The Before and The After

When you watch the "Flip or Flop" and "Property Brothers" shows, or Chip and Jo describing "Fixer Upper" in Waco, Texas, remodeling seems like something anyone could do in two or three days (well, maybe in a few weeks.)  I have a distinct appreciation now for the meaning of seven weeks usually claimed by the property brothers.  That's how long it took us to remodel our kitchen/living room.  I can only imagine the time it would take for us to do a whole house, but then we've been here just over a year and it is coming together very nicely.  The satisfaction of doing a great deal of it ourselves have put down long roots in the commitment to this home.

Twelve months ago we painted the kitchen cabinet doors and interiors and called it good for a year.  The dire condition of the kitchen sink was a powerful spur to action.  It was leaking around its edges and threatening to literally begin the demo itself on its own.  And so we began...

First we papered and painted the living room walls with a special wallpaper specifically made to cover paneling.  This delightful product was true to its word and the walls suddenly looked like painted wallboard.  The newly painted ceiling sang to us, as light seemed to reflect around the room in abundance.  The dark cave had been defeated.

From there, we tore up the old carpeting and dragged it out the door to the pickup.  The carpet, with its evidence of prior furry residents of this home, made the trip to the dump.  That alone was worth the effort.  Now we were to begin the challenge of something we had never done before-the installation of Pergo laminate flooring.  To our delight, the assurances of the Home Depot flooring salesman were true, "My eleven year-old son could install it!"  The beauty of the new flooring was astounding as we worked our way across the room.

Now, one would think from watching the remodeling shows that demo is easy.  Nope!  It is hard work.  Especially if you wish to preserve any portion of the structure you are pulling down.  This is the stuff of aching muscles, bones and joints.  But, soon that too was behind us with two more pickup truck loads of debris journeying to the dump.  With electric wires hanging from the ceiling and walls and old pipes jutting down through the old vinyl floor that was embraced by wall studs stripped of their insulation, our home resembled a war zone.  But the worst was over.  The new building could begin.

Day by day the new kitchen revealed itself as we finished the Pergo flooring throughout and others took over the plumbing, electrical work and cabinet installation.  Finally, we were there.  Walking through these rooms now gives us the feeling we are in a completely different home.  It is remarkable.