Do you have a love hate relationship with your house too?


Do any of you feel this way? I absolutely love our house; I mean I LOVE IT…but there is a lot I do not like. I know that sounds funny to say, but it is true. I love our neighborhood, I love the size and layout of our house, I love the open floor plan, I love the bones of our house but on the other hand there is a long list of things that I don’t like and that annoy the heck out of me. I would say things I ‘hate’, but I have taught my kids that “Hate is a strong word and should be used very rarely”, so I will keep with ‘there are things I don’t like’. I don’t like the white and grey brick that our house is built with, I do not like the color of my kitchen cabinets, I do not like the flow in my laundry room, I do not like my master walk-in  closet, I do not like my daughter room (just too much stuff and too pink), I don’t like the storage in my ensuite bathroom, I do not like how I have a big kitchen but absolutely no space in the cabinets, I do not like the clutter everywhere! Wow my list of do not likes is far longer than the likes…but I really do love our house. 

Spring has come here really early, so I think I might be getting the spring itch. You know where you want to purge, de-clutter and clean everything. So what I thought I would do this month is try to deal with some of these annoyances. I have not planned this, so I am not sure exactly how I will address my issues or what will come of it, but I thought it would be entertaining (if not embarrassing) to share my dislikes and the horrible little secrets I have hidden behind every photo you have seen. I will do this one annoyance at a time, and show you how I corrected them on a serious budget. I will throw in some crafts along the way but there won’t be a big focus on that this month.

Unfortunately, I will not be correcting major things like the color of our brick (that will have to be minimized with landscaping and there will be a lot to share about this soon… big things happening here). I am sad to also say I will not be redoing my kitchen in the next few months. It is in the plan but it is pretty darn low on my priority list, since I love the layout of it just don’t like the color. See why I can’t justify it? I still would love to paint the cabinets myself but I can’t tell you how afraid I am on doing that.

I really hope to tackle this month:
My master bedroom closet. The closet will need a fair bit of work, but I will not be spending a lot on it. I do not have thousands, let alone hundreds, in the budget to redo a room that no one sees and that is semi-functional already. I am too embarrassed to show you how our walk-in closet currently looks so I will just say we have one upper shelf that has clothes piles at least three feet high. There is loads of potential.

Master ensuite. I shared with you our mini-reno that we did with our master bathroom last year. The framing of the mirror, changing the sinks, counter and faucets made a huge difference but there were things that I did not show you. Joys of bloggers…we hide things. We have some odd shelves behind our door that are filled with crap, the cabinets are overflowing with stuff, we have no towel racks in the entire bathroom! Crazy I know. When we moved in there was 3 towel racks and I thought that was too many. But instead of putting just one back up, I put none. We also have horrible metal mini-blinds in there. I never knew what window treatments to put in there and those are what the house came with so they have stayed. I have tried curtains, faux romans..I still don’t have the answer.
When we bought the house this is what it looked like. Do you see the odd shelves behind the door? You can see one of the many towel racks too.
Really basic builder grade shelves.
See how it they become a disaster? Since I removed all the towel bars, so I now hang my towels with a hook over the door.
The laundry room.  I would love to make our laundry room a peaceful room that is beautiful decorated with a chandelier and fancy jars, but I am far too practical for that. I will be looking for functionality as opposed to glamor, as it is now and will always be a place to do laundry. If I can make my least favorite chore, laundry, slightly easier, then I will do anything. I have a feeling a chandelier and pretty glass jars will not make this horrible chore any easier.
 Here is how it looked when we bought the house. It has never been this clean since!
Dining room buffet.  I have a buffet in my dining room that has a sort of grass cloth front. It has got stained and discolored over time and I would love to find a way to clean it up, whether by recovering or staining. I also hate how I have decorated on the top of it and the wall above it. It seems to be a dumping ground for keys, receipts, school papers, etc.
Kitchen Pantry. We have a deep pantry that is like a black hole. You put stuff in there only to find it after it has expired. I need to find a way to organize it, track what is in there and keep it clean. This is a horrible shot and I am mortified to share this...but this is my pantry
Kitchen desk. I always thought I wanted a desk in my kitchen. I had this grand notion that the kids would sit there and do their homework while I work away in the kitchen. How 1960’s of me. Well, the desk and kitchen are in a direct view of our large screen TV. So if it is on, there is absolutely no work done. As well, the kids prefer to do homework on the kitchen table. So this desk has quickly become a space to drop everything in our house that does not have a home. I don’t think I have cleaned the drawer in this area since we moved in. It is so full, I can barely open it.
That is a mighty long list; I might or might not get to all of it.  I am already working on my issues with our master walk in closet, so I will have something to share really soon. I can't tell you how excited I am about one of the changes..it will light up your life :)

So do any of you have a love/hate relationship with your home? How do you deal with your dislikes or do you just live with them?

Hope to be back with more soon,
Stephanie

Comments

  1. We absolutely have a love hate relationship with our house too. Love the location and a lot of things about it but so, so many things drive us crazy. Some of it is permanent (like the lay out of our kitchen) and some of it takes cash (like bedroom and bathroom flooring) and some of it takes effort (landscaping!) but overall we are so blessed and happy to have a home. It may not be a show stopper with walk in closets and granite countertops but it's all ours (or at least in 13 years when the mortgage is done it will be!LOL)

    Good luck with your list - can't wait to see the results. Now I'm inspired to tackle my list too.

