We've remodeled. Now what?

Halloween decorations are down, and no offense to those who feel otherwise, it’s too early for Christmas to come out, but, oh I am excited to bust out the Christmas soon.  Besides, I am concentrating on getting some storage solutions around here before I get more out, so quell my excitement I must.

    

The remodeling brought more room, yes, for people, but not necessarily things.  I cleared out an antique china cabinet, for example, and those items are boxed up and in the guest bedroom.  For the last year and a half the things I have boxed up, or just needed to find a new place for, have ended up in the guest bedroom.  I’ve watched a lot of HGTV over the years and I know a guest bedroom, if you are lucky enough to have one, can turn in to a storage unit. Last week, I set my site on the guest bedroom, developing a vision of how I’d like it to be, making a list and tackling a little each day.

I don’t mind the big – okay, too big – black dresser but I do need to organize it.  The closet is a mess; my prom dress actually hangs in there.  My.Prom.Dress. Also, my son’s size 6 Levi jean jacket.  He’s 37.  I think I can move on from that, too.

I decorated this room a few years ago for my more mature and grown-up role as a woman with an empty nest, and it coexists as an office.  It is nice, it is utilitarian, and it remained so until the remodeling, sort of.   My 18-month old grandson slept in his portable crib in the guest room last weekend, pushed up against my desk and with full access to everything on the surface, which ended up on the floor or in his crib.  Nothing really of value, but nothing he needed either. That’s probably my impetus for getting this under control.  He didn’t really need my tweezers in bed with him. Yes, I do pluck my eyebrows at my desk, thank you.  The light is really good here by the window.

So, the guest bedroom is a fall/winter project.  Before moving the bed 180 degrees, I placed leg extensions on the bed frame, moved a storage box or two underneath the bed, including one filled with Halloween decorations, and replaced the bedskirt to accommodate the new height.  I’ve made headway on moving out some of the overflow to the attic, recycled catalogs and product pages, filed away manuals and warranty info for new appliances and tried to make some sense of the many receipts and invoices from the construction.  Do I need to keep all this paper? I try to do just as they advise in all those articles on organization and sort by keep, donate, toss. 

Tossing is not my nature, folks.  The struggle is real. 

cindiswindowlakeliving

I love a parade! (Oh my gosh I've got to stop making all these plans!)

The most dangerous spot for me this past weekend was putting on some blue surgical booties and making my way through the Parade of Homes in Michigan, accompanying hubs on some business related visits.  You know, we wanted to see the homes but it is still a business visit, and we have so much to do around the house that it was difficult to make the commitment to go. I really enjoy these visits though as I usually see some great floor plan or new gadget or appliance, some landscaping or paint color.  

Anyway, the first home was a remodel of a home along the St. Joseph river.  Oh my goodness, the lot, the view, the stunning kitchen.  It was gorgeous.  Very uncluttered and minimally decorated but beautifully so with some nice arts and crafts pieces sprinkled throughout.  What a treat to visit this great spot.  

Another home or two which were equally as nice, new construction,  and then onto another remodel.  Oh dear.  This one had some seriously great upgrades to a home in a well- established neighborhood.  The standout for me here was the entry as on the way up to the parade, hubs and I were discussing entry remodeling and I expressed some ideas that have been rolling around in my head.  Nothing major but to improve our entry, just talk.  Nothing major until I saw this home but now my wheels are really turning.

A couple more homes and our final stop at a very contemporary, almost Scandinavian style home near Lake Michigan. This was a stunner, and so unlike our home and what I thought to be “my taste”.  I could live there for sure.  They had to take down several ash trees on the property because of the dreaded ash bore but they were able to salvage a LOT of the wood and made the stair treads and wood flooring from massive trees that had to be cut down.   Gorgeous. 

A stop at my favorite brewery for a sandwich before heading home, and a bit of my hobby~ conversation with strangers.  Talked to two men who were in Michigan, one from San Francisco and one from Seattle, to attend a weeklong family retreat ~ about their 30^th  summer.  They had been sent to the store for supplies for dinner and were stopping in to have a beer on their way.  They were the sons-in-law of the hosts of the reunion, and in trouble, they knew it and didn’t care…like 16 year olds who had been given the keys to the car and sent out on an errand.  Until one stood up and said to his brother-in-law,  “I’m going to go to the store, but, I’ll be back and here are my sunglasses and cell phone so you can be sure.”  One of the funniest things I’ve seen a grown man do, but sort of charming, too. 

It was a nice ending to a busy weekend and now, do I hate my house? My yard? My trees? No, but boy oh boy do I have some ideas.  Now, where’s that graph paper?