Can't You Just Get Someone to Do That for You?

That was the uniform response I heard from my New York friends when I told them I was returning early to Michigan to renovate my kitchen.

You see, I'm a born and bred New Yorker and we're a species unto ourselves. We don't drive, we don't cook and we certainly don't renovate our own kitchens.

But I live in the Midwest now, and in Michigan there's "no one to call." This is the "Do It Yourself State."

Armed with nothing but an Ikea catalogue and a boyfriend who insisted "he could do this," we set out to renovate our kitchen. Our renovation plan was "pretty but cheap." We were interested in a superficial renovation - something that wouldn't cost thousands of dollars, take too long or be physically taxing. My boyfriend may live in the Midwest now, but he's a native New Yorker at heart.

That plan was shot to hell when we removed the microwave. This wasn't your average, modern day microwave. This was a behemoth from a forgotten age. This microwave was actually hardwired. (For those New Yorkers out there, hard wiring means no handy dandy plug and no outlet. Just wires connected to each other.) With one tug sparks flew, sheet rock collapsed and a built in cabinet was rendered useless. Our renovation had begun.

Two weeks later, we've installed new cabinets, a new (modern era) microwave (with a plug!), a butcher block counter top and a ceramic tile floor. And none of it was that hard. Sure, the work required a ton of different tools, daily trips to Home Depot, a brief mishap with oil based primer (thank you Mineral Spirits!) and a whole lot of time, but it was all manageable. That got me thinking, why did all of my New York friends (and my former New York mentality) think this was an impossible task?

I think some of it has to do with exposure. Had I grown up in an environment where do-it-yourself home improvement was prevalent, I would have instinctively known I could do this. Instead, I attributed a certain mysticism with home improvement. Pay a contractor, leave him alone for a week, a month, a year and look what he can build!

Not only did my boyfriend and I save a ton of money by doing the work ourselves, but we also spent time bonding over the experience. While I certainly enjoy snuggling on the couch watching TV more than I enjoy, let's say, grouting tile, this project will resonate with me for years to come. And the next time my boyfriend says "let's fix up the _____" I'll know we can do it. Of course, that won't stop me from asking "Can't we just get someone to do that for us?" After all, I'm a New Yorker at heart.