From Cabinet Refacing to Outdoor Fireplaces
by diywealth on Nov.10, 2009, under diy
I still feel like a little boy within. I have a difficult time peering into the mirror and locating a fully realized adult. I would have believed the birth of my 2nd child might have changed it, but I still seem to be in denial of the aging process.
Speaking of aging — or rather putting it off — my dear wife and I recently moved into a brand new house and this house possesses room in the basement for the home gym my wife had always sought. But I’m seeing dollar signs when I brainstorm the many big and small things necessary, from the essential but often forgotten weight benches and exercise mats to selecting the best stationary bike. A stationary bike can be tricky these days. Do you go with a recumbent or an upright exercise bike? Should I select a digital or old-school analog?
My dear wife appears set on getting one of those elliptical machines as well. You understood that correctly. An exercise bike and an elliptical trainer — not just one or the other. My estimate is that it goes with the cream for stretch marks she started utilizing after she bore our youngest child. I’m sure I’ll regret that joke.
I must be careful with our budget because our new home is a bit more of a fixer-upper. We wanted it to be this way, yet we still have to cautiously budget everything, even to a knob for a cabinet (I’m not jesting). My wife has an ambitious kitchen cabinet remodeling design planned, but I have to remind her the sinks for the bathrooms she wants installed will cost a pretty penny, too.
Thankfully, she and I both enjoy the organic, rustic look, so we are furnishing our new house with furniture which is unfinished. Yes, it still requires some finishing, but she and I can keep the expenses down and create better furniture than we might find in any store. I found a good table for coffee with some decent, raw knotting and a console table in matching oak.
And then there’s the great outdoors. For our patio we are considering fireplaces for outdoors and we’ll furnish with a little budget wicker furnitures at first.
Furnishing a new home may seem so adult, but I can’t help but sense I’m just playing house. The new exercise equipment and furniture just feel as a new generation of playthings.
