Unfinished Spaces

A friend recently asked me how the house was coming along. A fair question since it has a long way to go. Winter is the perfect time to work on indoor projects. But projects require time and money, neither of which we have lots of at the moment. We have several large indoor projects to do. Two spaces in our home have been completely gutted. We tore them out almost as soon as we moved in.

The first space is the attic. It was knob and tubing electric, so Paul and his dad worked on updating that. Paul  put the sawzall to work and found a tiny alcove at the top of the stairs that used to be hidden behind a wall. Perhaps a future reading nook? That's always my first thought for any space. That?! That space would be perfect for - reading! Then I explain where the bookcase needs to go and what kind of comfy seating I'm envisioning. I want to live in a library. That's my vision of home.  

This is Paul's dad. When I say there is no one else like him, I mean it on many, many levels. He has a sense of humor all his own, loves to talk - about anything and everything, has the strongest work ethic imaginable, and is happiest working on a project and drinking a beer. We have what it takes to keep him happy. And it makes us happy to have his help. 

The second gutted space is the upstairs bathroom. When we purchased the home, it was already quite ripped up. Paul and his dad just finished the job. I've been dreaming up floor plans for that space ever since. 

To show you how long the bathroom has been sitting in its naked, bare-boned state, take a look at this picture of Caleb and Butch. We took this picture the weekend the bathroom was demoed. Baby cheeks! Entering into years now. That's how long it has been, almost two years. 

Why have we left it looking like this? How can we manage without a second bathroom? I know, I ask myself that question occasionally too. We borrowed money to do the major repairs - which I don't think I've blogged about yet - and while to some people, this may qualify as a major repair - there were others that were more pressing. You may not know this about me, but I am so anti-debt it borders the land of insanity. Taking out the mortgage for the big project was a major step outside of my comfort zone, so knowing that these projects can wait until we save up cash to pay for them the old fashion way actually makes me happy, not stressed. 

No amount of glistening subway tile and new fixtures would make me feel happy about paying interest on money that I spent that I didn't have. So until then, things inside are going to keep looking like this.