#homeimprovement — Public Fediverse posts

Myquillyn Smith’s New Book House Hushing Proves Minimalism Was Never the Point

Myquillyn Smith has a theory, and it’s a good one. Empty rooms don’t feel peaceful. They feel abandoned. In House Hushing: The Simple Method to Declutter and Decorate for a More Peaceful Home, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author known as The Nester argues that the decade-long push toward bare shelves and blank walls solved the wrong problem. Her fix isn’t less stuff for the sake of less stuff. It’s a nine-step process she calls backwards decluttering, and after spending real time with the method, I think she’s onto something most decluttering books miss entirely.

House Hushing hits shelves from Revell at 224 pages, and it lands at an odd moment for home content. TikTok is still pushing extreme minimalism. Pinterest is quietly swinging back toward maximalism and collected clutter. Smith splits the difference, and that’s exactly why House Hushing is worth taking seriously if you write about interiors, sell home products, or just can’t figure out why your living room feels loud even though you already donated three bags to Goodwill.

Does House Hushing Actually Work, or Is It Just Decluttering With Better Marketing?

Short answer: it works, but not for the reason the cover copy suggests. House Hushing isn’t a new decluttering philosophy so much as a new decluttering sequence. Every other method (KonMari, the 20/20 rule, minimalist purge challenges) asks you to decide what to remove before you’ve experienced the room without it. Smith flips that order. You remove first, live in the emptier room for two days, then decide. That single reversal is the entire mechanism, and it’s smarter than it sounds.

Here’s the part most reviews will skip: House Hushing only works because it removes the decision-making burden at the moment you’re least equipped to handle it. You’re not evaluating forty objects while standing in a cluttered room feeling overwhelmed. You’re evaluating four or five objects while standing in a calm one. That’s a real behavioral shift, not just a rebrand of purging.

What Backwards Decluttering Actually Means

Smith’s process runs through nine concrete steps, and none of them ask you to make a permanent decision until the very end. You pick one loud room and one holding area (a spare corner, a guest room, or wherever overflow can sit without you seeing it daily). You warn your household this is a two-day experiment, not a purge. Then you strip the surfaces, seating, and floors of loose items, leaving closets, big furniture, and art alone. That’s it for day one.

The genius move comes next. You don’t sort anything yet. You just live in the room. Eat lunch there. Let your kids do homework on the floor. Notice how it feels. Most decluttering books treat “living with less” as the reward at the end of the process. Smith treats it as the diagnostic tool that generates the data you need to make good calls later.

The Two-Day Threshold: The Book’s Smartest Idea

We’re calling this the Two-Day Threshold, our own shorthand for the mandatory waiting period Smith builds into the method. It’s not in the book by that name, but it deserves one, because it’s doing more psychological work than anything else in House Hushing. Two days is long enough to get past the “this looks so bare” panic and short enough that nobody in your house stages a revolt over a missing lamp.

Compare that to a one-afternoon purge, where every decision happens under time pressure, and regret hits three weeks later when you can’t find the thing you tossed. The Two-Day Threshold trades speed for accuracy. That trade is the whole book, honestly.

Quiet Decorating: Editing a Room’s Volume, Not Its Contents

Once the two days pass, Smith’s method asks a simple question: what actually earned its way back? We coined a term for this while working through the book: the Return on Object test, or ROO. It’s a quick gut check: did this item make the room better while it was gone, or did you simply not notice it was missing? Objects that pass ROO get to return. Everything else heads to a slower, calmer decision process instead of an instant “keep or toss” panic call.

This is where House Hushing separates itself from generic decorating advice. Smith isn’t telling you to buy fewer things. She’s telling you to rank the things you already own by how much they contribute, then let that ranking guide what stays visible.

Style Soulfully: The Difference Between Sentimental and Necessary

The soulful styling principle is where House Hushing pushes back hardest against sterile minimalism. Smith isn’t interested in a home that looks like nobody lives there. She wants rooms that hold real objects with real history, just fewer of them competing for attention at once. That distinction matters more than it sounds. A shelf with twelve trinkets reads as clutter. The same shelf with three, chosen with intention, reads as a story.

I’d push this idea further than the book does. Soulful styling only works if you’re honest about which objects actually carry meaning versus which ones you kept out of guilt or habit. House Hushing gives you the process to test that (the two days do the emotional heavy lifting), but it doesn’t fully prepare you for how uncomfortable that honesty gets around gifted items nobody actually likes.

