Goodies and Gadgets and the Extras in Remodeling :: Plan for the Added Extras in Remodeling

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TVs have Evolved

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and as we sat in the living room, no, the sitting room, no, I mean — I guess you could actually call it the “viewing room”, no,  just the TV room, yes – the TV room of his newly built house, the topic of televisions came up.  And we were awaiting dessert, Thanksgiving Day and watching football.

Truthfully, and the backstory goes . . . I have never been one for gadgetry.  And I have never been overly impressed.  I mean — I have never had the newest, the latest, or the trendiest of, well, anything.  Never really seemed to care too much either.  For me, and here’s an example: smart phone = flip it open, put it up to your head, and hope the person on the other end is intelligent.  Maybe you could say I am one who just allows time to reveal the true value of things.  In other words, I’m what you might call a “late adapter.”

Remember when TVs Weighed a Ton

And my brother-in-law; he is a fairly big guy – a weight lifter, a body builder (type) – not competitive, but I guess he could be if really wanted to work at it.  We sat discussing the benefits of his new Vizio LED TV — big, at 55 inches and just an outstanding picture.  Needless to say, he is very, I mean — very, happy with it.

And I sat there remembering.  I thought a few years back to the house that sat on that same spot.  A fire took down that 1920s Sears House — it was a beautiful home, beautifully restored.  With the fire, and I remember it, so too went a custom entertainment center that he lovingly built.  It lived approximately 30 feet or so from where we sat this Thanksgiving Day.  It housed a spanking new Sony Bravia.

That Sony Bravia, as he told it – weighed 330 pounds.  He admitted, it was difficult to lift, even for him.  His new Vizio weighs in at something like 30 pounds . . . or so he claimed.  And all I could say was “Wow!”

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Plan for the Hidden Extras in Remodeling

In our house we still currently have two “tube-type” TVs.  But not for long.  You see, this holiday season we plan to do some shopping . . . well . . . for ourselves.  We are buying One: smart phones . . . and Two: a couple of new “flat screen” TVs. These will complement the kitchen remodel that we are just now about to finish out.

It reminds me just how frequently we (and OK, maybe it’s only me) forget about all the ancillary stuff that comes along with doing any sort of remodeling.  Here’s some examples of what I mean with the “Extras in Remodeling” (in list form for readers over the age of 40 and *errrrmmm* Bob):

• No, I need a new can opener to go on my new countertop;
• We need new fluffy towels to drape over our new shiny bath hardware.;
• We need new curtains for the new kitchen anddddd . . . you need to help pick out the fabric.  << My personal favorite!

In this case, in our case, two new TVs . . . one will go along the party wall that separates the living room from the kitchen, and other will be placed inside a hutch my cabinet guy is building for us. . . . And oh yeah! I still can’t forget; there is mounting hardware and a new entertainment center that will need to be purchased.  Haven’t really even started shopping for any of this stuff yet, but maybe I find some of these items.  And sooner rather than later, I hope — admittedly, not a big fan of shopping.

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As friend Becky Shankle explained to us, it is kinda just meant to play out like this.  And me — now is the time to work on my kitchen. It is my human instinct.  The time of year, Becky says, we head inside to “nest” – the fruit of which is an apparent spike in bizness for kitchen design and other such firms.

Thanks for reading and please wish me luck. ~jb