We couldn’t travel, so we spent the second half of 2020 changing our environment. During the early months in our two person bubble, we’d spent time watching some of the HGTV home renovation shows, plus we’d just finished the complete tear down and reno of our Sarasota place, so we were up for the project.
We faced some challenges due to Covid restrictions, but because time was on our side…as in plenty of time and nowhere to go…we were able to complete 90% of the project between June and December of 2020.
Facebook was my friend. I posted in our local community page, requesting recommendations for painters, electricians, masons and tile installers. Contacting, interviewing and scheduling the tradesmen took us through July and into August. I simultaneously began trying to give away our furniture. During a pandemic. The usual suspects (Salvation Army, St. Vincent’s) were not accepting donations. I had more success with Facebook Marketplace and Craig’s List. I remain amazed at how difficult it was to give away perfectly fine furniture. Fortunately, a lovely man from Queens made several trips with his van, taking the kitchen table, both rugs, various mirrors and light fixtures. He related that his brother had recently moved to the United States and needed to set up housekeeping. Yay! The remaining furnishings were slowly re-homed. I was sad to see certain pieces go, especially the dining room mirror, but excited to purchase new items.
The kitchen enjoyed the greatest transformation. We decided to eliminate the hanging cabinets and I do not miss them one bit…neither does Timmy’s head. Choosing appliances was easy…we simply purchased the exact same slate gray GE models that we choose during the Sarasota renovation.
We had fun with the dining room, replacing the chair coverings ourselves. We kept the dining set and corner cabinets (we did repaint the cabinets black).
Tim’s favorite part of the entire makeover has got to be the LazyBoy Chairs…we ordered them on September 10, 2020 and accepted delivery on May 17, 2021. To say that we enjoyed every aspect of our pandemic project would be false, but we really did love choosing our new furnishings and finishes. When we began the project, stores were closed or had very limited hours, as the summer came to a close, some restrictions were lifted and we ventured out.
We spend 90% of our time in the family room. Actually we really only use the living and dining rooms on holidays or on the (increasingly) rare occasions when we entertain. I do sometimes miss the loveseat, but seeing how much Timmy loves, loves his recliner…I’m good.
In addition to changing things up, we wanted to have some fun with the new furniture. The living room is the room we had the most fun decorating. I wanted a mid century modern feel, which is most definitely a 180 degree turn from the previous traditional look.
Once we began introducing the new furnishings and paint, we realized that we’d have to swap out the 30 year old (very yellowed)electrical outlets and switches and their brass covers. Timmy replaced every one. He swapped out a few a day over the course of a week or so.
I’ve enjoyed updating this blog with Summer 2020 memories. My intent was to also put up some photos from Fall 2020 and Winter/Spring 2021. I underestimated the amount of time involved in re-learning how to navigate WordPress. This platform has many, many functions…more than I’ll ever need or have the inclination to learn. Speaking of which…$10.00 or a home cooked meal to the person who can help me figure out how to “right size” my photos.
We leave in less than two days on our next adventure, so this update was great practice.
We are not yet on the other side of this pandemic, but we are vaccinated, not getting any younger and I’ve really missed Traveling with my Timmy.
