Are we there yet?

Not unlike many inexperienced but imaginative people among us, my romance has come to an untimely end with much hard work, excitement, exhaustion, and finally, disappointment. My romance toward renovation, that is.

I was hoping for something that would stand out in a crowd, but resulted in something quite different. Here's what I meant:

Before the renovation I had high spirit and energy. I wanted something that's either a farmhouse despite the fact that my Yorkie was the only animal I owned, or a Cape Cod although I really have little idea what that looked like. My vision was roughly based on this:

 

or this:

The general idea was white cabinets and dark floor. I even picked out a beautiful granite countertop with swirl and movements that would make you go "Ahhh" when you walk into the room:

I soon found out those white cabinets I loved so much were out of my price range, unless I painted them myself. So was the granite. In the good name of conserving resources, this is what I ended up with: (Before)

and

and this is now:

and this:

The baseboards and trims are yet to be completed. Due to Easter Sunday the free helpers all of a sudden decided to be religious and refuse to work. The audacity of some people.

So instead of "Ahhh" now the granite just greets you with a "Blah," but I can live with that. From the five slaps of granite they cut to fit this kitchen, I probably saved a thousand dollars by downgrading the granite. I even sealed it myself.

Next project is to address the moisture problem that caused us much headache while installing Pergo. The side yard has accumulated years of dead leaves. While sweeping them up I pulled a number of interesting items from beneath, the most unusual one being a lawn chair.

 

I swept one-third of it and the waste bin was full. Two more weeks the leaves should be all gone.

Cape Cod-dians will probably be caught dead to have this remodeled style, which is not a style at all. But when you have to make compromises, you have to let go of style--a concept I've rediscovered accutely. As a reward to myself, maybe I will visit Cape Cod after all is done. I hope that will heal me from this hopeless renovation romance, which will be my first and last one.