Why, hello there shiny new LG steam washer and dryer...

... sitting there in my old basement.

Wait, back up. Isn't there supposed to be a basement renovation going on here? Why yes, yes there is. Last we left it, we had figured out the layout and were discussing things with our contractor. A few things got in the way, like the holidays and an unexpected trip to New York, but the plan was good and we only had to agree on a price.

Let me say that hiring tradespeople sometimes requires a bit of give and take. In our experience, some trades do fantastic work but their price is too high, or they have poor communication skills, or they take too long. It is rare to find one who does great work on schedule and on budget with little grief - and if you do find one of those, hold onto them for dear life! So when we started on this basement reno journey, we knew we wanted to work with our contractor N. He had worked with us before, doing part of our bathroom, doing lots of great work at my sister's house and HandyMan's uncle's house. We knew his quality of work so we were willing to put up with some less desirable qualities.

Unfortunately, one of those undesirable qualities was an inability to provide a fair quote based on the scope of work. Prices changed each time we talked, quotes increased when work was removed, things cost many times more than we knew they should, and getting a response took days. And yet, we were close. We wanted to work with him and were willing give and take here and there. But it wasn't enough, so here we are... plan in hand, new washer and dryer installed, new vanity in storage, and half our garage overtaken with Ikea cabinetry for the new laundry room.

We're hoping to find a new contractor soon, but in the meantime, we've decided to change course. With Chloe's 2nd birthday in two months, we hoped to host the party at home and need a space for guests. So we've decided to renovate the living room over the next eight weeks, and keep the basement as is so partying toddlers won't have to play musical chairs amongst all the construction debris.

A few of you have noticed that I've never shown the living room on my blog. I'll give you a tour soon and you'll see why. Its basically Chloe's indoor playground and a place where mismatched furniture goes to die. Oh, and then there's the leaky hole in the ceiling from where we removed the fireplace FOUR YEARS AGO. Sigh. Yes, I've been holding out on you. Guilty as charged. Hopefully once I show you my brand spanking new living room you'll forgive me though.

Eight weeks, people. Gotta get moving!