Live Seasonally: Building a Rhythm Instead of a Reset

The fourth principle, living seasonally, is the least developed idea in the book and also the most quietly ambitious. Smith argues that a hushed home isn’t a one-time fix. It’s a rhythm you repeat as your life and the calendar shift. We’d call this the Seasonal Reset Rhythm, our term for treating house-hushing less like a spring-cleaning event and more like a recurring maintenance habit, the same way you’d rotate a wardrobe.

It’s a smart closing idea, but the book spends far less time on it than on backwards decluttering. If you’re hoping for a detailed seasonal calendar or room-by-room schedule, you won’t find one here. You’ll find a strong concept and a nudge to build your own system around it.

Where House Hushing Falls Short

No method is perfect, and House Hushing has a real limitation worth naming. It assumes you have a spare room or usable corner to act as a holding area. Anyone in a studio apartment or a genuinely small home is going to struggle to find that overflow space (what we’re calling the Overflow Buffer), and Smith doesn’t offer much of a workaround for tight square footage.

The book also leans heavily on emotional language over hard data. There’s no visual clutter scoring system, no way to measure a room’s “loudness” before and after. We built something like that ourselves while testing the method, a rough Visual Volume Index scored from one to ten based on surface density, color competition, and sightline clutter, and it made the before-and-after comparison far easier to talk about. House Hushing would benefit from something similar built in.

Who Should Actually Buy House Hushing?

This book earns its spot on a shelf if you’ve tried extreme minimalism and hated how your home felt afterward. It’s built for people who want less noise, not less personality. If you’re already a committed maximalist who loves visual density, House Hushing will feel restrictive. And if you’re chasing a single afternoon fix, the two-day waiting period will test your patience.

Frequently Asked Questions About House Hushing

What is House Hushing by Myquillyn Smith about?

House Hushing is a decluttering and decorating book built around a nine-step method called backwards decluttering. Instead of deciding what to remove up front, you strip a room down, live in it for two days, then decide what earns its way back based on how the space actually felt without it.

Is house-hushing the same as minimalism?

No. House-hushing explicitly rejects empty-room minimalism. Smith argues that peace comes from intention, not emptiness, and the goal is a home with personality and fewer competing objects, not a bare one.

How long does the house-hushing method take?

The core process runs about two days per room, plus a follow-up session to deal with the holding area. Smith designed it as a low-pressure experiment, not a weekend purge.

Who is Myquillyn Smith?

Myquillyn Smith, known online as The Nester, is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. House Hushing follows her earlier books, Cozy Minimalist Home, The Nesting Place, and House Rules.

Is house-hushing good for small apartments?

It works best when you have a spare room or corner to use as a holding area. Very small homes may need to get creative with where the removed items live during the two-day period.

Check out other reviews of art and design books here at WE AND THE COLOR.

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So.. Had a week of what I candidly refer to as "mental hygiene week", and it's been very rewarding. We're paying to get a new bathroom built, but being the cheapskate I am, I'm doing some work myself. Today, on the last day of my "fuck all of you fucking bastards" vacation, I finished my part. Ceiling has been torn down and refitted with proper moister-whatnot membrane and electricity tubes have been put in the walls. Why tubes and not cables? Because my dad was en electrician, and damn you, PVC pipes are better than cables, because what the fuck are ypu going to do when you drill into a cable? Anyhoo. Work's done.

#diy #homeimprovement

VEVOR Steps Offline in Europe at IFA Berlin 2026, with First European Store Planned in France for 2027

VEVOR Steps Offline in Europe at IFA Berlin 2026, with First European Store Planned in France for 2027…
#Germany #DE #Europe #EU #Europa #Berlin #Consumer&Cosmetics #consumerelectronics #FurnitureandFurnishings #HomeImprovement #Household #HouseholdProducts #retail #TradeShowNews #VEVOR
https://www.europesays.com/germany/85365/

#BathME - #HabitatReStores: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

"Habitat for Humanity/7 Rivers Maine is a locally governed non-profit organization addressing the housing needs of low income families. We are an affiliate of #HabitatForHumanity International founded in 1991 by a passionate group of volunteers. Our service area includes Lincoln and Sagadahoc Counties and the towns of Brunswick and #HarpswellME.

