Adjustments and Home Improvements

Cabot House

Bentonville House

We have now lived in our Bentonville house for five months. We are ending our first semester of school here, as Owen gets out for the summer this week. In some ways, it feels like we have lived here forever, but in other ways it feels like we just arrived. It's still a strange feeling sometimes. We drove back by our old house in Cabot last weekend when we were in the Little Rock area for Memorial Day weekend, and I found that I didn't miss it. I was relieved that I didn't feel sad because I didn't know what it would be like to see the street again . . . to look at the yard we once mowed, the fence we built, or see the brick color that I carefully chose myself. I will always love that house because we built it and selected every detail from the carpet color to the counters to the light fixtures. It was the house where I brought home two of my three children from the hospital. I was happy to see that it still looked exactly the same, and the new owners hadn't changed the exterior at all. However, my main impression was, "Wow, it's so small!" I don't know how we ever fit our three kids into their two, small bedrooms. I am so thankful that we were able to increase our square footage by about 40% in our new house.

Now, don't get me wrong. We didn't get to go and buy a perfect house that was also bigger. My new house is far from perfect; in fact, it was previously a foreclosed property. It's in a great location, we have wonderful neighbors, and it is much more space for our family. It even has a neighborhood playground and pool, which we love! However, it doesn't have all the "personal" touches, upgrades, and trim that my Cabot house had since we built that house ourselves. In my Cabot house, I picked out all the light fixtures, paint colors, and installed extra built-in shelving in every closet. However, this new house is your typical "spec house" that was thrown up as fast as the builder could get it built in order to make a profit. It came with the lovely "builder's grade" carpeting, fixtures, etc. So, it has been a lot of work in order to make it feel like home.

Here are some of the things we've accomplished (with a handyman, landscaper, etc.) since January:

cleaned carpets
cleaned all tile and sealed grout
replaced dining light fixture
replaced Arden's light fixture
replaced glass globes in existing kitchen light fixture
installed 3 dimmer switches
installed a new refrigerator
replaced 5 wooden closet rods that were bent
caulked seams in crown molding in three rooms
painted approximately 50% of the interior walls with the same color paint
painted Arden's room a different color (green) to match her bedding
painted all baseboards in three baths, entry, and kitchen
installed built-in, wood shelves in the bonus room closet and guestroom closet
installed an underground drainage system (with drain boxes) around entire yard
caulked and painted exterior trim around garage doors and on covered porch
installed a Bible verse with vinyl lettering over a 12 foot doorway
installed a new sink basket and kitchen faucet fixture in kitchen sink
purchased a tv, 2 bar stools, 7 ft silk tree, mattress, and chair/ottoman from Craigslist (*used)
bought a foyer cubby unit for the entry way to provide more storage
installed 2 new showerheads in two bathrooms
replaced damaged guttering on back of house
fixed a wobbly ceiling fan
repaired leaking cartridge valve on master tub faucet
reattached loose handrail up the stairwell
repaired dog-eaten, damaged wood trim on baseboards and doorways in laundry room
replaced torn door insulation stripping in laundry room
reglued a piece of crown molding on top of the kitchen cabinets that literally fell off
caulked leaking vent in attic
installed new doorknobs
programmed new garage door openers
replaced two dead bushes
replaced cracked valve on sprinker backflow unit
lots and lots of cleaning

I enjoy being in the house now, and it really feels settled and homey. But, it has been a HUGE amount of work! I didn't expect to have to do all this updating, repairing, and landscaping in addition to unpacking a whole semi-truck of our belongings. It makes me want to stay put for a long, long time and not have to do this again! The NWA area is feeling like home, and Stuart loves his job. So, all is good. We've come a long way in getting the house back to the way I wanted it to look and feel. I installed a few fixtures that were identical to my "favorites" from the Cabot house which makes it feel more like home. We have a few more big projects like finishing the fencing and installing wood floors downstairs, but that will have to wait. We're out of money until next year! So, now I just have to keep saving, saving, saving!