this past week we made the list of unfinished projects. I made a hand drawn diagram of the upstairs, listing what needed to be done, as well as a diagram of downstairs and the deck and what need to be done there. We also took a quick inventory of the wood piles…the one in the basement and the one upstairs (hidden under the built in desk/cabinets) to see what supplies we had on hand.

Confession – the real wood pile is outside near the shed. And even though the recent rain and higher temperatures have melted the snow, creating a nice accessible band around the pile, I simply could not bring myself to wander out there and pull the tarp off. I’m not sure why I didn’t want to do it, but I moved all of the projects that would require wood from that pile (stuff that I know is there) to the bottom of the list. Yes, lame, and I don’t know why other than simple procrastination. I know, Chapin Marsh, I can hear you in my head “Do the hard things first!”…I didn’t OK? Leave me alone…and know I am arguing with someone from my past that is not really here… ANYWAY…about what we did get done…

Kelsey and I started knocking out some of the little stuff:

• Trim over the upstairs windows/sliding doors
• Baseboards around the same windows/sliding doors
• Two Transitions – top of the stairs and office into closet/bathroom
• Trim on two side of the vent hood (to match coffered ceilings)
• Baseboards between stair landing and mudroom

Ok…a somewhat counter-intuitive design concept here. Visually, our minds like boundaries. Want to make the view out of a window “feel” even bigger? Frame it with trim. The trim will serve as a mental border for the interior walls and the external view, and it will “focus” the mind, carrying the view farther out (even if the trim slightly impedes the view). Add a transition to a floor section – this “defines” the area to the mind and actually makes it seem larger. Yes, coloring inside the lines can be good!

Why did we wait so long to complete these projects? The stairs, with a transition at the top and baseboards at the bottom, look like they’re brand new – and all for a few bucks of 1” x 6” boards, painted white and a 36” transition piece (laminate). What…maybe $7 or $8 bucks worth? But really, the best thing is, they are done…”I told myself so…” Time redeemed and so satisfying!

Oh! I almost forgot…please tell me I am not alone with almost losing my mind whenever the project includes a ceiling fan? 15 minute set up…yeah right! When we put the fan up in the boys room it was during the last stages of gutting our fixer upper. We were in “just get it done mode”. When I cut the hole in the ceiling, I cut it too big. So for 6 years there has been a small, but noticeable gap in the ceiling. Who looks up there anyway…right? We bought a cover ring what…4 years ago? And it has sat in the basement since. At least we had it on hand for last week! So we took the fan down…killing shoulders and necks in the process…go ahead…you can tell me…all of you who know what I am talking about just tilted your head to the right in memory of standing a on a stool, cheek practically pressed against the ceiling, while trying to line up those stupid screw holes with one hand and trying to hold the main fan housing in place with the other…feel your shoulder muscles burning? Then what predictably happens; one errant twist of the screw driver and the screw slips and drops into the fan housing just beyond finger reach. So you have to take it all back down, disconnecting the ground wire for the 5^th time so you can flip the housing and shake it until the screw falls out. Am I the only one? At one point, Kelsey mentioned leaving it until we got back from an errand we had to run. I responded that is likely the same scenario that occurred 6 years ago and, if we leave the hole, it may still be there 6 years from now. We finished the job then and there.

So where was I? (After involuntarily stretching my neck) Ah yes, we also made a list of supplies that we will have to head south to pick up at a big box store – stuff we cannot improvise:

• New porcelain sink basin (remember how it got cracked?)
• Paint for touch ups
• Liquid nails
• Bathtub trim (plastic)

The time was redeemed, and did go beyond the 30 minutes, but it was worth it.

Next time I will share one of the topics that will take time and thought to accomplish.