Dream a little dream

This week I have felt a bit down and we were struck by the cold/flu bug.  It's also been a busy week, with M. taking TCAP all this week, my husband getting sick, and me with a to do list a mile long.  I found it easier to dream about changes I can control.  So, I have a plan for remodeling or fixing up my house, some changes will be big and some will be little DIY projects.  Here's a top ten list of the things I wish to change around the house:

10) Clutter, clutter, and more clutter.  Especially the area where we throw our coats, hats, and shoes.  This picture shows the makeshift coat rack my husband put up in our kitchen next to the backdoor.

There was a need for coat storage and my husband put this up for me.  The bench is an antique we call the monk's bench, it can be transformed into a table that my great grandparents used on their farm in Connecticut.  The pillow is from Pier One and I think we bought it in 1989!

9) My basement is the worst.  When we moved in it was completely orange with orange trim.  YUCK!  We changed the colors but the horrible lighting remains.  I don't know yet what can be done, but something must be done!

This is the only picture I could find of the orange basement.  We repainted it as soon as possible.

The horrible lighting and the clutter detract from our local artists' collection.

8) The entire pop top.  In Denver, the pop top is a common method of expanding your above ground living space and increasing the value of your home.  There are so many in our neighborhood, it is becoming hard to find a home in its original bungalow condition.  Our house was popped in the late 80's or early 90's and it was done in a pseudo Tudor style.  I am not a fan of the Tudor style, but if done correctly, it can look nice.  Unfortunately that is not the case with our pop top.  I mean, come on, look closely and you can see the screws!  Hideous!

Seriously?! You can see the screws!

7) The color of our house.  I don't mind painted brick and I even like white, but... we live next to a popular park that used the same color paint on all of the park buildings.  It was an ongoing joke that we told people the previous owners must have stolen paint from the park service to paint our house.  Well, it's been a few years since the park updated their look and repainted all of their buildings in "traditional and period" colors.  So, now even the park buildings look better than our house.

6) The beams on the ceiling in our living room. When we first bought the house, there we two closets in our living room.  The closets were not huge, but they did cut into the living space.  I begged my husband to take them down and he did, but that left some holes in the ceiling and we decided to put up the beams to cover them.  I do love the beam look, but I think my husband would agree with me when I say that the beams should be re-done.

These prints are antiques from my father's collection.  I love the green walls.

5) The master bathroom is a large and spacious area with a shower, jet tub, toilet room, two vanities with storage.  Sounds nice, right?  But no, the tile is the inverse of the kitchen backsplash, the jetted tub is gray and at least 20 years old, and the biggest problem is that all bedrooms on the 2nd floor have to share this bathroom.  It is getting harder to share a bathroom now that M. is becoming a teenager!  I've tried to spruce up the room slightly by changing the mirror and attempting to paint (don't look to closely I didn't use a ruler and it shows).  The best part of this room is that the tub is perfect for my plants and there is a space for my husband's metal sculpture.

4) The front door is the first impression on our guests.  Neither of us likes it, as it's clearly not original to the house, and it has an oval window which makes me think that everyone can see into my house.  I'm sure no one really looks in, but at night, with the lights on, I have worried about being exposed.  Also the stairs are open to the front door, so I run up and down these stairs quickly to avoid being seen in my pajamas.

And this is where the mail clutter is stashed.

On the left is our adorable dog, Barkley!

3) The library ceiling is a dropped tile ceiling (we think).  Whatever it is, it worried me that there was water damage or something scary hidden underneath.  I don't like the look and we want to change it to something more traditional, like a tin ceiling.

We have book clutter too!

2) The master bedroom is cozy, but we have so little closet space, that we had to put additional bureaus and wardrobes in to house all of our clothes.  The additional furniture makes the room feel cramped and although I don't have a picture of the closet, I think you can easily see how cramped it's become in our actual sleeping space as result.

Yup this room needs a makeover!

1) Last but not least, the kitchen is the absolute WORST!  I am too embarrassed to show all of it, but I will catalog the issues and show a few pictures.  I love to cook and have many appliances like my slow cooker, my rice cooker, my blender, and my toaster oven which have no place to live other than the counter top.  My ideal kitchen would keep all of these appliances hidden until I need to use them.  The oven is an old gas one, which works but is not pretty and has some pilot light issues.  The over the stove microwave is older than the hills (I know this is a not really possible) but it feels like it is unusable due to it's age and unreliable functionality.  The sink is my favorite place to stand and look at the view of the lake, but the backsplash is awful and the dishwasher barely works.  Also there is a strange smell that comes from the dishwasher or under the sink, I can't even describe the horror!  The fridge is newer and works well but the water/ice dispenser get stuck and then spews water on the hardwood floors.  The floors need to be refinished and storage needs to be added.  At the moment I have my grandparents Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen to store all of my baking supplies and spices.  There is a small pantry and my husband built a shelf above the fridge to give me more space for cereal and my other kitchen stuff.  As you can see from the few pictures, there is a lot of work to be done!  I don't know when this will change but I do know that I will pick away at this list as much as I can.

Before you get the idea that I like to complain or play the "ain't it awful" game (my granny's favorite phrase), I've included some of the things I love about my house.  There is a lot to love that I can't include here like location, location, location!  We live across the street from a beautiful and popular park with views of the lake from my kitchen.  We love the outdoor spaces and my husband has done amazing work in the side garden and in the back yard.  We have lots of different spaces for our various hobbies and collections, we love to entertain and have had many great times in this house.  For all of these reasons and more, I couldn't bear to part with this house and that means... we should remodel rather than sell (can you tell I've been watching Love it or List it?)!

Our main floor bathroom light fixture was bought at a local antique store and my husband put it up for me.  I love the shadows it makes on the ceiling!  It looks like a snowflake!

Best,

Allita