Love It or Leave It

Last weekend found me out looking at more model homes. These were in an exclusive enclave, beyond closed gates and stunning views of the countryside, as well as distant views of downtown.

No model floor plan featured exactly everything I would want, but there were one or two that were pretty darn close. With the upgrades and finishes that I would want, I would just have to stretch 35% in price. And I would have to like our new neighbors quite a bit because I would be further away from anyone and everything else.

I came home happily to my current home, glad for how warm and welcoming it is. When I walked in, the house actually felt glad to see me. Model home decorating can be so cheerful yet still lack soul. After all, these houses are still waiting for someone to live in them, someone to love them, someone to make some little change that wouldn't look good in a magazine spread.

Back in my own home, I began to look at floor plan (again). What were the key spaces we used? Which ones don't we use and why?

I spent the rest of the weekend looking at furniture, paint swatches, cabinets and countertops. It was like a mini-design marathon done at a sprint pace. My husband and I looked at everything that was standing in the way of enjoying the home we already have. Neither of us really has the appetite to move. We'd still have to do most of the work we have to do if we stay, plus we'd have to repeat the whole process moving to a new home, even one where someone has finished out the spaces for us in advance of our move-in. Oh, no, no. That would never work.

The biggest problem in all of this, of course, would be that we never got to finish and enjoy this house. We'd be throwing in the towel much too soon. Time for us to gather steam and determination. We can finish this renovation. We can finish this renovation. Our new mantra.

I think about the renovations I read about in magazines, where a couple has spent 5 or 7 years getting their house to a magazine-ready status. Oh, sure, there are folks who do it all in a year or less, but these lucky people tend to have an army of designers and contractors managing the process for them and an alternate place to live while their renovation is under way.

Surely, in another couple of years we can be done, right? By then, each space will be humming with usefulness and beauty. We hope.