With summer comes the irresistible urge to decorate, garden, and home improve in general…for me at least. Ever since I bought my house fourteen months ago, endless ideas for raising the value of my home have run through my head. I have considered everything from installing a screen door and marble countertops to adding an actual deck to cover the concrete slab that currently serves as my “porch” and having a Ground Zero storm shelter built in my garage. (The storm shelter is more for my peace of mind than a potential selling point, though.) As quickly as I entertain these fanciful notions, however, I dismiss them, because home improvements and repairs ain’t cheap. Unfortunately, I don’t have thousands of extra dollars hanging around to throw into home-improvement projects.
But I won’t let that deter me from enjoying my home to the fullest this summer (and beyond, of course). While not considered a financial improvement to my home in any way, I plan to finally decorate my house. I hate to admit that I’ve lived in my house for over a year now and have done little in the way of making it homey…as in, “of or relating to a home,” not “homie don't play dat.”
My bathroom, sad to say, is probably the most decorated room in my house, just because it has a semblance of a theme—rugs that match the super-cute shower curtain that gave me fits when putting it up (always many laughs when I battle the shower curtain), along with a trashcan and toothbrush holder to match. Embarrassingly, that’s about the extent of my decorating thus far, and I use that term loosely here, because I realize that putting rugs and a toothbrush holder in my bathroom hardly counts as decorating.
Friends have given me wall decorations that I just need to finally hang up. I plan to hit up Craigslist and garage sales for new (to me) furniture and home decor. And fresh flowers will go a long way in brightening up both the inside and outside of my house. Last week, my lawn guy pulled all the weeds from my front flowerbed and added red mulch that matches my red door. Just like that, my front yard was transformed from an eyesore to a yard I'm not embarrassed to have dog walkers and rowdy children walk through. And now that my backyard is equipped with a new hammock, I will be spending many an evening out of doors with a book in hand and a floppy hat on my head.
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| This is where the majority of my summer evenings will be spent. |
I am determined to embrace homeownership…if a little late. Last summer I was just getting used to the idea of owning my own home and all the responsibilities that go along with it—finding previously mentioned lawn guy, paying deposits on all utilities (which is paying off now; I haven’t had a water or electric bill in two months!), and arranging to fix anything that breaks (including my air conditioner in the middle of July). But now that I’ve got the hang of this homeowner thing, I am anxious to really make my house a home. So bring on the Better Homes and Gardens magazines, re-runs of “Home Improvement” (if for nothing other than to learn what not to do), and any tips and tricks on cheap home upgrades I can get. I plan to make my home as cute and comfy as my budget will allow…starting now.
Stay tuned for my adventures in home improvement!
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