16 August 07 - If you have seen some of the photos in the previous post, you must have realised that Our Corner has now been officially upgraded to Up-and-Running status. The furniture have all arrive, the carpentry is completed, the glass panels are all in the right sizes, and the floor feels squeaky clean.
Finally, everything feels right. On hindsight, it feels a little strange that we no longer have to fuss over whether the painting is complete, or if the glass panels are properly installed. Instead, after 3 days of sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing, washing, mopping, and scrapping, Our Corner finally feels like a home and not a construction site.
Nevertheless, there are still some imperfections which are awaiting the carpenter's touches. But we are not losing any sleep over those details as those should be completed without much fuss. More importantly, we have now progressed from worrying about glass, wood and cement, to detergent, mops and towels. It probably still demands the same amount of attention and effort, but somehow, we're just so much more happier doing it now that we can touch and feel the end result.
This whole experience of renovation has been rather humbling. For example, I never knew that it was so difficult to have clean floors. Who would know that the cement grouting has a nasty habit of leaving a fine powder all over the living room despite repeated moppings and vacuumings? Now I finally discover that clean floors are truly a privilege and not an entitlement.
So what lies ahead? Probably more weekends spent hunkered over stubborn stains or in supermarkets shopping for stuff to fill our shelves. Getting Our Corner ready is truly only half the battle. The next half will be fought throughout the rest of our mortal lives with lots of water, detergent and a good vacuum cleaner. Sounds daunting, but in truth, I'm kind of looking forward to it. Not because I intend to take up housework as my latest hobby, but everything just feels right when you know you're working hard to miantain your home in the best condition. Sappy but true.
Finally, everything feels right. On hindsight, it feels a little strange that we no longer have to fuss over whether the painting is complete, or if the glass panels are properly installed. Instead, after 3 days of sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing, washing, mopping, and scrapping, Our Corner finally feels like a home and not a construction site.
Nevertheless, there are still some imperfections which are awaiting the carpenter's touches. But we are not losing any sleep over those details as those should be completed without much fuss. More importantly, we have now progressed from worrying about glass, wood and cement, to detergent, mops and towels. It probably still demands the same amount of attention and effort, but somehow, we're just so much more happier doing it now that we can touch and feel the end result.
This whole experience of renovation has been rather humbling. For example, I never knew that it was so difficult to have clean floors. Who would know that the cement grouting has a nasty habit of leaving a fine powder all over the living room despite repeated moppings and vacuumings? Now I finally discover that clean floors are truly a privilege and not an entitlement.
So what lies ahead? Probably more weekends spent hunkered over stubborn stains or in supermarkets shopping for stuff to fill our shelves. Getting Our Corner ready is truly only half the battle. The next half will be fought throughout the rest of our mortal lives with lots of water, detergent and a good vacuum cleaner. Sounds daunting, but in truth, I'm kind of looking forward to it. Not because I intend to take up housework as my latest hobby, but everything just feels right when you know you're working hard to miantain your home in the best condition. Sappy but true.
- Melvin
No comments:
Post a Comment