I should have known.

So hi, how are you? Already broken your new year’s resolutions? OK.

The first bit of good news this year is that we are buying a house! That’s right. For me that means my house/home/nesting compulsion has been temporarily validated and I am free to peruse home listings and talk about colors and finishes and layouts willy nilly. With wild abandon. Incessantly, really. I grew up on model homes and Trading Spaces, people, and old habits die hard.

*Tangent*

Why did any of us think the things they did on Trading Spaces were OK? I shudder to think…remember the one with thousands of silk flowers stapled to the walls of that bathroom???

*End Tangent*

My entire life, I have had this thing for architecture. I like buildings, and houses especially. I like to study their lines, think about what they’re made of, how old they are and what the people who have inhabited them have been like. I cried when I saw the Provo Tabernacle burning. That’s a post in itself. I’ve always thought it would be the coolest thing ever to buy a historic home and restore it to its original glory (plus modern plumbing and wiring) and live there for a long time. The house would be part of my stewardship and a way of contributing to society. I would be respecting those who came before me by taking care of the home they lovingly built, and also doing a service to my community by preserving a beautiful piece of our past. People could drive by my house and think, “Wow, what a beautiful old place…” and proceed to wonder the same things I always wonder about an old house.

But then we actually decided to buy a place and the thought of doing all those extensive, engrossing projects sounded like about the worst thing in the world to me. With my husband and I both working full time, the last thing I wanted to do was coordinate logistics for major revamping of anything in the house. We wanted someplace that was “done.” Of course we might paint some walls, but that was the extent of what I was willing to do. I limited my searches to things that looked move-in ready.

Now that we’ve started looking…wow, is there such a thing as move-in ready? Actually, we did see one that was move-in ready and (SHOCK) looked exactly like the pictures. And, I might add, has a cute modern kitchen and the most gorgeous hardwood floors. But then we saw one that felt amazing to be in (bright, welcoming, spacious), but upon closer inspection, needed a ton of work. I’m talking re-facing cabinets, reinforcing subfloors, replacing flooring, widening staircases…

Guess which one I’m thinking about constantly?

I should have known this would happen. What business do I have telling myself I won’t want a project? It’s me. I always want a project.

And to answer your question, yes, I would make many changes in the project house that would give it a look similar to the move-in ready house.

But they would be MY changes.

Am I ill?