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1.13.2008

Dreaming about the "AFTER"

I love a good home project. 

There is always one going on at my house (seems that every room is in need of some sort of update). Pre-kids my husband and I would get a room done in a weekend -- paint, build, arrange furniture and hang pictures. Now, with two little kids we don't move as fast (okay, we move very, very slow) but, we still move. My husband would much rather watch football, but he always joins me as my "labor."

For me a good home project is a thrill. I get a rush out of it -- out of the AFTER. 

You've seen the shows where they show the "before" picture and then they busily create, labor, move, create more and BAM -- the "AFTER" is achieved. Well, at least they make it look that easy on TV. Anyone who has ever done any home project knows that's not the case...but I digress.

It's the thrill of the AFTER that motivates me to spend night after night, free hour after free hour, painting, planning, hanging, nailing, agonizing over color, size, the right curtains, etc. My problem is that I can see the AFTER so clearly in my head that I can't stop moving until I get there. 

We're currently redoing out downstairs bathroom and we just put up new 6" base molding. I was recently on the floor of this tiny bathroom putting another coat of white gloss paint on the molding and I was excited about it. Yeah, that's right. I was excited. Painting molding on the floor of a tiny bathroom doesn't sound too exciting, huh? But, the AFTER got a hold of me. After the molding comes new lighting, new paint on the walls and a new shower curtain, bath mats and maybe towels. Along with the recently laid new floor and repositioning of the toilet (long story), we'll have an updated room. I'm giddy just typing this.

The AFTER usually means a lot of time, learning something new, researching how-tos, reading decorating magazines (pure heaven in and of itself), shopping, asking tons of questions and maybe making a mistake along the way, but that's all part of the AFTER process.

And I LOVE every bathroom-floor-minute of it! 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I had half the skill you have in mentally designing a room. I love how passionate you are about it!

Anonymous said...

Can you please bottle that brain chemical that produces your rush and give it to me? I need some of that!

Anonymous said...

I want to put pictures going up my stairwell. I have an open foyer area so the stairwell can be seen going all the way up from the main level. I can't figure out how to lay the frames out to make it look uniform. Do I make it go diagonally as the steps go up?

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what you are talking about! I get those "eureka" moments when I see just what I need to do to a room. I think it's takes me much longer to produce the end product though!