The Fun and Frustration of Owning a Home

When my husband and I bought our home in Brecksville almost seven years ago, we thought it would be so much fun, so easy. We were moving up in the world, from our 800-square-foot cottage-house to a mid-century ranch with vaulted ceilings and a sprawling yard. 

We planned on living the good life and enjoying our 1960s bar in the basement and our original kitchen from 1959. It was ours! We would take care of it and fix it up and live out our American dream in the suburbs. 

But we quickly realized that this particular piece of the American dream came at a price. And the price would include much of our spare time, money and energy. But the beauty of Brecksville had sucked us in and we were hooked. 

In this column, I’ll attempt to share with you some of the fun, funny and frightening projects that homeowners encounter. I'll also address how we handled them, who we called and how it turned out.  

My husband and I have owned two homes, so I’ll draw on this experience. I’ll also be getting ideas from books at the , consulting with the and referring to opinions I find online and from local businesses. 

One of our homes was built around 1929 and one in 1959, so we’ve tackled our share of home repairs, with the help of brothers, brothers-in-law, neighbors, friends and professionals. I also owned a small organic gardening business while I was in college, so I’ll use my knowledge from that experience as well. 

Something I’ve learned as a homeowner is that you can’t do it alone, you never think of all the options and you have to be creative. So, I’d also love to hear from anyone out there who has dealt with similar problems and how they handled them.