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  2. I feel the same way about my house. I've been organizing my likes, dislikes, and inspiration ideas on my blog so I have one big list. I'm hoping that (since my mother reads my blog) I may actually start getting some things done around the house!

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  3. You are WAY ahead of me... I too have many things I do not like about my house, and just the thought of listing all those things makes my head hurt! Good luck, and please share - maybe you will inspire me to make some headway!

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  4. I.Hear.You! Love the "big picture" of our house, but have a list a mile long of little things that drive me batty. Well, I guess it's blog fodder, right? :)

    Looking forward (as always) to seeing what you come up with!

    Happy Friday
    Emily

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  5. Same here! When I was looking to buy a home, the 2 main things I wanted were: 1) walk-in master closet and 2) laundry room inside the house. I have neither. lol My master closet is big, but not a walk-in and my laundry is in the garage. I am still trying to figure out how to make the laundry area "pretty" out in the stinkin' garage. My master bathroom also doesn't have a shower (what the?), so it will be getting a complete remodel. My house is also small. I am single with no kids, so it's the perfect size for me, but there's not much room to grow. And the popcorn ceilings! Ugh! All in all, I love my house. Some of the things I don't like, I can change - they'll just be big projects. And, well, I'm just happy to be able to afford my own home, so I try not to complain too much. :)

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    Replies
    1. paint everything white or a really light pastel color in the garage. hang white holiday lights and put everything in rustic looking jars. garage chic, it will look totally intentional.

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  6. Yep, I'm with you. I have a plan to organize my pantry better, and a list of dollar store baskets waiting, but I lack the get-up-and-go to make it happen at the moment. Our bathroom is the original 1940s bathroom complete with blue tub, toilet, and sink), so the most we'll get done is to repaint the walls before we sell.

    And the previous owners, who lived here for 40 years, "modernized" the house by doing half of it with stuccoe'd walls and you can't do a thing with them. :)

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    Replies
    1. I had the blue sink/tub/toilet in a previous house :) Try Home Depot- Martha Stewart paint. She has paint chips with coordinated ceiling and trim on the back of the chip. Find the chip in your blue then paint the walls and ceiling the coordinating colors. Just switch the ceiling or trim to the wall color. Might tone down the blue. Maybe try "upscale beach" look not too cutesy though. Just a thought :)

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    2. You can paint your tub and sink with a special paint (just ask at Home Depot). You can replace your toilet for about $100 and really get a sink for little of nothing (check Craigslist). You will be amazed. It just looks like a huge job, but not bad at all. You can even paint the tile on the walls if that happens to be colored also (or cap over with bead board). I wish I had taken before and after pics...I never do because I never dream it can make as big of a difference when we are finally finished....but always amazed. Don't just live with it. Save up, fix it and you will get more for your house when you do sell...not to mention love it while you are there.

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  7. Definitely have a love/dislike relationship with my house. It's an older home (builit in 1969) and had been through foreclosure not once but twice. Additionally, the person that had it before us and "rennovated" it did a very poor job. It has some neat characteristics and some major annoyances. We've put some money into it when we moved it because of must haves - A/C/Heating, a kitchen, paint, new siding and windows - because it was in disrepair. Now we're paying off debt and trying to figure out what we can do in bits and pieces, and the projects we will have to save for. Definitely first on the list is getting organized and rid of the clutter. Big project that are a few years out is redo of the master bathroom/bedroom. But - as realtors like to say, location, location, location - it's in a great area, so I am learning to deal/live with the dislikes until I can change them. Good luck with your updates. I look forward to reading and seeing them.

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  8. I have a house with beautiful bones but of course there are things I don't like. I'm glad you shared this post because I was just feeling like an ungrateful homeowner today and you made me feel better!

    I've got lots of cabinetry in my kitchen but it was so deep I lost stuff just like your pantry. Low sided drawers were the answer. I think it would work great in your pantry too. They sell some premade at Lowe's but it was definitely worth the money I paid for a carpenter to custom build two in one of my deep cabinets. Eventually I'll pay to have the other cabinets done too. Even drawers for two of your shelves would help. Sorry so long! It is such a waste to lose food! When you find something that works you just have to share. Past that I can't wait to see what you come up with!

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  9. I think you should do the storage baskets or the open canvas bins for open shelving to hide clutter. Roll your towels and place on the shelves. Add decorative items on the shelving. Make it a place of beauty with function. Just a few examples below. http://pinterest.com/pin/219409813066765836/
    http://www.housetohome.co.uk/room-idea/picture/bathroom-decorating-10-easy-updates/5
    http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/07/open-wide/

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  10. Here are some towel hanging ideas too. I have this problem and am going to try these. The hooks are just not working.
    http://www.marthastewart.com/275378/25-bathroom-organizers/@center/276989/organizing
    (Above link actually has many bathroom storage ideas)
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/diy-towel-hooks/

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  11. We like our condo, sure there are things about it we don't enjoy after 5 years of living there, and with the decline in the market, its just not a possibility to move. So for now we are making do. I love your blog! I am going to definitely put some of your ideas to use!

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  12. Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I've fixed what I can and live with the rest. Repainting cabinets isn't difficult just labor intensive but then so is stripping them and restaining (done both - would rather paint). And my pantry looks just like yours - I'd love to organize it BUT...

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