Big Projects Made Simple(r)

Here's a picture of what our bedroom looks like right now. We're in the process of turning our place from a four-bedroom apartment to a one-bedroom. It sounds strange, I know, but four bedrooms seems like about three too many for a childless couple to have.

This rearrangement will give us a nice big dining room, which is essential in my house. And a lovely living room.... someday.

It's a huge project. In previous houses, we've been able to roll up our sleeves and just get the thing done pretty quickly. But life got a whole lot more complicated a few years back. So we were faced with the choice of not doing anything or breaking a big project down into smaller chunks. We chose the second route.

Of course, that means that we are more or less living in a permanent construction site, or as I like to call it, Post-Apocolyptic, Neo-Junk Shop Chic (and, yes, I do own the copyright on that phrase!).

It's important to tidy as you go. To always have one room that looks decent (this changes over time, of course, but you do need someplace to feel good) and to relax your hold on perfection.

It's amazing what people don't notice when they come over (I'm not giving up my social life for anything!). Buckets of paint, missing walls - all pass without comment, as long as the place is safe, and the hosts are smiling(OK - doling out wine helps a lot!).

Some days, I only have a free half-hour to work on the place, so I'll paint one wall and then tidy up and wait for another day. If we have more time, we'll do a bit more.

And sometimes, when we have a whole day to ourselves, we just relax and enjoy it (and each other's company). Because, hard as it is to remember sometimes, home is so much more than the right colour on the wall or the perfect couch.

Oh, and, for the record? That wallpaper is not my fault. It came with the house.