If you build it...

I like to think of myself as a "the glass is half full" kind of person - always look on the bright side of life if you will. (Cue the Monty Python music please) So when the sewer backed up into our basement yesterday, rather than despairing over the damage my first thought was, well, thank god I have this terrible cold right now, and I can't smell what according to my kids is an absolutely revolting odor coming from downstairs. My second thought was hey, maybe it's time to reno the basement a little sooner than we'd planned - I guess we'll get some nice new flooring out of all this. Easy for me to say, I am the idea lady, and my husband is the master of my disaster. This is the joy of living with a general contractor. Although I have to be very careful - if I muse out loud one day that it might be nice to get rid of that wall between the kitchen and the dining room, I have only myself to blame when I arrive home the next day from shopping or whatever and find the house in a total state of deconstruction, wall gone, kids cleaning up old drywall and nails.
I've heard people say that the renovation obsession is a relatively new phenomenon. While it's true that I don't recall a single renovation show on tv as a kid, I think people have been house proud since the dawn of time. And I totally get that, I really do. I walk around my home, and our property and feel an almost fierce sense of ownership at times. So while granite countertops and stainless steel appliances have replaced formica and shag carpet as the must haves in our homes, the need to create the perfect personal space remains the same. Although really, I'd like to know who died and made granite god? It's super duper hard, and things break when they fall over on it. But I digress.
Anyway, I am just as guilty as the next person, maybe more so. I went to school for interior design, so great was my thirst for building and architecture. I married a general contractor, who can build anything I can dream up. My kids have literally grown up surrounded by power tools and drywall mud. I take loads of before, during and after pics. We lovingly spent 4 years gutting and renovating our old rancher, and the moment it was done, we said "oh, isn't it beautiful now?" and then sold it. Honestly, I can't imagine living in a house where I wouldn't want to change a thing. Fortunately for me, it will literally be years before I will ever come close to that dilemma in our "new" home. And I wouldn't want it any other way. Maybe that's the real reason that ruined carpets, or leaking ceilings ultimately don't phase me. I am an optimist, it's true. But more than that, I love having something to look forward to, something to dream about. And it's even better when you can share that with someone. How does the saying go, the couple who renovate together procreate together? Something like that.  While my husband and I don't agree on everything - ha! - we do share a passion for renovation, and placing our personal stamp on our home. Thank god, because he's got some stinky, soggy carpet to deal with when he gets home tonight....!