Pull here

There is a blizzard forecast for the next day or so. Of course, that means that it is a perfect time to tackle some of the projects around the house that haven’t gotten done for a long time. Yesterday, we shopped at the big box store and tried to get enough cabinet pulls to complete our kitchen reno.

Here is where I feel you need a little background information.

We moved into this home 10 years ago. From the day I saw this house I have hated a few things about the decorating.

1. The light fixtures.

2. The cabinet pulls.

3. The faucets.

4. The wallpaper and wall colors (I have now repainted most of the rooms, removing wallpaper as needed).

5. The kitchen counters.

Five years ago, with money from my inheritance, we started a kitchen renovation. We put in granite countertops. Love them. We replaced the kitchen faucet. We replaced the kitchen light fixtures. Well, except for the undercabinet lighting, which still has the wiring taped up to the bottom of the cabinets.  The rest of the job remains unfinished. For FIVE years now.

This is not because we didn’t have the funds. At the time, there was money for these items. No, the reason was because we could not agree on the decorating changes. My husband loves the current items. I hate them. I want them replaced. He is just fine with leaving them as they are.

Can you say  stalemate? Can we get some UN negotiators involved here?

Just recently, I was able to convince him that the cabinet pulls could be replaced. I found some that matched the light fixtures. For nearly a year, we had a “sample” of the cabinet pull on one of the cabinets so that he could get adjusted to the change. We have now changed (all but seven-there were not enough at the store-we have to go back to get the rest) the cabinet pulls.

Here is what I  lived with the past ten years:

These are white ceramic and polished brass, circa 1985

These are the replacements, as of 2011:

Antique bronze, circa 2011

There are several decorating issues upon which there is still no agreement.  Here are some sconces which are in our entry.  I cannot even describe how much I have hated these from the moment I laid eyes on them just over 10 years ago:

Worst of all, there are TWO of these! I cannot believe someone bought these, even in 1985!

There are little ceramic plates that are supposed to reflect the light from fake candles. They are also polished brass. The little candle-flame bulbs are only about 40 watts, and they give out very little light. Why, oh why would they be in an entry area?

Here is the way the two of them look:

Yes, my husband loves these lights.

Now, if I can present to you one more awful light fixture in the entry that I have lived with for these ten years:

Again, the fake candle flame bulbs, circa 1985

The thing about this ceiling light in our entry is that it has been broken for the entire ten years we have lived here.  It hangs crooked. However, my husband loves this as well, and I have not been able to convince him to replace it.

At times, I have wondered, how could I have married someone with such horrible taste?  Then I wonder if it says something about why he married me.

He just loves shiny polished brass. He will joke about it. But it truly is hard for him to give these up. I haven’t figured it out. He thinks I just want change for the sake of change, when these things are working just fine. Perhaps that is true. They do work, after all.

I’m tempted to just go and get a fixture and just have someone else install it. But that would really hurt his feelings and make him mad. So, here I am, ten years later, trying to cajole him into making changes. He does not like change.

Oh, btw, the “new” kitchen faucet broke last summer, and it is still there. It has no handle. We can use it by pulling up on the screw that would normally hold down the handle. Technically it still works, so we have no real need to replace it yet.

I love the new cabinet pulls.

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