Moments of Doubt
I seem to have this with every project. I’m staring at a big pile of wood that is supposed to become kitchen cabinets and I’m wondering if I can pull it off. When you just say the sentence, “I’m going to make kitchen cabinets” it doesn’t sound that daunting. The words kind of roll off the tongue effortlessly. When it is little more than an idea it is easy to get a handle on it. Now that work is progressing I’m wondering if I can really do it.
I mean, on one hand I know I can do it. Anybody can drive a nail through a piece of wood. Building something is not that hard. Building something well is harder. Building something nice that will stand the test of time is a real challenge. How long do kitchen cabinets last? There is no telling really, but I would guess the better they are built, and the more they are functional, and the better they look, then the longer they will last. I have this picture in my head of future homeowners talking to friends and saying something like, “We like the house a lot. Most things are very nicely done, except for these kitchen cabinets. It looks like a 2 year old built them. Are first project is going to be to rip those hideous things out and get some decent kitchen cabinets.”
My biggest fear is to spend all this time and energy (not much money - that’s a plus) and have them come out looking bad, or not built well. So, I’m having a moment of doubt as to whether I can do it. I’ve done some challenging projects before and they’ve come out reasonably well. I just have to take my time. Measure 3 times and cut once. I should be able to do this – I think.
6 comments:
It's funny, most of the time I think our house looks great. And then Sunday we went into the new condo next door and no I certainly don't like it better BUT the one thing I will say is "everything in there is brand spanking new." Now while I don't care for that, I had a vision of the kind of person that would like it coming in our house and thinking things look "old" (not charming) and look at the imperfect plaster in the living room and the discoloration on the kitchen floor etc... Now if that's what they think, fine -I don't really care for the most part. I find the condos really vanilla. But sometimes I have small moments of insecurity like some think us fools because we could just buy a new condo and live lives of relative leisure. The truth is this restoration is what I choose to do with my leisure time and most days I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I wish I could do it more than just on weekends!
Obviously your post got me thinking. But you know, I believe you can make great cabinets just looking at what you've done up to this point.
Sounds like me when I was working upstairs. 'Gonna put a built-in here, and here, and there.....' It's so easy to toss those words out, then you feel like you just smacked your head against a wall when you try to start work.
It took me forever to build them all because I kept stalling due to fear. Some nights I would go up there and just stare at the materials. And, well, I did fail more than once. I had to redo a few things along the way. But that's the worst that happened. The world didn't end. The house didn't implode. And if I would've just went for it, I would've saved a lot of time.
You can do it, Greg. I mean, c'mon! Have you SEEN your kitchen so far?
Give it a whirl and if you aren't happy with them after you've tried your best, you can then think about other options. The time you spend on them won't be a total waste as you'll undoubtedly learn something. What's that old saying? 'Better to have tried and failed than to never have succeeded' or something like that.
(cheerleading over)
I definitely get those moments of self-doubt. But judging by all the wonderful stuff you've done so far, I'm confident your kitchen will measure up.
Yes, hi this is Greg at The Petch House. I’d like to place an order to go. Yes, I want one order of encouragement with a side of can-do attitude. I’d like to pick that up in about 5 minutes. Ok, thanks.
Thanks guys, I think I needed a little shot in the arm. And I agree with Jocelyn. I don’t think I’d be happy in a brand spanking new home. It’s just not me.
feeling like this doesn't only happen with home restoration... it can happen with anything. i haven't picked up my paintbrush or glass cutter in months! even though i have been drawing and painting practically my whole life, and know that i'm better than your average bear, i have those doubts. i have many ideas floating around in my brain, but i'm a little chicken to put them down on paper or canvas. after all, with 2 kids and a house to try to keep clean there's always something else that needs to get done!
Greg -- I'm impressed that you can even try to do this job. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.
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