We decided to give one of the bedrooms a refresh. It wouldn’t take much, we thought. It wouldn’t cost a ton.
A coat of paint doesn’t break the bank, we told ourselves.
“You know,” I said to the husband after the painting was complete. “Now that the walls have been done, I can see that the carpet looks ghastly.”
He agreed.
We selected some carpet, and had that installed, along with new underlay, of course, and brand-new baseboards. No biggie. It was all still on budget. Whatever that happened to be.
“You know,” I said after the carpet had been put in, “now that the floors are done, I’m thinking that ceiling light fixture has to go. Seems kind of old school.”
He agreed.
No problem, we thought. How much does a light fixture cost? Not much, as it turned out. We were still in control. Whatever that happened to mean.
We eyeballed the room, which looked lovely — except for the fact that it was empty.
“You know,” I said. “A bedroom isn’t a bedroom without a bed. Remember, we tossed the old one.”
“True enough,” said the husband.
So we ordered a bed. And a frame. And new sheets, new pillows and a new duvet.
The refresh was beginning to take on a life of its own. So was the budget.
“I wonder how much we’ve spent so far,” said the husband.
“I have no idea,” I said. “But now that the bed’s in place, I can see that we need bedside tables. And lamps, of course, to put on them.”
“Agreed,” said the husband. “I’m guessing we also need a chest of drawers. You know, so any overnight visitors will have space to store their stuff.”
We picked up some tables, some lamps and a chest of drawers. The latter came unassembled. It also came with some 5,000 parts, give or take 500.
The husband spent the next day swearing. I spent the next day spending.
“Now that we’re done,” I said, “I can see that the walls look pretty bare. We need to get us some art.”
Art purchased and put in place, we surveyed the space.
“Looks awesome,” I said.
“Agreed,” said the husband.
For now, the bedroom sits empty, but I can say that it looks pretty swell. We now have a place that’s ready for guests. Whoever they happen to be.
