12.07.2009

In a Bad Place

I have not been around much lately. Besides the usual Christmas busy-ness, my house has been in an uproar. What used to be this:

...now looks like this:

We decided to convert our upstairs loft into a bedroom. It's been a fairly straightforward project-just adding a half-wall, door and closet-but really? Is there anything good about having a garbage can in your hallway?

So that's why I've been absent lately. We're in a bad place around here. Construction dust. My son finding pieces of stray drywall to put in his mouth. My daughter's footed PJs looking like she's been trudging through the gutters in them. The dog? Oh, the dog! His fuzzy hair is like a magnet for debris.

And in the midst of it all, trying to put up the Christmas tree and enjoy the yuletide. So you can see why I have not been showing you my Christmas decorations, our cozy nights by the fire sipping hot chocolate, and visits to Santa!

I hope to be back sometime soon with more traditional Christmas posts. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the season!

44 comments:

  1. You poor thing!! I hate when I have people in my house working and I HATE the mess!! It will be worth it though to have an extra bedroom!!
    I can't wait to see your Christmas decorations!

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  2. What's not joyful and festive about a new room to decorate?? Can't wait to see the after....

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  3. I hear ya! But hang in there; it'll be so worth it when it's done!

    Nancy

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  4. I am looking forward to seeing your new room. We are about to take on a major construction project after the first of the year and I am anxious about it. Hang in there!

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  5. Oh, but the finished project will be great.

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  6. I know it's a bad place now, but I'm excited to see what you'll do with the new room! Take care.

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  7. Wow! So painful while you are going through it, but at the same time you know it is going to be worth it!
    I wanted to thank you for the Kate Morton book suggestion awhile ago. I went through a medical emergency lately and lost the vision in my left eye. Thankfully it is coming back but while I was in the hospital and on restricted activity, I downloaded both of those books and they really kept me company! So I wanted to say thanks!
    Blessings on you and your family, Carrie! I hope you have a great week!

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  8. Good Luck with the renovation! I can't wait to see pictures. I'm sure it will look fabulous.

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  9. Hang in there! It'll all be worth it when it's done. :)

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  10. Good Luck, there are few things worse than living in construction. I've done it and it is no fun.

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  11. I hope the craziness ends quickly for you. Until then, hang in there.

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  12. I feel your pain and dust! This is the second year in a row that we've had some home project going on in December -- never again! Take care.

    Janet

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  13. Oh dear..\hope you guys will be done soon..It's always fun doing stuff like that with little ones around and a dog..Oh I know how you feel..Hugs..

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  14. Oh, Carrie! I feel for you!!!
    My house is tore up on a MUCH smaller scale-transitioning boys in bedrooms, and the never ending organizing of all the clothes size 8 down to 18 months...I am taking a break from my stress, and see you are in the middle of a mess (on a grander scale-) and I find encouragement...
    As my mom always says, This too, will pass...
    Right?
    Hang in there, the reward at the end is coming....

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  15. I definitely feel for you. Hopefully, you can work around the dust and find your Christmas cheer.♥

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  16. Oh, Carrie! Hope the dust all settles (or gets sucked up) soon! Can't wait to see the finished room, I know it will be great:)

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  17. I, too, am so anxious to see your Christmas decorations! Good luck with all the remodeling!!! =)
    What a great time of year to be doing this, huh?! *wink*wink*

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  18. WoW! That's a huge project... very impressive... can't wait to see the finished product. You've been busy! ~ kim

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  19. OH me! Home improvements are stressful aren't they!? Hoping it's over soon for you!

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  20. Oooft! That is alot going on. It look like it's going well though! Good luck, and 'mon back when you have time!

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  21. Just wanted to let you know that I made an advent calendar like yours. I just loved the idea of having a calendar that matched my home decor and still gave me a place to hide goodies for my kids! It turned out great! Thanks for the inspiration:)
    Blessings to you,
    Melissa

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  22. Can't wait to see the finished product. I always love how your bedrooms turn out!