Proceeds from the ReStore support our affordable housing programs. In addition to selling affordable home improvement products to the public, the resale of unwanted building materials, appliances, furniture, and other items prevents tons of waste ending up in landfills each year.

Whether you are renovating an existing home, furnishing a new room, making repairs, or need supplies for a new craft project, stop by the Habitat ReStore to shop for your materials and supplies!"

Bath Shopping Center
1 Chandler Drive.
Bath, ME 04530

Open to the Public
Tuesday – Saturday
10:00am – 5:00pm

Donation Drop Offs
10:00am – 3:00pm

Closed on Sunday & Monday

https://habitat7rivers.org/restore

#SolarPunkSunday #ReduceWaste #Reuse #ReduceReuseRecycle #ReStores #HomeImprovement

Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

https://www.imkylelambert.com/articles/building-a-backyard-office-the-build-and-cost-breakdown

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49434645

#HackerNews #backyardoffice #homeimprovement #costbreakdown #DIYprojects #remoteoffice

I got the idea of painting birds on the Garagarchive doors from Pinterest. Luckily I've taken hundreds of Cardinal pictures to choose from. #home #homeimprovement #homeimprovements #painting #mural #murals #outdoorart #outdoorarting #art #artist #arting #makingart #civicart #largeart #cardinal #cardinals #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdwatcher #birdwatchers #birder #birders #project #doityourself #doityourselfproject #workingathome #painting #housepaint #fern #ferns #bostonfern

Floor of the shed coop is done ^_^ working on back wall next.

#building #framing #shed #homeimprovement #construction #backyardchickens #chickens

Sanding and re-finishing the attic floor of my Freedom Avenue house was one of the largest 'Do-It-Yourself' projects I've tackled. 1995. #doityourself #doityourselflproject #doityourselfprojects #homeproject #homeprojects #homefixup #homeimprovement #homeimprovementideas #victorianhomes #colonialhomes #colonialhouse #colonialhouses #victorianhouse #victorianhouses #oldhouses #vintage #library #book #books #bookcollection #bookcollections #1990s #twentiethcentury #gauguin #painting #paintings

👋 Hello, #mastodonSG

We're #DeCraftsmen Co. a Singapore-based team specializing in professional painting, timber works, flooring installation, refinishing, and home improvement services for residential and commercial properties.

Follow us for renovation tips, flooring and painting ideas, maintenance advice, and inspiration for your next home or office transformation.

#Singapore #PaintingServices #Flooring #TimberWorks #HomeRenovation #InteriorDesign #HomeImprovement #CommercialRenovation

Avalanche of Home Improvement

We have one day left. One day before two, count ’em two (2) contractors come to our house to work on climate related issues. I am close to having everything ready for them. I’ll be ready, I promise.

Rush played their second show last night. I again was not in attendance but word on the street is they played ALL of 2112. When I say all I mean all of the suite on side one, not the whole album. They also apparently played The Analog Kid, a song that I often wondered if it was at least partly inspired by people like Eddie Van Halen. I picture Alex Lifeson listening to Van Halen and thinking to himself, I can do that and then hitting record and shredding like a shredding monster. Good stuff.

Did I mention that I am stressed as fuck over home improvement projects? Yup, stressed as fuck.

Why has traffic been so bad over the last two weeks. Every time I commute to the office it just gets worse than the time before. It’s a mess out there, kids.

What else… for the past 24 hours my post-gastric bypassed stomach has been weird. Queasy and achy and weird. They told me stuff like this was going to happen off and on for the rest of my life and sure enough here we are. I’ll survive.

I had a long text conversation with my step son today. Doctor Who cancelled its planned xmas episode and the show runner quit. The show runner has been saying that an xmas episode had been written and would start shooting in September and I guess now we know that was bullshit. They said nothing had been written and now the BBC is taking pitches from production compaines… meaning they have no plan in place for the future. My Doctor Who loving step son and I were both pretty pissed off by the news. He suggested Richard Ayoade should be the next Doctor. That’s a really good idea. I suggested Rupert Grint (if they insist on The Doctor being a white guy) or Jameela Jamil (if they do not insist on The Doctor being a white guy). I still stand by my suggestions, but I kinda wish I had thought of Richard Ayoade too. He’d be perfect.

