The wooden floors on the ground level will get their final coat of paint tomorrow, before being given a few weeks to dry until they are hard enough to put furniture on. The top floor done in the winter, which had paint that was likely badly stored, took over two months to dry, but this is a new batch of paint (we got free from the manufacturer) and it is almost 30 degrees at the moment, so we are hoping for it to be pretty quick.
It is strange that I am not doing it myself and it kind of feels like it isn't mine anymore in some way, which is silly, but I have been left out of all upcoming reno work for the next month at least, due to the stroke. Even after that, I will be on light duties only.
I am getting a bit frustrated with not being able to do anything substantial, but it is a process and I have to play along, otherwise I put myself and therefore family in jeopardy also. Rehab is only just beginning, so I have to remain patient - easier said, than done.
As you can see, the kitchen still looks pretty dodgy, but I think that it'll be okay once there is more stuff in there until we are able to actually do the kitchen. It is one of (if not the) most expensive room to do in a house generally, so it might be a while til we are ready to move onto it, as we also want to get it right, as it will likely remain for 20+ years.
We lifted up the laminate floors to expose the wood and then painted it over. A lot of people like raw wood floors, but it isn't very practical and we didn't want to go with the lacquer that goes yellow in the sun after a year or two. Instead, we have painted them white, which gives it a nice fresh feel, but also has the old-school flavor of a cottage in some way. It should be nice once we get to live in the whole house, as we have enjoyed the top floor a lot so far.
This floor will probably have no screen in it, since we will have a TV upstairs, so this will be for hanging out and enjoying the more basic things in life - the non-digital kind, that is, We have added built-in bookcases in the lounge where the fireplace is, and the dining room will be simple and hopefully the kind of place we enjoy to sit around and chat with friends over a half-decent glass of wine.
There is far more space than we need here to live, but we made the move for lifestyle and for ownership of our own space, so it is important that we are able to create it into something that works for us at a practical and an emotional level. We want a home, not a house.
I think that one of the things that makes a house a home are the quirks in it, the kinds of things that only the "locals" know. Most of the new houses are built much like cookie-cutter homes, unless looking at the very high end. Walk into one and you have walked into 90% of all of them, as they are copy and paste designs, even across different companies. A lot of people like this because it makes selection simple and convenient, but it isn't very interesting.
Since we have the option, we can choose a little quirkiness and add in our own designs that one day, someone will come in and tear down saying, "What were they thinking!"
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
