Project Park commences

I have decided to title our renovation series: Project Park. If this is your thing, then you can read this series alone by selecting the 'Project Park" category under the Topics to the right of this page. Brace yourselves.

We closed on the house this past Friday. It was quick and painless, and within half an hour we had the keys to our future handed over on a big old UK keychain (which we promptly returned to the previous owner).

After a quick dinner James and I headed to the house with a bottle of wine and some beer. We walked, working our way from room to room, and talked out our plans and layouts. Should we leave this wall? What about this door? How did I not realize this window was so huge? Do you think someone died here? We have decided the first thing we need to replace is the front door, which opens with an terrifyingly ominous moan.

After an hour or so and a few beers, we had been through every room in the house. We had decided upon which walls were staying and which were going. We took turns standing in a ceder closet, pretending to shower, to see if it would make a suitable addition to the master bath. We walked out the layout of our new bedroom. We talked paint colors, cabinet colors, and floor colors til we were blue in the face.

We finished back in the kitchen, surrounded by linoleum, metallic wallpaper, and faux wooden counter tops. We stared around us, in our heads we were already standing in our dream kitchen, cooking dinner, serving drinks.

It is hard not to get ahead of yourself at this point. Shiny new granite countertops dance in my head like gumdrops for Marie. I have already picked out a crystal chandelier for above the clawfoot tub in the new bathroom. James even helped me pick up some new furniture that will look great in the living room in my head.

"It's so weird to think this is where we will have ki... be married and stuff... someday..." James muttered.