My dear friends, I hope everything is going very well in your lives so that you can enjoy this 'make your home look great' Monday, even when things don't turn out perfectly 😊. It turns out that managing the household is not an easy task. It's not just about keeping it organized, but also about trying to improve the spaces so they look harmonious and functional. In my vision board for this year, and by the way, there are only a few months left until it ends, I noted some things that I considered urgent. But as always, things keep coming up, so that list has been growing, and as with everything, some things are not planned, but rather, 'as they come up, we see'.
In December, after all the mess left by the builder, I wasn’t planning to fix the bathrooms because, there were other priorities; however, my mother underwent surgery and we needed her bathroom to be functional for her care and use. Likewise, my bathroom didn’t have a countertop, so we got a good estimate and went ahead with it. I shared two photographs with the gentleman, which matched what I wanted.
My mother's inn
Mine was different, but it fit within that framework instead of stone, made of concrete.
Like any bricklayer, who sometimes wishes to have self-esteem, he said, 'OF COURSE! That will turn out EXACTLY the same.' Right then, we started off on the wrong foot, because someone who praises themselves so much ends up showing what they lack. Since I needed it done quickly due to a medical urgency, I asked if they could complete it in one day, and he said yes, that it was just assembling and installing. It's worth noting that I had already paid for the countertop and they were about three weeks behind, due to countless reasons that came up. Things weren't looking too good.
With that scenario, the day he arrived at my home, as always, problems started: that he hadn't detailed the photo well, that a piece was stolen from him, that it couldn't be done because the sink was oval, and countless other things that annoyed me again. What we did agree on is that the previous countertop was indeed poorly made, in size and everything, but it was the easiest to cut and assemble.
Around 6 in the evening, he tells me if he could come tomorrow instead because "he had to take care of some details." To me, it seemed that he didn't know what he was doing, was just getting by, and had done a few things wrong, which when I confronted him, he would say "I'll fix it tomorrow," and I said: "NO, IT'S TODAY." In the end, the man finished around 8:00 p.m., and this was the result. Judge for yourselves and tell me if I have a right to be upset or not:
Reflections:
That idea of “mom knows best” only works in movies 🙃. I let myself go along with it because my mom ADMIRED that man's work; and it went so far that she would show me projects, and I also fell into the trap. Nowadays, I always tell her: but mine didn’t turn out the same 😒. All she says is: “I can fix it,” but honestly, I don’t even want to see him around here anymore.
Definitely in Venezuela, “paid music doesn’t play.” I spent almost a month chasing the gentleman, begging him to come do the work, only for him to do a rushed and poor job in the end. If you notice, the polished cement finishes aren’t even close to what appears in the photos.
Speaking of photos, don’t be fooled by them; I think it’s not just the furniture, but the context, the accessories, and I believe it’s all of that which creates harmony.
I don’t like it, but I think here it’s normal that, while you treat a worker badly, you don’t even give them water, let alone anything else. I’m the kind of person who provides everything, from water to food and dessert, even if they still mess something up.
Obviously, I have to hire another service, but at least I have a space to put my things, and at the time, they helped us a lot with my mother and her recovery. So in that sense, it was productive.
Today I can showcase a functional piece of furniture, and I’ll have to wait for some money (through divine provision) in order to buy the necessary materials and fix it exactly the way I want. I think my next project will be to replace my sink with something fully made of concrete like in this picture. What do you think?
Reflexiones:
Eso de "sabia es mamá", solo funciona en las películas 🙃. Yo me dejé llevar porque mi mamá ADMIRABA el trabajo de ese hombre; y tanto fue que me mostraba trabajos y yo también caí en la trampa. Hoy por hoy siempre le comento: pero el mío no quedó igual 😒. Lo único que me dice es: "Yo lo puedo arreglar", pero honestamente ya no lo quiero ver por aquí.
Definitivamente en Venezuela "música paga no suena". Duré casi un mes detrás del señor rogando que me viniera a hacer el trabajo, para el final hacerlo malo y apurado. Si se dan cuenta, los acabados en cemento pulido, no son ni la sombra de lo que sale en las fotos.
Hablando de fotos, no se dejen llevar por esas fotos; creo que no solo es el mueble, sino que influye el contexto, los accesorios y creo que todo es lo que hace la armonía.
A mí no me gusta, pero creo que aquí es normal que, mientras trates a un obrero mal, no le des ni agua, más están allí. Yo soy de las que pongo desde el agua, hasta comida y postre, para que terminen haciendo algo mal.
Obviamente, tengo que contratar otro servicio, pero al menos si tengo un espacio donde colocar mis cosas y en su momento, nos ayudó muchísimo con mi madre y su recuperación. Así que por ese lado, fue productivo.
Hoy puedo lucir un mueble funcional y tendré que esperar la llegada de algún dinero (por la provisión divina), para poder comprar los materiales necesarios y poder arreglarlos, tal como quiero. Creo que el próximo proyecto, será cambiar mi lavamanos, por algo todo de concreto como esta imagen ¿Qué opinan?:
Las fotografías son de mi propiedad.
Las otras fotografías tienen su fuente.
La portada, el banner y separador los hice en Canva.
El traductor que usé fue Google Traductor.
Hasta una nueva oportunidad 🌺
The photographs are my property. The other photographs have their source. I made the cover, the banner, and the divider in Canva. The translator I used was Google Translator. Until another opportunity 🌺.
