Parkside Twin: 9 Years and Counting
Happy almost May everyone! Between the pandemic and parenting, renovation things here have been paused or put in slow-mo for the past couple of years. But we’re still here and still kicking! We’ve deliberately put on hold anything that would take more than a day or two, as well as the things we felt couldn’t be delayed any further. (I’ll tell you all about our dishwasher experience from H-E-double hockey sticks later.)
Here’s a quick rundown of our project list from the last two years
We bought a new light for our dining room from Wayfair. Our previous fixture – which I swore I had a picture of but after 30 minutes of scrolling through photos, I came up empty – never quite hung flush against the ceiling. Out with the wonky, in with the new!
Also, we had the trim around the dining room windows professionally redone. One downside of having such an old home is the risk of lead paint. The lead test from when we initially purchased the house was negative, but there were so many layers of paint that there was always the slight possibility there could be lead paint still lurking underneath. We decided against taking the risk ourselves and had a contractor handle removal and replacement.
A fun thing we discovered when the trim came off – weights in the walls. Old houses like ours usually had double-hung windows with a weight and chain system. I guess it boils down to a pulley-type system used to help raise and lower the heavy window sash. Every once in a while this weird, old place teaches me interesting things about history.
I even painted the dining room with my new favorite color from Farrow & Ball. Eventually, we’ll get around to finishing the board and batten that we’ve been slowly putting up. I mean, seriously, snails might work faster than we do right now.
Now that we have a toddler who is mostly independent and napping is semi-optional, we can pick up where we left off and get back into the swing of remodeling. Goals for the next couple of weeks include 1. finishing the dining room and 2. tackling the yard. (Aside from the occasional mowing, our poor yard has sat almost untouched since I got pregnant in 2019 so I may be slightly terrified about the work ahead.)
Hubby and I have nine years of home ownership under our belts. Even with its oh-so-many ups and downs, I feel like we’re in a good place. Mostly. There’s still much work needed to make it ready for that one day in the future when we decide to sell. And still a few things on my “I wish” list. I don’t doubt that there will still be many pull-out-my-hair moments, but I’m pressing forward, hopeful.