And the next big 'project' is....

I've always gotta have a 'project', doncha know?

As some of you might remember, every few months, I develop a big home improvement 'project'. In the three years we've lived in this apartment, we've:

1. painted the entire living room...twice.
2. painted the hallway.
3. painted and redecorated the bathroom.
4. turned our bedroom into a kitschy, tropical oasis, complete with a beachy mural and a tiki hut headboard.
5. made a sofa from scratch.
6. painted the kitchen and added a border of fat, jolly chefs.

None of these projects include the countless times I've re-arranged the bedrooms and living room. But I figure that's just 'playtime'...no real work involved.

Yea, we've put our own money in it. I'm sure a lotta people think we're stupid for doing so, but it's my home, dammit. If I'm gonna live here, I'm gonna have it the way I want it, even if that means we pay for it ourselves. Actually, if I remember correctly, we're not even supposed to paint the joint. I'm sure it's because they don't want a crappy job. But hey...I'm a painter. My paint jobs are far superior to what was here when we moved in. Besides that, I figure they'd just repaint it if we move anyway (which we have NO plans to do)....so what's the big deal?

Anywho, there are still several things I'd like to do. I'd like to paint the kitchen again, do something with the hideous faux-woodgrain-front, metal cabinets (anybody got any good ideas for that?) and maybe change the floor tile. Those are all things that I'm just contemplating, though.

The current project is redoing our patio. I know. It's only 39 degrees out there today...but a gal can do a little wishful thinkin, can't she?

Now, it's only about 7 x 18 or so, so I don't have a lotta room to work with. It's semi-enclosed with a half-wall that we usually fill with pots and window boxes of tomatoes and/or peppers. This year, we're just gonna use half that space and do tomatoes only. About a third of the acutal floor space is taken up with a table and our fantastic electric grill (the 'kitchen' area), so I'm really just talkin an area of about 7 x 10 area to set up as a 'living' area.

A couple weekends ago, Ziggy ripped up the nasty astroturf that was on the floor. Luckily, it wasn't glued down and the wooden floor underneath is in suprisingly good shape. Just a few cracks to fill and a fresh coat of paint, and we're good to go in that area. I also want some kinda seating for one end...like a two-person lounge or glider. I'd LOVE to have one of those old, steel glider things...the kind that was so popular in the 40's and 50's? But, I'm sure they're hard to find...and if it's in good shape, it'd probably be out of our price range, anyway. (sigh)

I'd also like to get an area rug of some kind...something like a bamboo, jute or coir...something sturdy and weatherproof. Oh, and a small ceiling fan...because it's partially enclosed, it gets kinda warm out there in the afternoon. I've already got a cool plexi-topped wicker and metal coffee table I can use, so that's taken care of. I'm also thinkin maybe one of those mosquito-net canopies? Or maybe just some wispy material hung on clips...just to give the sitting area a little privacy.

I can see it in my head, already. Lazy summer days, loungin on the glider, bare feet propped up on the coffee table, sippin ice tea, readin a book while the breeze from the ceiling fan ruffles my hair....uh huh.

Soooo, it looks like a trip to Lowe's and/or Home Depot is on the agenda for this weekend. Oh boy...oh boy...oh boy! I'm sure Ziggy's just thrilled. heh