    Hoping this Christmas brings you peace amidst the chaos. And goodwill towards your workmen. :)

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  23. I can't wait wait to see what it will look like after!! I hope it goes by quickly for you and you can enjoy your Christmas!

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  24. I hope your house gets back to normal soon!

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  25. Oh, wow, you've got your hands full, huh? Sounds exciting. Now is as good a time as any, right? : )
    Enjoy the process and hopefully it will get put back together soon!

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  26. Hang in there! It will be fun to see what it looks like when it is all finished!

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  27. Carrie, we all do what we gotta do. Some years are different than others. We just had more insulation put into the attic and it stopped up the filters in the furnace and that was a mess and you just clean up and start again. Everyone will still be around when it is over.
    QMM

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  28. Oh no! You poor thing! It will be soooo worth the dust in December in the end!

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  29. Oh Carrie I totally understand where you are ~ we are scraping popcorn ceilings, painting walls, trim, risers and sanding doors in our foyer. It's not the most enjoyable site upon entering our home and I can't wait for it to be finished!

    Jo

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  30. No thanks to the mess at this time of the year, either! Hang in there, Carrie. Hopefully soon enough it'll be complete!

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  31. Ah! I know exactly how you feel. Not construction dust, but moving chaos. What a way to spend the season! Hang in there. It will be worth it in the end!!

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  32. Ah! I know exactly how you feel. Not construction dust, but moving chaos. What a way to spend the season! Hang in there. It will be worth it in the end!!

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  33. I can not imagine all the mess, but it will be so worth it in the end!! I hope you get it done soon!

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  34. Living in a home during a renovation is definitely a big challenge. Good luck! :)

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  35. Oh, wow! It will be beautiful and worth it...when it is finished. Next year, you can look back and laugh...right?! :)

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  36. Oh, wow! It will be beautiful and worth it...when it is finished. Next year, you can look back and laugh...right?! :)

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  37. I know how you feel, I've got plastic covering parts of my kitchen that will be getting worked on this coming week! :) But your "mess" now will all be worth it in the end! Can't wait to see how it turns out!
    Blessings,
    Stacey

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  38. What a time of year to be doing something like that! But it will be worth it I'm sure. :)

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  39. Oh my! But what a wonderful space it will be when it is finished! Here's to hoping you are finding your way through the drywall dust!

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  40. We just finished construction in our living room...I feel your dry wall pain! I'm finding dust on the dust! You will be so happy you did it when it's all over...

    now I'm off to look at your advent calendar tutorial. Love. It.

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  41. Wow, that is quite a change! I hate having work done in my house (even little things), so I hope your project is finished sooner than later so you can clean up the dust and be back to living in all your spaces without work men tromping through your house, construction noise, and debris!

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  42. so we have a loft in our upstairs that's pretty similar. And the one complaint we had about our house was that it didn't have 4 bedrooms-i never even considered the fact that we could turn the loft into a bedroom (DUH!). haha. Does it make your upstairs hallway seem small now? And is it ridiculously expensive to get it done?

    good luck and can't wait to see the final product!

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  43. Hi to Danielle!
    Nope, it really was not that expensive. I will tell you we got a few estimates to get the work done by a contractor ($2500-$3000 range) so we opted to do it ourselves, with the generous use of a friend who had done projects like this before. We probably spent about $1000 instead. As for making things feel smaller, well, a bit, but we still have lots of light coming from the hallway window, plus the windows in the bedrooms since our doors are usually left open during the day. HIGHLY recommend doing this if you are feeling dissatisfied with your house but can't figure out how to move. :)
    Carrie

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  44. WOW! That's actually much cheaper than I thought it would've been-and definitely cheaper than buying a new house to get the 4th bedroom! ;) Thanks so much for getting back to me-I really do appreciate it!

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Thank you so much for your comments! Please know that I read each and every one. I would dearly love to visit each of you in return, but sometimes life's busyness wins out! :)