We have designated the months of April and May as "project months!" The weather has warmed up significantly (whew!) for us to proceed with painting and floor-boarding, gardening (see "Eva and Eddie" post), patching walls-inside and out, prepping the apartment for guests, tiling the front of the fireplace.
When I see the list this way, it looks manageable, even easy. When I'm in the middle of it, I want to TEAR MY HAIR OUT!!! Nothing is easy...I wanted to rehang some pictures in the loft upstairs--no big deal, right?? Wrong. Our walls are 18" thick and made of plaster...to drive a nail, one needs a damn drill; once the hole has been drilled, the nail has to be fitted; then, hopefully, the nail will hold the picture. So a project that I would do myself in 10 minutes in CA, took two of us two hours. The pictures look great.
I understand more clearly why Italians, once they decorate, NEVER change decor--their homes have the same color pallet and wall decorations for 30 years.
TILING: we've lived with a gaping hole in our fireplace where the pellet stove was installed since December...time to revestimento or redress the front. We went through our creative process, shopping for tile, creating a look--the fun stuff. We found the glass tile we wanted at Leroy-Merlin, a chain store similar to Home Depot. We assumed---ahhhh, silly, silly us---if one L-M had the tiles, the others would, too. But, nooooooo. There passed several futile days of visiting L-M all over Italy to match the tile we wanted (seriously)....we finally found it--online. Again, thwarted....it's such a simple thing in CA, if one Home Depot has it, they all have it. But, it was clearly explained to us that each store is individually franchised and they don't all have the same stuff---duh!..
The bigger problem is the front of the fireplace had to be made in such as way that the panels could be removed for cleaning the heater...okay, imagine the complexities of figuring weight-bearing, ease of removal, maintaining the integrity of the design....that consumed about 2 weeks to solve those problems. The picture doesn't do it justice, But...
And the apartment---has been ignored for five, yep, count 'em, five years, so there was a lot of work to do...repainting, repapering, fixing the plumbing and the electrical, changing out lighting fixtures, redressing it, and, oh yeah, a MAJOR cleaning....none of this terribly difficult, but it consumed 2 weeks of planning & shopping and 1 week of work. and the results??
Isn't it adorable???
Life here is not easy...we can't pick up a phone and order tile, we can't easily put a nail in the wall, we are constantly fighting weeds and insects--we are in the country, after all!--, we are desperate to fully understand our neighbors, mail takes 7-10 days to arrive to or from the US, stores are closed from 1-4 daily and Sundays, the electricity could go out the next time it rains and stay out for days, we don't see the sun for days/weeks on end ... and the list goes on ad infinitum. We are creatures of convenience, we've learned (and continue to learn) hard lessons about self-sufficiency and creative problem-solving.
BUT...we have a wonderful opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pursue a dream. When the whine rises in my throat, I tell myself, "shut up, savor the moment, embrace the experience"...but sometimes it just feels good to whine.
So, I have a glass of wine, look out over the terrace, and imagine Home Depot is closed on Sundays!
When I see the list this way, it looks manageable, even easy. When I'm in the middle of it, I want to TEAR MY HAIR OUT!!! Nothing is easy...I wanted to rehang some pictures in the loft upstairs--no big deal, right?? Wrong. Our walls are 18" thick and made of plaster...to drive a nail, one needs a damn drill; once the hole has been drilled, the nail has to be fitted; then, hopefully, the nail will hold the picture. So a project that I would do myself in 10 minutes in CA, took two of us two hours. The pictures look great.
I understand more clearly why Italians, once they decorate, NEVER change decor--their homes have the same color pallet and wall decorations for 30 years.
TILING: we've lived with a gaping hole in our fireplace where the pellet stove was installed since December...time to revestimento or redress the front. We went through our creative process, shopping for tile, creating a look--the fun stuff. We found the glass tile we wanted at Leroy-Merlin, a chain store similar to Home Depot. We assumed---ahhhh, silly, silly us---if one L-M had the tiles, the others would, too. But, nooooooo. There passed several futile days of visiting L-M all over Italy to match the tile we wanted (seriously)....we finally found it--online. Again, thwarted....it's such a simple thing in CA, if one Home Depot has it, they all have it. But, it was clearly explained to us that each store is individually franchised and they don't all have the same stuff---duh!..
The bigger problem is the front of the fireplace had to be made in such as way that the panels could be removed for cleaning the heater...okay, imagine the complexities of figuring weight-bearing, ease of removal, maintaining the integrity of the design....that consumed about 2 weeks to solve those problems. The picture doesn't do it justice, But...
 |
| this is the result...and we're very happy! |
Isn't it adorable???
Life here is not easy...we can't pick up a phone and order tile, we can't easily put a nail in the wall, we are constantly fighting weeds and insects--we are in the country, after all!--, we are desperate to fully understand our neighbors, mail takes 7-10 days to arrive to or from the US, stores are closed from 1-4 daily and Sundays, the electricity could go out the next time it rains and stay out for days, we don't see the sun for days/weeks on end ... and the list goes on ad infinitum. We are creatures of convenience, we've learned (and continue to learn) hard lessons about self-sufficiency and creative problem-solving.
BUT...we have a wonderful opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pursue a dream. When the whine rises in my throat, I tell myself, "shut up, savor the moment, embrace the experience"...but sometimes it just feels good to whine.
So, I have a glass of wine, look out over the terrace, and imagine Home Depot is closed on Sundays!
Ahh, the good life! I love it all-the tile around the stove, the regatta and Pat's profile in the foreground, and the ADORABLE apartment. Your work has, indeed, paid off. I DO know how much work those moments of satisfaction represent, but, just think, it ain't easy in Southern California either-smog, crowds, traffic. Kudos to many jobs well done!
ReplyDeleteLove, Lynne