I never understood the appeal of realtor shows on HGTV. Flip This House, Sell This House, Curb Appeal – all those shows. I watched a few, but really, why would I care about the cracks in some guy’s laundry room?
Suddenly, I’m that guy. I’m improving Mom’s home in case ten years from now there’s a seller’s market again.
Those shows are INSPIRATIONAL. I look at Mom’s and lie down in despair, then I watch a show and realize all I have to do is make a budget, stay away from the house for a week while a team of dedicated non-smoking professionals fix the problem, then come back and gasp in delight. Then I write a check for $35,000.
I had my own “reveal” this weekend, when I went to Mom’s after the painter finished. Kilim Beige all the way through.
(Lighter on the walls)
Then there’s cream trim (exciting!) and I’m getting taupe carpet. Beige! Taupe! Cream! They scream for white wood doors.
And thanks be to the patience of Jack W_____ and Tammy, there is no wallpaper.
After the reveal, I came home. To my Crayola box carnival home. Foyer: maroon, Great room: sage and cream, bathroom: doctor scrubs green, Gary’s room: a different color of sage, master bedroom: gold, guest room: wallpaper.
Now I want to strip my house, paint everything one color, and have nothing in each room but one piece of furniture.
4 responses to “Realty”
The scientific name for this is “Kick the House Syndrome.” As in, you foolishly go to an open house to look at a house better than yours. When you get home, you want to kick the house.
This is why I never go to open houses.
In my dotage, I have learned to hate stuff. A plain room with one thing in it would suit me fine. Not that you would know from looking around my cluttered office. Or my super-cluttered dreams.
Oh god, me too (with the clutter — and the terra cotta – yellow – green walls). My husband has been talking about looking at houses, and although I hate moving, at this point I think the only way to clean would be to take everything out of the house and only put back in what we want. So who cares if it’s in another house at that point, right?
Becs – I don’t get people who go to open houses. They WANT to move? They WANT to be frustrated? Hattie – Mom went through a Great Purge of the house in her 60s. Allison – Yes! It’s like I’ve soiled the nest, now I need to fly to a new nest.