Okay, my queasy stomach and I are really tired. I think we’re going to go to sleep now. G’night, Rush fans. G’night, Doctor Who fans too. Let’s all join together and try to not stress the fuck out over home improvement projects. Huzzah and shit.

“From Dirty Corner to Dream Garden 😍🌿 | So Satisfying!”#usa #gardendesign #shorts #shortsfeed https://www.allforgardening.com/1704652/from-dirty-corner-to-dream-garden-%f0%9f%98%8d%f0%9f%8c%bf-so-satisfyingusa-gardendesign-shorts-shortsfeed/ ##ytshorts #AestheticGarden #BackyardIdeas #BackyardMakeover #BeforeAndAfter #BudgetGardenIdeas #CleanUpTransformation #DiyBackyard #DiyGarden #GardenDécor #GardenDesign #GardenMakeover #GardenTransformation #Home&Garden #HomeImprovement #LandscapingIdeas #OddlySatisfying #RelaxingVideo #SatisfyingVideo #SmallGardenIdeas #TransformationShorts #UsaShorts #ViralShorts #ViralUsa

“From Dirty Corner to Dream Garden 😍🌿 | So Satisfying!”#usa #gardendesign #shorts #shortsfeed https://www.allforgardening.com/1704652/from-dirty-corner-to-dream-garden-%f0%9f%98%8d%f0%9f%8c%bf-so-satisfyingusa-gardendesign-shorts-shortsfeed/ ##ytshorts #AestheticGarden #BackyardIdeas #BackyardMakeover #BeforeAndAfter #BudgetGardenIdeas #CleanUpTransformation #DiyBackyard #DiyGarden #GardenDécor #GardenDesign #GardenMakeover #GardenTransformation #Home&Garden #HomeImprovement #LandscapingIdeas #OddlySatisfying #RelaxingVideo #SatisfyingVideo #SmallGardenIdeas #TransformationShorts #UsaShorts #ViralShorts #ViralUsa

Stunning Modern Garden Design: Step-by-Step Landscaping and Furniture Setup #designinspiration https://www.allforgardening.com/1645667/stunning-modern-garden-design-step-by-step-landscaping-and-furniture-setup-designinspiration/ #BackyardMakeover #DiyLandscaping #GardenDesign #GardenFurniture #GardenIdeas #GardenInspiration #GardenTransformation #HomeImprovement #LandscapingIdeas #LandscapingProject #ModernGarden #ModernLandscaping #OutdoorLiving #OutdoorSpaceMakeover #TimeLapse #TimeLapseGardening

A metal awning over the front door helps block sun, deflect rain, and protect the entry from daily exposure.
It’s a small addition that improves comfort and helps reduce long-term wear on exterior materials.
#HomeImprovement #ExteriorDesign #MetalAwning #FrontDoor #Architecture

🔑 Trước khi xây nhà, hãy nắm vững 3 nguyên tắc phong thủy cơ bản:
1️⃣ Xem xét tổng thể không gian để tạo luồng năng lượng lưu thông.
2️⃣ Chọn hướng cửa sao cho hợp với mệnh và vị trí địa lý.
3️⃣ Bố trí phòng khách và bếp hợp lý, tránh “đụng” và tạo cảm giác hài hòa.

Áp dụng đúng, ngôi nhà sẽ sinh khí tốt, mang lại sức khỏe và thịnh vượng cho gia đình!

#PhongThuy #FengShui #XâyNhà #Construction #HomeDesign #HomeImprovement #VietNam 🌿🏡

https://vietnamnet.vn/3-nguyen-tac-phong-thuy-

Here is a list of Screw Types

#ScrewDrives #DIY #HomeImprovement #Tools #Handyman #Crafts #Woodworking #Engineering #Hardware #ToolLovers #DIYCommunity #SlottedScrew #PhillipsScrew #PozidrivScrew #HexSocketScrew #AllenScrew #HexScrew #TorxScrew #StarScrew #SquareScrew #RobertsonScrew #HexagonScrew #Hexagon #SecurityHex #SecurityHexScrew #SecurityTorxScrew #SecurityTorx #Screw

🪛 🔧 What's your favorite screw drive type? 🔧

Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or a professional, share your go-to screw drive in the comments below! 💬

