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The Nest Has Been Disturbed

We're having some remodeling done in our house, which in one sense, is a nest. We have a large family room that was added onto the house about 10 years ago, and almost immediately after we moved into it, Husband started seeing things we could have done differently. And now we're finally getting around to doing them.

We're getting rid of the Lowe's quality window shades and replacing them with plantation shutters. We're painting the walls, going from a blueish-green to a dark yellowbrowntanish color. We're shrinking the size of the fireplace in order to lower the mantel in order to mount a TV above it; and behind this television, we're having a stone wall constructed that will go all the way to the ceiling. We're throwing out the carpet that is now spotted with coffee stains and cat puke and replacing it with wood floors. And we're replacing the furniture, which is showing its age anyway.

The problem with the room has always been a lack of focus. You've got a great fireplace in the center, but the TV is off to the side. So where do you put the furniture so that you can have conversations with people yet settle in to watch a movie? It seemed disjointed, but by putting the TV above the fireplace, there is now a central focus, and furnishing a room like that is easier.

Now, the problem with all of this work is that I am home most of the day, so where is my nest? Where is my sanctuary? I have none. I have moved to the basement where we have a comfortable family room proxy and my office, but the noise above is deafening at times. It sounds like these worker guys are dropping anvils all day and stomping around in Frankenstein's shoes. They do something with the wiring, and dust showers down from an overhead light fixture right on my desk. They move the scaffolding across the floor, and I feel as though the ceiling is going to cave in on my head. And they scare the cat.

I know it's shameful to complain about work being done when we volunteered for this situation, but I miss my nest. I spend time at coffee shops now and then, but it's not quite the same as being comfortable at home. They don't let you kick your shoes off and stretch out on the furniture in coffee shops. Well, it will all be over in about a month, I think, assuming everything goes according to schedule. In the meantime, I'm on the verge of asking for my own hard hat.

Comments

dive said…
Robyn, it will be so much nicer when it's all done. Enjoy the noisy builders and their terrible racket if you can and it will seem so lovely and quiet when they've gone. The new colour sounds warm and comforting, just right for settling in to your comfy new furniture and watching old movies.
5:29 AM
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