ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
What's next for Room for Improvement?
January 21, 2009
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Denise Holtby
YOURHOME.CA
Anyone who reads, surfs or watches television knows that hard times are here. Even if no one in your household has lost a job and your financial ducks are in a row, you probably have a friend or relative who is not faring so well.
In times like these, our natural inclination is to hold off spending, especially on items that are not essential. When it comes to our homes, we know it's important to keep up with repairs, but for many decorating starts to move slowly into the non-essential column.
That's the position my husband Dean and I find ourselves in right now. Over the last few weeks, Dean has fixed the fan motor on the furnace, installed some doorstops, patched a wall, that sort of thing, but we're finding it difficult to make a decision on our next project.
We've certainly debated the subject and, in keeping with the times, we've set our budget at $1,000 again. Whatever we decide to do, it's got to be creative, inexpensive and incorporate some "green" elements.
To that end, here's a brief list of our options, in no particular order. Maybe you can help us decide.
The home office
Right now, I'm sitting at an absolutely huge oak teacher's desk of about 1940s vintage. The desk's massive surface is covered from one end to the other with stuff. Allow me to elaborate: a plastic bin of family photos, about 30 National Geographic magazines, a makeup bag, Kleenex box, camera, coffee cup, unsent Christmas cards, bills, printer/scanner and the Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2009. The list goes on.
Across the room from the desk is an old bedroom dresser that serves no purpose except to collect more clutter. On the floor surrounding it are plastic bins filled with files. To continue the uninspiring theme, the room is painted completely white and the trim is a 1970s orange-gold oak. Ugh.
We need this room updated so that it's comfortable for two people to work. The files need to be better organized. The massive desk needs to go. Above all, we need some colour that inspires and something more than a calendar on the wall.
The back stairway
While we have removed the dated wallpaper from the front hall and living room of our house, it lives on in the basement stairway. My guess is that it's about 1960s vintage.
The staircase itself is covered in tired blue-grey carpeting, while the carpet that covers the landing at the back door is a shade of purple. (The combination of the two is about as attractive as it sounds.)
To top it off, there's a huge 30 by 30 centimetre hole in one wall. Dean cut it open when he installed a pressure-balance mechanism on the bathroom plumbing. We no longer risk scalding when we shower, but, two years later, the hole remains.
Dean has amused himself by covering it with an old, ugly picture he found squirreled away in the basement. I don't share his amusement.
When we have guests in the backyard, that stairway is the main thoroughfare to and from the house, so the hole and the old picture covering it are there for all to see.
This job would be labour-intensive, especially since it involves working while standing on stairs most of the time. But in terms of cost, since there's no furniture involved, it's probably the least expensive of our options.
Emily's bedroom
This one is my sentimental favourite. Our daughter Emily is halfway through her first cruise-ship assignment and will be heading home in March.
I'd love to welcome her, even if it's just for a few weeks, with a bedroom that's been reorganized, repainted and refurnished.
As anyone who has children in their early twenties knows, much as our offspring would like to, they rarely move out completely at this age. Emily and her twin brother Scott still use our house as their home base and our basement as their storage unit.
Since much of Emily's stuff is stored in boxes right now, we have an opportunity to freshen up her room in a way that says, "Welcome home, we missed you."
Sometime this week, Dean and I will need to sit down over coffee and make a decision about which project to tackle next. So right now, we're open to any advice on priorities and/or suggestions regarding green or other new products. Feel free to weigh in! (Cast your vote in the front-page poll.)
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