Am I shopping like Goldilocks?
I really need to stop watching HGTV. It gives me way too many ideas and prompts me to be overly ambitious when it comes to home projects. I can’t resist, though, and channel my inner Joanna Gaines from “Fixer Upper” every chance I get.
The most recent incident found me once again staring at the 1990s ceiling fan in our living room complete with rattan inset blades and brass base. Two of our bedrooms have matching fans but go a step further with a dangling light kit and outdated bulb covers that remind me of a saloon from the 1800s Wild West. I couldn’t stand it any longer and asked my husband if he would mind if I replaced them along with our brass 1900s dining room chandelier. He shrugged and said it was fine. Shopping for light fixtures took only a few minutes and was easy compared to what came next.
My go-to handyman/Mr. Fix It/Problem Solver and good friend happily agreed to do the installations. All was well, and I love the choices I made and how they instantly updated the looks of each room.
The last piece to come down was the living room fan. Was it operated by a wall switch, my friend asked? Yes, um, I believe it was. Turns out it wasn’t. Wouldn’t you think that after living in this house with that fan for years I would remember? Then again, I haven’t used it in a while. The fan wound up being wired to a separate box and operated only by the pull chain. That meant the new fancy light fixture didn’t have a wall switch. My dear, talented, hard-working, intrepid friend managed to create a new wall switch and wire it (even though that meant crawling up into the attic briefly).
Now, time to add a new wall plate for the switch and that meant updating the others to match. This wound up costing me three trips to the home improvement store because I shop like Goldilocks and can’t remember what people tell me. First, I tried white (too white with the paint and the actual switch). My friend told me the switch was ivory. I thought that looked too yellow at the store and bought a light almond plate. That matched the wall paint but not the switch. Back for ivory – way too yellow for the wall paint. I finally settled on the light almond for all of them and called it a day.
In the end, it was all worth the effort. Everything looks beautiful and as if it actually belongs in 2024.
Don’t get me started again on mattress shopping and my Goldilocks experience in that department (too soft, too firm, etc.).
We’re trying out a new memory foam topper this week that’s so puffy, I may need a step ladder to crawl into bed!
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.