Lola, my chihuahua, steps over a pile of pink insulation and around a patch of missing linoleum next to a small hole in the bathroom floor.
Like her owners, Lola has adapted to the perils of home renovations.
Unlike us, she's done so without any mental meltdowns, panic attacks over the cost of a front door, or fits of countertop envy.
Anyone who's ever ripped out a wall or installed a new kitchen knows that living through the drywall dust and the dodge-that-nail chaos of a residential makeover isn't just tough.
It can be hell.
In order to survive and thrive, one has to develop coping mechanisms: a kind of survival guide to home renovations.
So just over a year into our home overhaul -- the first year of what will no doubt roll into five -- I've put together this guide to sanity.
It's a work in progress.
Plan:
Stop! Before you knock out that wall, make sure it isn't holding up your entire house.
Get help from experts before you take matters into your own hands.
This requires patience -- but so does everything. Because know this: nothing will happen as quickly as you expect it will.
So far, this has helped us to stay focused and be strategic.
The plan is also a good reminder that, while things aren't pretty now, they will be.
Some day.
A nice design also lets us get creative with our makeover wish list without the real-world cost or logistics.
(Yes, I still want my own backyard yoga hut. No, it's not going to happen any time soon, but at least I see it in the Google SketchUp plan. It's a carrot of sorts.)
Notice the snow:
Since we are living in our little house as we revamp it, we have to think about things like the weather.
You should, too. Don't knock down an exterior wall on a snowy day.
This seems obvious, but impatience can make home renovators make some odd decisions.
Plan exterior work for sunny days. Interior work for chilly days.
Build accordingly.
Nest up:
Create one area of your home that can be relatively dust-free, a place that feels comfortable and homey.
We worked on revamping the bedroom immediately, transforming what was a dark and cramped-feeling box into an airy, bright space for under $5,000.
Modern-looking, fir french doors let us look out to our garden. Diffused glass, fir-framed windows give us light and maintain privacy.
Bamboo flooring eliminates the sour smell of the old, beaten-down carpet.
A closet from Ikea creates storage space, while a mirrored panel on one of the doors expands the room visually.
Best of all, by having one room (nearly) finished, we have an area of refuge. It's one part of the home that is always free of hammers and nails.
A home reno survivalist's haven.
Declutter:
Picture frames, ornaments, souvenirs and even potted plants quickly turn into dust collectors during renovations.
To keep our home comfortable, we've trimmed the fat and packed away everything but essentials such as lamps or coffee tables.
If we don't need it daily, we don't have to see it.
Or dust it.
Dust to dust:
Speaking of dust, if something is covered in drywall dust, clean it as soon as you see it.
Yes, it will be dirty tomorrow. It might even get dirty by the afternoon.
Clean it anyway.
It makes life more livable.
Temporary solutions -- dusting frequently or packing up tools at the end of a day's work -- help keep you sane during home renovations.
Be flexible:
Things happen and you have to be able to laugh about them. (Eventually.)
Last summer, we discovered carpenter ants had eaten away much of the exterior walls in our bathroom and office.
This meant shifting the focus from installing new floors to the bigger, and more expensive, task of restoring the walls.
Annoying? You bet. Worth crying over? No.
Watch the piggy bank:
We don't have a set budget for our renovation.
My husband Daniel describes this strategy as a little bit dumb.
It makes a lot more sense to have a budget before you set out and to have a set goal for when you'll be finished.
In our case, we have decided to slowly chip away at things -- one small project at a time.
Our strategy?
We do what we can with what we have, then pause and save up money before we move on to the next stage.
The result?
Suddenly a pedicure has come to represent the cost of a box of tiles. A hot vacation now equals the bathtub we are saving up to buy.
And so on.
When it comes to renovations, nothing costs what we expect and inevitably, everything we really like costs too much.
(Mexico versus the bathtub is an ongoing battle -- and we are currently grounded, saving for the right faucet.)
Go online:
Browse for inspiration in magazines, newspapers, stores and even friends' homes.
Then go online.
If you like something, but it's out of your price range, don't get discouraged.
Get Googling and hunt for bargains. For instance, the bamboo flooring we wanted for our bedroom cost about $10 per square foot in a flooring store.
Thanks to some searching on Craigslist, we purchased it for a fifth of that price from a farmer.
Listen and learn:
Tell people what you're going through, ask for advice and listen to lots of home-fixing yarns.
Even if you don't learn anything particularly new, it's heartening to hear the stories.
One friend told me about washing dishes in her garage during a prolonged kitchen overhaul.
Another simply paled at the mention of a recent home makeover, shaking his head at the ordeal.
Commiserating with fellow renovation survivors helps: How did you handle the dust? Where did you buy your faucets? Did you get obsessed with tile shades, too?
Listening reminds you that you are not alone.
It's nice to hear people love to share their battle stories -- particularly when they're standing on their refurbished pine beetle flooring inside the colour-coated terrain they conquered one nail at a time.
Ouch:
You will probably suffer scrapes, bumps and bruises on your way to transforming your digs.
Jagged bits of tile get stepped on. Toes get stubbed.
In addition to having a solid first aid kit on-hand, I recommend purchasing a jumbo box of bandages.
(Some of us are clumsier than others.)
Time out:
When nothing helps, not even your favourite glass of red, get away.
Remove your paint-stained sweat pants and put on some dust-free civilian attire.
Book into a hotel for a night or two and take advantage of the pool, hot tub, sauna and working shower for an inexpensive mini break from the mess.
It'll help.
(Just don't get fixated on their finished floors, working showers and must-have faucets.)
Glass half full:
When a window is installed, admire it.
Don't focus on the exposed insulation beneath it or the unfinished flooring below.
Embrace the improvements, one nail at a time.
-- Postmedia News
