HOME FRONT RENOS – part one
Several years ago we bought our dream place. Top floor, amazing view. We could just lock the door and travel. The perfect retirement plan. It was a condo in a 1980’s building so there were upgrades needed and wanted. First came replacing all the windows and patio doors. You know that stuff that requires a fairly large financial outlay. The stuff that no one notices has been changed but we started there. In the end we have noticed a reduction of our heating costs each year so I can say now it was well worth it but at the time I would have voted for starting with making our home pretty instead.
Next came little renos room by room. Some rooms more extensive than others. Flooring replaced. Lots of painting. Upgrading the master bath. A major kitchen redo. You know, the pretty stuff. That was ‘before R.E.D.’. Then things changed almost overnight. We found the boat, fell in love. We saw our future unfolding in a new direction. Renos came to a screeching halt. We became obsessed with anything sailing. We took courses during off season. Became involved in the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron locally.
Now in full retirement mode our thoughts are changing yet again. We crave more of that simple life that being on the boat has given us. We are still in love and obsessed with R.E.D. but in the off season our lives are jam packed with obligations. How did retirement become so full?..and not always in a good way. This year we are stepping back a bit to focus on finishing some of those things that have been put aside for far too long. Several years ago we installed a thermo pump which meant cutting into walls. We never did anything about fixing the resulting holes in our little den because there were so many more attractive things to do. Some would call it procrastination. Some, denial. We could just close the door and pretend that mess didn’t exist.
So this is where the denial ends. Sorry if it’s not directly boat related but some of you will be able to understand the challenges of having to split yourselves between time constraints, finances and passions. It’s still our story, just a different season. It’s all a part of what makes us those crazy boat people And blogging about it helps me with the frustrations of putting up with all that plaster dust and mess.
To begin, bulk heads were built to hide the lines, wires, tubes from the air conditioner. It gave us a chance to refresh the walls with a coat or two of paint.
Bulk Head
The flooring in the den wasn’t very attractive so we took advantage of some great sales to replace that too. One of my many pet peeves is wires. Visible wires. Wires for wall plugs. Media wires hanging everywhere. So Francois got creative and in replacing the baseboards added space for hiding those dastardly messy wires.
Flooring & Base Board
Before R.E.D. came along we were going to make our little den into a super media room with some cool lighting. That cool light fixture stayed in it’s original box on a shelf for the past eight years. Sad but true. Embarrassingly sad.
Lighting
Time to hang some art and bring the furniture back. This is the one room where family pictures are hung. In two of the composite frames I have small mirrors so that if anyone accuses us of not displaying their picture they just have to look in the mirror and there they are.
South
Next was reorienting the furniture placement. The TV used to be in the east corner of the room and the couch on the opposite wall. In the beginning it all seemed logical but we realized we were missing out on the sunsets.
East
West
Now we can enjoy the occasional beautiful sunset at the end of a long day. All pretty again and for now at least, dust free.
The View
