Written Date = Posting Date - Nine Days

As I’ve mentioned, our renters are moving. Tomorrow, in fact.

The opportunity to renovate 2522 is a double-edged sword. The positives most definitely outweigh the negatives – and in fact, there are no real negatives, only logistical and emotional challenges.

Well, today was full of gifts for the process :)

In order to better utilize our space, we will switch over to a stackable front-loading washer and dryer. Our research of these units led us to believe that the only way to accommodate them was by altering an existing closet and built-in shelves. Not only was the modification going to eliminate a healthy portion of our storage and (painfully) destroy a sweet historic element, but the process was extensive – requiring the removal of a wall, rerouting of plumbing, masonry adjustment for the addition of a vent… you get the idea.

This morning, on our way to look at replacement closeting options, Chad spied a new appliance center. There, segregated from their tribe like the leper – from the team, like the fat kid – was an efficiency-sized set. I never even knew they existed!*

*Now this poses an issue for greater than any structural project. My research only included trips to Home Depot and Lowes. Since I had never seen or heard them discussed there, I assumed they didn’t exist. This is both a sad reflection of my surrender to super-sized America, and my lack of exposure to such items and effort put forth to maintain my knowledge about them.

Yes, we’ll have to mindfully maintain smaller load sizes – but just barely; and no, we won’t save a bunch of money on the purchase because they’re smaller. But YES, we’re happy to make the adjustment – and NO, we won’t incur all the aforementioned construction pains (including loss of time and money). I am still somewhat in a blissed state of disbelief.

Then, we went to look at countertops for the Kitchen. When I’ve done this before, for other homes (more pictures to come, I promise), my taste has always demanded about four times the financial investment I could imagine paying – and eight times my ability.

This time, the big-box stores had absolutely nothing I liked – but I remembered a local counter company off Historic Route 66 (which was actually my first credit-card processing client). Our counter is small, so I hoped for the possibility of remnants – but this was really because I believed that the boutique nature of the retailer would leave me with nothing but the same experience I’d had before.

Laminate. I can’t believe it. The color, style (and price, of course) which I TRUTHFULLY like best at F.A. Highley was laminate. As of this writing, the sample is tucked in the back pocket of my jeans, and I’ll be looking for complimenting paint colors later this week.

I think I’ll go somewhere OTHER THAN Lowes and Home Depot ;)