Somehow I was convinced into attempting my first DIY (Do It Yourself) home improvement project: refinishing a kitchen table and chairs. Going into it I thought it was going to be a bad idea, but I received so much positive feedback, I thought: how hard could it really be? I learned I should trust my instincts more often, as well as some other valuable lessons:
1) If your mom tells you it is going to be a good “life experience,” you should really reconsider the idea.
2) When you go to the paint store, act as ignorant as possible and ask every question you can think of. Then, if you are planning on painting a dark color, ask if you can get your primer tinted. The check-out man will think you are SOOO smart for tinting your primer. 😉
3) Don’t keep track of the time you spent working on the project. Trust me on this one!
4) Sand everything before proceeding to paint, otherwise you will get to where I am right now: a painted table and 3 chairs, with 3 chairs still waiting to be sanded, primed, and painted and ZERO motivation to do so. As long as no one ever comes over for dinner, we have enough chairs, right?
5) Be prepared for it to take longer than you ever imagined it would (I think I am going on 4 weeks)!
6) And finally, be sure to pat yourself on the back frequently along the way…it might make you feel slightly better about the giant hole you crawled into.
Stay tuned for a picture of the finished product some time in near future, or at the rate I am going, it may very well be the distant future!
A Catalyst For Growth 