Wickid Smaht

Thanks to snow days, we're deep in the throws of finishing our kitchen renovation.  In fact, I'm sitting at our new giant island as Dave installs our dishwasher!!

Through the drain hole

Woo hoo! I will compile a comprehensive post about the process as soon as it's done, but in the meantime I've been noticing a trend in home renovations that I'm wondering if others have experienced.  It goes something like this:

Person X- Oh I know what you guys are going through.  I had my kitchen/bathroom/coat closet/butler's quarters/whatever renovated last year and I thought I was going to lose my mind.

Me- (in my head) Are you shitting me?  You hired someone and you're complaining about how difficult it has been for you?!  (Out loud) Yes.  This is the exact same thing.

Having work done is not the same as doing it yourself for many reasons.  Both processes are stressful, but knowing that you're responsible for completing the majority of the work brings things to another level.  I get it.  You don't think you're good enough or smart enough to do your own renovation, but you can do this.  All you need to pull off a renovation yourself (if you want to) is some help from professionals and, most importantly,

T.V. Shows!!

A library card and a cable subscription will be required materials too.  I can't tell you how rewarding it is to do these projects.  Who cares if you make some mistakes along the way.  Like what if you caulked (settle down) your entire fabulous new bathtub and tile surround with non-waterproof caulking (settle down)?  Then water soaked the shower grout and the tile floor. You might be really pissed for a few days and then dig out the old caulking (settle down) and try again.

See...It's fine now!

So how did we get so smaht?  Here's a list of shows and websites to help you get your diy on (and some to avoid).

HGTV Shows:

1) Fixer Upper- Chip and Jojo Gaines are too cute!  We love them and their country lifestyle.  They actually seem like they do a lot of work for the show and they have fun doing it.  While watching you might learn a thing or two about designing, decorating and demo and have some lols along the way.

2) Property Brothers- Pros: they involve the homeowners in the process and make them do things like painting, demo, and tiling.  Cons: Their haircuts are too distracting and the brother on brother bickering is a little much.

3) Love it or List it-Can you put up with your current house if it's renovated, or do you want to get the hell out of dodge and buy a new home?  You can cut the sexual tension between hosts Hillary and David with a knife, and the "Are you going to love it or  are you going to list it?" tension makes for some high drama too.  What I've learned- expect the unexpected when you start renovating any house; in Canada it is customary to have bedrooms in the basement; and Hillary and David are totally doing it (and I don't even think he likes girls).

   

4) Rehab Addict-
This pint-sized dynamo finds awful houses and renovates the crap out of them.  Pros: Promotes a can-do attitude about renovating.  Cons: Sometimes the projects are superfluous.  Do you really need to re-purpose the doors of this crack den and make them into a weird looking counter?  A new one would be a little more sanitary.  I'm just sayin.'

5) Flip of Flop - Holy shit these people are annoying.  In particular, Dave hates Tarek because he never does anything himself and he whines all the time!  He always has his contractor do the heavy lifting.  What I've learned- these people are nouveau riche (all Cadillacs and sequined tops), there are still deals to be had in the valley, and Tarek and Christina are putting a lot of money away in the "Christina's new boobs" fund.

Better Resources:

1) This Old House- Yes, it's OG, but to get the best advice you need to go to the source.  These guys are The Authority on renovating.  Check out their website for actually useful advice.

2) Holmes on Homes and Holmes Makes it Right and Holmes Inspection- Dave's man crush is Mike Holmes.  Can you blame him?  It's probably the overalls.  Holmes is a pro and has taught us what to do and what not to do when insulating, running electrical, flooring, framing, tiling, analyzing building code, and most importantly, being safe on the job.  Dave believes in his mantra "Do it once and do it right."  He is the closest thing we have to a religion in our household.

Dave's face when he realized that our new cable package does not include the DIY network

3) Young House Love (r.i.p.)- These 2 cuties hit blog overload and had to quit us last year.  I know how they feel.  The pressures of keeping up a popular blog, trying to give the public what they want, day after day.  It's exhausting, which is why I only post about once every 2 months.  Their website is great and has lots of resources for diy-ing just about anything in your house.

So, there you have it.  You can do this!  And when you're done you'll be on top of the world, channeling your inner Jesse Pinkman! (Sorry for the delay, we just finished Breaking Bad.  Lots to learn from that show too!).

Music for Today:
1) Frank Turner "Polaroid Picture"- A repeat entrant in this blog, Frank Turner is a genius.  There is a language barrier, as his British accent is quite thick.  It's only taken me a year of listening to this song to figure out that I actually like it a lot.  As he says in the intro, "Remember the moment, be proud that you were fucking there and then move on and find new moments."  Preach, Frank.  You might need to look up the lyrics so you can sing along.

2) Shakey Graves "Dearly Departed"- All I know is that Shakey Graves is a person, not a band, and I love this song.  The end.

3) Sleater-Kinney "No Cities to Love"- Sleater-Kinney is back!  These 3 women have always been innovators in the indie rock and riot grrrl world. The whole album is streaming here: