When you think about romance, is home renovation the first thing that comes to mind? No? Me neither. However, Julie Winston is here today to share how couple’s DIY renovating can actually be more romantic than you’d think.
The old pioneer homestead is what eventually led to the great cities and suburbs that exist now. Part of the American Dream is homeownership, and the early settlers not only built their own homes, but they also had to acquire the raw materials to do it. That same do-it-yourself spirit is alive and well in homeowners today, driving a desire to make homes what they want them to be.
However, home centers and power tools exist now to make it much easier to DIY. Just as spouses worked together to build their homes in the pioneer days, you can renovate yours together now. You may be surprised to find out just how romantic this kind of side-by-side work can really be.
Share Your Dream Home Ideas
Talk about what you want your home to look like. Imagine the grand, but adapt to your budget. Sharing your individual thoughts about what you want your home to look like with all of its amenities and features is emotionally revealing, and romance begins with discovery. Though your individual tastes for color, texture, and style are likely to vary, it is an opportunity to learn compromise.
Acquire the Skills You Need
While your friends may be going to a concert or a movie, you two should be checking the class schedule at your local home supply centers. Here is where you can learn some useful skills such as how to prepare a wall surface for painting, how to lay a ceramic tile floor, or understanding kitchen renovation tips together. What could be more romantic than working side by side and hand in hand to turn your house into your dream home?
Renovation Shopping
Here is where it can get dicey. If one spouse has a vibrant colorful flair while the other prefers muted earth tones, it can cause issues. If you are more rustic and your partner is more metropolitan, this is where you can definitely work on the skill of compromise. Nothing contributes to relationship harmony like a little give and take.
This is why women often end up with designer kitchens and bathrooms while the men get a man cave. Keep in mind that just as your relationship cannot be compared to that of your friends or family, neither can the design theme of your home.
You do not have to follow the recommendations of TV or magazine designers as to how your home should look. Shop for the cabinets, carpeting, paint, wall covering, and more that makes you both feel good about being home.
Share the Work and the Upkeep
Men, your wives can wield a nail gun and use a tape measure just as good as you can. Sometimes, maybe even better. Women, your husbands can cook up a delicious meal even if propane and wood or electric smokers are not involved.
All of the work of renovations and the daily chores should equally be shared. If you have a skill your partner does not, be a patient teacher rather than taking an it’s-quicker-if-I-do-it-myself attitude.
This goes whether the tools involved have sharp edges or not. At the end of the day, you both will be satisfied that the work is done and you completed it together.
Couple’s DIY Tools
When you go together to buy anything from new power tools to a new vacuum cleaner, make sure the tools you use in and around your home are compatible for both of you. If you want to be really romantic, present your partner with a new tool that fits them like a glove. In fact, some good-fitting working gloves in his and her sizes are a good idea.
It is all about making your home what you want it to be together. Whether it is a cottage near a lake or an old Victorian nestled among some sleepy oaks and weeping willows, it is your home together.
Both of you need to be invested in making it what it needs to be for your family. Each of you should have favorite spaces and design features inside and outside your home. Together they will play a harmony that enhances the romance of your relationship.
