Alas it is the small finishing jobs that really take the time and cause the most frustration. I have, in all honesty, painted the bathroom cupboards 5 times now, I have masking taped, touched up, re-masked, re touched up the edges until I can no longer see straight. HOW do you paint a window without getting paint on the handles? How do you beeswax right to the edges without marking the skirting? How do you stop the paint brushes from going manky, even after you have soaked them. These are life's big questions to which I will never know the answer!
I had been warned (many times) of the stress of a project like this, the strain on ones relationship, tempers would fray, arguments inevitable. But as the early 90's icon Sheryl Crow once said "No one said it would be easy, but no one said it would be this hard". A 6am wake up (body clock haywire) complete with hangover, things weren't off to a great start, 8am skip arrival, with nowhere to park didn't help, skip loading pre 9am... steadily worsening...no milk for coffee - oooops, the final straw? A trip to Ikea, yup that should do it!
All we needed was curtains and a loo brush, how bad could it be....? Dear dear lord, 2 hours later with ear drums perforated from the sound of screaming children, we emerged, battle torn and barely able to look at each other, let alone speak. Still, we have curtains!
On my own personal going up and going down barometer.
Going Up:
Arrival of belongings post van Gate (sorry again Phil, see leather chair and lamp)
Small corner of the bedroom which I have styled (makes me very happy- see photo)
Curtains in bedroom (see photo)
Sofa's and a TV set up in the living room (Jeremy Kyle is accompanying me as I write)
Removal of skanky dust sheet that was red carpet in corridor, bare floor boards vast improvement
Bathroom very very pretty.
Going Down:
Quantity of mouse poo I found and swept up in under stairs cupboard. (No amount of naming the mice and pretending they pets will appease me with that scale of rodent guests)
Bath now leaking, dodgy washer or some such.
Shower head not working, lack of pressure.Still no actual lights fitted - loose wires and bare bulbs - industrial chic, yah?
Majority of house still squat like dust bowl.
Next stage, kitchen planning (and lots lots more snagging, obviously!)
Don't they say that after a woman gives birth she's biologically trained to forget the pain and suffering a year later so she has the strength to do it all over again?? I suspect this must be a lot like that... A year after you're finished you'll forget how hard it was!! Or, maybe, since you're you...you'll never forget and think of it often... In any case, hang in there! Wish I could be there to lend a hand. It looks so so so great! xoxo
ReplyDeleteare those curtains up wonky or.......?? ;o)
ReplyDeletewould love to come give you a hand over easter weekend if you're there??
well done - keep going - now can we have The Boy's version of the trip to Ikea, think that would be rather amusing!!!
Ikea is the devil's work. Though I once managed to get in and out in under 15 mins. Re: the paint thing... I think you can't not get it on the handles, panes, etc etc... Our builders just used to scrape it off with a scraper or use white spirit or whatever. I think. Over and out.
ReplyDeleteOh and I remember the pain all too well. I think accepting that nothing is ever quite 'finished' as you'd like it ultimately is the way forward. As long as you sort out the big stuff the rest will come. Or not and you'll be sat in a living room with no lampshade one -year on thinking 'we really must get round to buying a lampshade for in here'... xx
Ha, I fear the latter emsky!
ReplyDeleteYes scraper it is.
Neal I am busy Saturday out and about but might be around Sunday. can I come back to you? xx