If your favorite isn't listed, let us know what it is. The more the merrier! 😊

#ScrewDrives #DIY #HomeImprovement #Tools #Handyman #Crafts #Woodworking #Engineering #Hardware #ToolLovers #DIYCommunity #SlottedScrew #PhillipsScrew #PozidrivScrew #HexSocketScrew #AllenScrew #HexScrew #TorxScrew #StarScrew #SquareScrew #RobertsonScrew #HexagonScrew #Hexagon #SecurityHex #SecurityHexScrew #SecurityTorxScrew #SecurityTorx #Screw @gutocarvalho

Staining the bathroom vanity to match the woodwork in the rest of the house. #handyman #handy #stain #staining #woordwork #wood #maintenance #maintaining #bath #bathroom #improvement #homeimprovement #walnut #tinyhouse #littlehouse

Nothing to Say

I’m down to the final minutes of my lunch break on this fine Friday afternoon. I am pretty exhausted from a lack of sleep over the past… month(s) but I’m hanging in there. I had some Purdue Popcorn chicken and some peanuts and some sugar free Hershey bites for lunch. I really want a drink of water but I still have to wait the better part of an hour before I am clear to drink anything. That’s a gastric bypass patient thing. If you know, you know.

Fed Ex delivered a package today. I am not home to get it, but it contains a new guitar pedal. If I read the amazon shipping notes correctly, it’s a compressor pedal. The first I’ve ever purchased. I have this weird idea of using cleaner guitar sounds for this year’s RPM Challenge in February and a compressor will be a part of that. I bought an MXR Dyna Comp because it’s super simple and it will let me squash my clean signal down to a delightfully mushy… mush. There are two more pedals coming over the weekend. One is a Flanger, the other is an Amp Sim. I don’t have room on my pedal board for any of these kiddos and I don’t have open slots on my power brick… so I am going to need to get creative, I think. It should be fun. I don’t think I bought a single guitar pedal during all of 2024. I know I bought a couple of microphones for band practices that haven’t actually happened yet, but no pedals.

There are a lot of tentative plans for the weekend. We may be messing with our living room and we may be going to some stores for research purposes. I hope to spend some time wandering around town taking pictures with my new/possibly antique (though probably not) camera. I got a gift card for the sugar free bakery in Salem, NH for xmas. I haven’t bought anything from them in about a month, but now I am definitely going back and getting some cookies. Good stuff.

What else… I thought there was something else… One of our cars is going to get a break job. That wasn’t the thing that I am forgetting though… am I going to go shopping for a new iPhone? That’s definitely on the to-do list before we go to Florida at the end of the month, but is it this weekend? I don’t know.

I have to start practicing the guitar. The band is hoping to reconvene (hopefully for real this time) at some point after this weekend. I need to get ready for that. Which guitar should I bring to the first practice? Probably the Les Paul Standard that my wife got me for my 50th birthday in 2021. I really dig that guitar.

I know I had something else I wanted to write about but it has slipped my brain entirely. Don’t get old, kids. This is what happens to you when you get old. Stay young for as long as you can. Unless you’re already old like me in which case… sorry, folks. We had a good run, I’m sure.

#absentMinded #age #breakJob #breaks #Car #carMaintenance #carRepairs #food #Guitar #GuitarGear #GuitarPedals #homeDecore #homeDesign #homeImprovement #LivingRoom #livingRoomFurniture #lunch #Memory #Music #old #oldAge #plans #redesign #sometimers #toDoList #weekendPlans

Automating a RoboVac is a hassle when it keeps getting stuck on Lego pieces.

🎥Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8QNPKlqU8Ak

#SmartHome #HomeAutomation #RoboVac #TechTalk #HomeImprovement #ParentingHacks #TechJourney #AutomationChallenges

Yesterday our dishwasher was dead.

Today our dishwasher was fixed.

Later today our dishwasher was dead again.

Still later today our dishwasher was fixed again. It’s actually running as I type this.

I think that’s enough dishwasher shenanigans. It’s not dead, but it’s dead to me. We went shopping for a new one tonight. I’ll keep you posted on the progress because I can tell by the look on all of your faces that you cannot wait to hear how this turns out.

More info coming as it develops.

Stay tuned.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/19/the-dishwasher-follies/

#dishwasher #homeImprovement #homeOwner #kitchen #kitchenAppliances #kitchenRedesign #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling

Yup… Monday… blah.

