Herein lies the big question; is it worth it?
Well, what I can share with you is yes, they are, if you’re smart, patient. I’d highly recommend a shaman, marriage counselor and child protection services too. All of which will come in handy at some point. Just sayin….
Last year JJ and I embarked on a project at our home. We bought a very “Mediterranean Style” home in 2010, and while we loved it, the area and the neighbors, it was bit “over the top” in style for our tastes. 2008 builds were big on the Mediterranean style apparently. So, since we’re not made of money, we embraced it’s look and made the very best of it. Let’s be clear; it’s a beautiful home that we love, but it was too dark. Cherry floors, cabinets, circular columns, ornate cathedral bathrooms, counter tops built for people much taller than us etc. It needed a “refresh” both inside & out.
First order of business; finding a contractor that would do what he said he would do, show up daily, keep us informed, do quality work and in fantasyland, be somewhat affordable. I know, I know, wishful thinking. Guess what? Fantasies do come true.
We arrived at our contractor by chance actually. He had recently done extensive work for our neighbors and they raved about him. What I do know as a neighbor, the construction crew was there every single day at 8a sharp and working until 5p. I thought I was dreaming. As a realtor, I hear the horror stories, and actually went through one with one of our investment properties. So, we were timid.
We finally met with Chris Bello (contact information on my website) and from the word go, both JJ and I felt comfortable and were astounded at his thoughts, ideas and design suggestions. In fact, our designer, Cory Kingston (contact information on the website) even commented that she was amazed at how put together and professional he was and his vision was none like she’d encountered before. Ok – winning so far!!!
So – we hire Chris, he gives crystal clear needs and expectations from us. “Out of the house for four months, all furniture in rooms out, anything you don’t want tossed, get it out, have all elements you want ordered and ready to go when we start”. Seems simple, we’ve hired a dictator with a muscle shirt on. Great.
I won’t bore you with the lead up to “D-Day”, but there were plenty of internal disagreements at the Corr home. Me? I’m hard wired OCD. If you don’t use it, toss it, donate it, burn it, just make it go away. JJ? Whole other story, but the old adage of “opposites attract” comes in to play here. Happy to report, we made it through that relatively unscathed.
Next up – moving to Hermosa for four months and all the joy that was…..Part 2 next time!
