Home Updates complete at last

 

When we last met, the kitchen update had been completed along with the main part of the bathroom renovation. We redid all the window coverings - 2 more large windows than we had planned. 

The guys ensured we could use the ensuite before Christmas, but some finishing touches ended up taking until the end of January. Now it's completed and it is really lovely. Taking a shower is like a mini vacation to what I imagine the Mediterranean to be like (I've never been). The space has been filled with plants as a finishing touch.

I've seen a lot of renos that prioritize a larger shower in the main bathroom. When we built the big thing was a soaker/jacuzzi tub. We doubt we'll be moving and I remember how difficult it was to bathe when I had my broken ankle. While we don't expect another event like that we do expect to have reduced mobility at some point and wanted to build in accessibility. There's lots of room for a support bar should we ever need one.

There is a next stage of course but it's just appliances. Homes are money pits; maintenance simply delays the replacement of most things. When the washer dies (which will likely be never since we know what we want to replace it with) we'll update the dishwasher and fridge. We just got a new gas stove and, while wasteful, we calculated the cost per GJ of gas vs. electricity and it's orders of magnitude more for electricity. We have good ventilation in our home so we're not terribly concerned about the methane and benzene we could be exposed to.

We were talking about which update makes the biggest cosmetic difference and, hands down it's the blinds. If your only concern is making things pretty, update your window treatments. For energy efficiency, it's hard to choose between the furnace and windows. The windows keep temperatures much more stable but the furnace uses less gas to heat and electricity to circulate the heat. our energy use is down and our comfort level is up so that's also a win. 

The only downside is the counter hides stuff so we end up looking for items like jewelry, spoons etc. Doesn't even rise to the level of first-world problems🙂The upside was we got to support a lot of local businesses and they were great to work with. Any bumps in the road were dealt with quickly and with minimal fuss and there was very little wait considering all the moving parts. The big thing was that people showed up when they said they would and if they didn't it was because they were sick. Which yeah, don't come to our house and be distracted while working because you're ill.