How’s everyone doing? Did you have a good weekend? I was sick all weekend, but it was okay. My step son was here. That was awesome.

I feel a little better today. It’s been the cold from hell ever since last Tuesday afternoon, but today I feel like I am starting to come out of it. I’m still stuffy and sneezing and coughing, but not nearly as bad as I was. I still don’t feel well enough to be comfortable going into the office. I think this week will be Wednesday and Thursday. Maybe Friday. I only went in once last week because of being sick. Maybe I’ll go in an extra day this week to make up for it. We’ll see.

The kitchen remodel will hopefully officially come to an end tomorrow. The contractor is coming back one more time to hang some shelves over the new tile. That’s the only thing left to do, though our dishwasher is acting up. It might be shitting the proverbial bed. Nice timing, eh? Get the kitchen remodeled and immediately have to buy a new appliance. Yeah, because we have money for that! Sheesh! Is the universe trying to tell us something?*

Okay. I need to blow my nose, read some work email, and then make lunch. Hopefully you are all having a good Monday even though Mondays as a rule suck. That’s okay though. Mondays sucking is not a surprise to anyone who lives in a place where Monday is the start of the work week.

*No, the universe is not trying to tell us something. It doesn’t give a shit about us one way or the other. Why? Because it is not sentient in any way. It’s just a universe. It’s just a really, really, really big collection of stuff. It doesn’t have feelings. It’s not intelligent. It’s just stuff.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/18/mondays-suck-but-we-all-knew-that/

#Cold #collegeKids #Family #headCold #health #homeImprovement #homeOwner #Kids #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #monday #mondaysSuck #returnToTheOffice #Sick #StepKids #work #workInTheOffice

I think our kitchen remodeling project is done. We’re looking at getting a piece of art to hang in one of the empty spaces, and there are still a few things that need to find their new home, but other than that we’re done.

Proof?

See this empty space?

When we woke up this morning, our dining room set was in that empty space. Now?

I moved that insanely heavy-ass table back to where it belongs. Why? Because we’re done and we don’t need to store stuff in the dining room anymore. Done and done. The most important item to note as the project comes to a close?

I love the new kitchen. It’s wonderful. That also proves that I am a boring old person now, but whatever. I love our new kitchen.

In closing, here is Robin the kitty roaring like a lioness.

She might be yawning instead of roaring, but it’s more fun to imagine her roaring like a man eating feline monster from your nightmares. Good kitty.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/09/kitchen-remodel-postscript/

#365 #365Project #Cat #homeImprovement #homeOwner #iphoneography #kitchen #kitchenRedesign #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #Kitty #photoADay #photoADayProject #photography #robin

Happy Friday, everyone. Hopefully Friday has meaning for most if not all of us. It has extra meaning for me this week. Starting this month my company has changed it’s hybrid work requirements. Where it used to be that we had to be in the office for 20% of each pay period (basically one day each week), as of March 1st we have to be in the office for 40% of each pay period (basically twice per week). Today is my first, second day of a week. None of us our happy with this, but it’s a whole ton better than being back 80%, which is what we had prior to the pandemic shut down. Oh well. I’ll deal with it. I am still coming in every Wednesday. My group has Wednesdays as a mandate and the second day each week is at everyone’s personal discretion. I am sort of planning on making Mondays my regular second day, just to get it over with, but that didn’t work this week due to the contractors working in the kitchen. Friday was the only day that worked for me. Fortunately there was zero traffic today. I made the 40 mile drive to the office in 45 minutes. If only it were like that every morning.

In other news, the kids are on the ground. Bellana’s flight landed in Georgia (the US state, not the European country) before I went to sleep last night. Harry’s first flight landed in London well after I nodded off for the night, and his connecting flight landed in Scotland before I woke up this morning. All is well on both of those fronts. Here’s hoping they both have a great time on their trips.

I am taking advantage of the fact that I am 40 miles from home right now to make my way to IKEA after work. IKEA is about 60 miles from home, but only 20 miles from work. I will head down there as soon as I am free and go to the returns department and bring back a great big pile of stuff that IKEA included in our kitchen redesign blue print that we didn’t end up needing. There is a lot of stuff to return. A lot of stuff. If I get it all done tonight then we don’t have to worry about it, and with the money we get back maybe I’ll be able to afford a hair cut this weekend because damn, do I need a hair cut!

Anyway, here’s today’s photo-a-day picture. I took it before I did my workout this morning at about 5:40am. It’s only 9:14am now but it’s already felt like a long day.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/08/happy-friday-4/

#collegeKids #commute #commuter #es335 #Family #Gibson #gibsonEs335 #GibsonES335Pro #Guitar #homeImprovement #hybridWork #hybridWorkSchedule #IKEA #Kids #kitchenRedesign #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #morning #Nikon #nikonZ5 #photography #returnToTheOffice #springBreak #StepKids #Travel #trips #work #z5

Another day for the kitchen remodel project. Here’s hoping it’s the last day.

They are doing some touch up work on things that have otherwise been finished. They are hanging some stuff on top of the tile. They are doing a little painting.

I think that’s all that’s left to do. Once they are done we have to clean up any dust they left behind and then wash all of the dishes that have been sitting out collecting dust over the last week and then find a new home for everything in the new cabinet/storage setup.

I am so ready for this project to be over. I want my house back again.

Unrelated note… I used my good camera to take today’s photo a day picture. I will post it now for no reason at all.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/05/almost-done-i-hope/

#365 #365Challenge #homeImprovement #homeOwner #homeRemodel #homeRemodeling #homeUpgrades #kitchen #kitchenRedesign #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #Nikon #nikonZ5 #photoADay #photoADayChallenge #photography #z5

The plumber went out to get some dinner. He expects he has about two hours more work to do tonight. It’s 600pm. I think we’re going to be working until after 9:00pm again tonight.

Insert the sign of frustration here.

Stressing out like nuts over here, kids. Like nuts.

The plumber just walked in the door. Here’s hoping he can wrap it up in two hours. Fingers crossed.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/04/frustration-2/

#homeImprovement #homeOwner #homeRemodel #homeRemodeling #kitchen #kitchenRedesign #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #plumber #Plumbing

The last time we had a home improvement project done was about a year ago when we had new windows installed. When the project started we were so excited. After a few days without the project being completed our mood changed and the whole thing just became super frustrating. We wanted it to be over so that we could have our house back again.

We expected the kitchen remodel project we’re currently involved with to take ages. The contractor told us he would have everything installed by the end of the second day. Then we needed walls patched and tile work done, plumbing work, and touch up and paint work.

The tile guy got here yesterday around 8:00am. He left a little before 10:00pm. It was around 8:30pm or so when the mood for this project changed again. We just crossed some invisible line between excitement and frustration. It’s is totally unfair to the contractors because we are still in their estimated window of how long it would take to finish everything. It doesn’t matter. It’s all just stress now, no more excitement.

The tile guy is coming back today. The plumber is coming too. It’s 9:26am and we haven’t heard from either of them yet, but we aren’t expecting to until after 10:00. IKEA was just here picking up some of the things we need to return to them. There is a mountain more stuff that needs to be returned. We aren’t sure if we can get them to come back or not. I expect we’ll be driving down there one of these days soon. We also need to book a junk pick up because there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be removed still. We also need to clean off all of the dust that is covering everything before we use anything in our new kitchen.

I’m stressing out. We’re stressing out. It’s starting to be difficult.

I went to Home Depot this morning to pick up some stuff for the tile guy. Pics from the drive home… because.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/04/the-mood-has-changed/

#design #homeImprovement #homeRemodel #homeRemodeling #homeUpgrades #iphoneography #kitchen #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #photography #remodeling #renovation

They are finished installing our new IKEA kitchen. I am thrilled and amazed. I love it!

The walls will be patched and tiled tomorrow and the plumber will finish the sink and dishwasher installation on Monday.

Wow!

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/02/installation-complete/

#homeImprovement #homeImprovements #homeOwner #IKEA #iphoneography #kitchen #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #photography

I snuck out for some errands this morning before the work crew got here. I drove around town to a Home Depot and a Lowe’s, prepping for phase two which starts tomorrow.

How about some pics from the road?

So what was input getting? Wall tiles, adhesive, grout, and paint. There is still so much to do, even though they are miles ahead of where I thought they would be.

Tiles and touch ups tomorrow.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/02/errands-6/

#iphoneography #photography #methuen #homeOwner #homeImprovement #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenRemodel

I snuck out to the kitchen while the crew was on their lunch break. The progress is surprising to say the least.

The plumber is here, though we weren’t expecting him until next week. Something was leaking so he had to come early. There is also an issue with a pipe sticking out of a wall that needs to be moved into the wall so whatever needs to go in front of it will fit. There is a hole in the ceiling that we’re not sure what will happen to. We had a visit from the tile guy. He’s coming back on Sunday to do the back splash and (I think) touch up some paint.

I am really surprised at how fast this is progressing. It’s amazing.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/01/kitchen-lunch-break/

#homeImprovement #homeOwner #homeUpgrade #iphoneography #kitchen #kitchenRedesign #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #photography #remodel #remodeling #upgrades

The progress being made in the kitchen is stunning. The demo is done and they are installing cabinets. It feels like they might be as much as half a day ahead of schedule. We’re already starting to talk about things that weren’t supposed to happen this weekend. Tiling and painting, specifically. The tile guy is coming on Sunday. It’s absolutely nuts!

Anyway, here’s today’s photo a day pic. I took it before the kitchen guys got here this morning because I didn’t know if I would get a chance for anything once the crazy arrived.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/01/photo-a-day-14/

#365 #365Challenge #contracotrs #es335 #es335Pro #GibsonES335Pro #Guitar #homeImprovement #homeImprovements #homeOwner #iphoneography #kitchen #kitchenImprovements #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenUpgrades #photoADay #photoADayChallenge #photography

The contractors are here. The demolition of our kitchen is underway. They got here a few minutes before 8:00am, spent a few minutes going over the details, and here we are at 9:19am and most of the kitchen is already gone.

On top of that, half of the cabinet boxes are already put together. They are blowing through this at world record speed. It’s amazing. Maybe they will be finished by tomorrow night like they predicted.

Maybe they know what they are doing and I should stop worrying about it and just let them do their very impressive thing.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/03/01/demolition-underway/

#contractors #homeImprovement #homeImprovementProject #homeOwner #kitchen #kitchenRedesign #kitchenRemodel #kitchenRemodeling #remodeling

Our kitchen cabinets are going to get nuked into oblivion starting tomorrow morning. The plan is for the new installation to start on Saturday. They told us it would only take a day. I will believe it when I see it, but I am also really hoping that prediction is accurate.

I still have a few things to move out of the kitchen before they come tomorrow but I figured I’d take some pictures for posterity’s sake.

The appliances (except for the microwave) are staying, though one is moving to a new location, but the cabinets and the counter tops and the shelves are all coming down and being replaced. While I am at this, let me also post pictures of the piles of boxes that IKEA delivered to us over the last few days. Again, just for posterity’s sake, but also sort of just for shits and giggles.

I’ll post a follow up to this after they leave tomorrow so we can see the changes.

I am both ready for this project to get started and ready for it to be over. Please let it end quickly. I want my kitchen back.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/02/29/kitchen-demolition-starts-tomorrow/

#iphoneography #photography #IKEA #homeOwner #homeImprovement #kitchen #upgrades #kitchenRemodeling #kitchenRemodel #kitchenUpgrades #kitchenCabinets

Right before leaving for our vacation, I tried to run a load of dishes, but the dishwasher errored out. Since there wasn’t time to fix it before we left, I just left myself a note to fix it when I got back. The filter isn’t super accessible, so I used a waterpik to spray the sediment out. The joys of an old house.

#HomeImprovement #homeowner #HomeRepairs

From what I understand, they also do power washing and hang Christmas lights. Feel free to support a local small business.

#johnstonCountyNC #homeImprovement #shudderInstall #dangerousJobs #smallBusiness #smallBusinessSupport #thankYou #christmasLightsInstallation #powerWashing

A huge THANK YOU goes out to CV Power Washing Services LLC for taking this task on when so many others failed to respond.

#johnstonCountyNC #homeImprovement #shudderInstall #dangerousJobs #smallBusiness #smallBusinessSupport #thankYou #christmasLightsInstallation #powerWashing

I am so happy to finally have my shudders put back on the house. We took them down a season or two ago to paint them but couldn't put them back on. Instead of risking my life to put them back, I called in an expert.

#johnstonCountyNC #homeImprovement #shudderInstall #dangerousJobs #smallBusiness #smallBusinessSupport #thankYou #christmasLightsInstallation #powerWashing