Sunday, August 7, 2016

The Magical World of Broome Bungalow

The Broome Bungalow project (Matt's house) is finally about to hit "move-in" date. And everyone is looking forward to this more than any child has ever looked forward to Christmas because we don't like seeing the Pantses homeless. And Matt's street currently doesn't have an old man who yells at kids to get off his lawn so there's going to be a general imbalance in that neighborhood until he moves in.

Broome Bungalow has been an exercise in frustration for Matt, one that, if you ever run into him, he will tell you about in such a strong southern accent that you'll taste fried chicken by the time he's done.

There have been plenty of hiccups and unexpecteds. And in recent weeks, Matt has sought the aide of a few contractors to help with some of the work, contractors who performed poorly enough that Matt left online reviews so scathing that it actually restarted the Civil War.

But if you happen to stop by Broome Bungalow now, you'll notice that what once looked like the set of a horror film, which was then turned into the set for a film about crack-addicted babies once we started tearing it apart, is now starting to look like something out of a magazine.


The kitchen that used to look like this:


Is now looking like this:


And the front room is looking like this:


As you can see, the remaining work is mostly cosmetic, which means Matt can start living here like a person who showers.

He's got a talent that amazes me, and a demeanor that entertains me, plus seductive green eyes, so I don't know why HGTV hasn't given him his own show yet. Those are basically the only three elements needed to land your own HGTV show.

If you haven't done so already, you should go scan through the months of progress on the Instagram account, Broomebungalow and then follow it through as he finishes the place up and hopefully never ever moves again. Because we can't watch him go through this another time. And Mr. Pants needs a consistent roof over his head.

Also, please enjoy this week's Strangerville Short:



~It Just Gets Stranger

14 comments:

  1. I am getting ready for seminary to start again so my alarm went off early and I "got up" and read this post and then went back to sleep, you know the way you do. I dreamt that we were all invited to have our next family reunion at the Broome Bungalow, and everyone helped unpack and I helped Eli set up the thermostat, and then we all sat down for a big dinner of steak and salad. Good times!

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  2. I've been following along on Instagram and trying to figure out how I can con Matt into coming to Michigan to redo MY kitchen . . . .

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    1. I'm in Wisconsin! Maybe we can get him to go on tour and hit all 50 states. Nicole, you put together the schedule. October is a hard month for me but otherwise I can make pretty much any time work. Except I doubt Matt will want to come to the depths of Hell during the winter.

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    2. Shhhh - don't tell him that! Although, now that I think about it - I can't have my kitchen ripped down to the studs in the depths of winter either . . . . so we'll plan a Southern route for him in the winter and he can hit Michigan and Wisconsin in the springtime!

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    3. This all sounds wonderful. My design consulting fees should help me recoup what I've invested in this place. Someone start a GoFundMe. Thanks.

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    4. Include Iowa in the springtime!

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    5. Crap - I was planning to pay you in lasagna and upsidedown apple pie . . . . .

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  3. So so beautiful! I'm jealous of the kitchen cabinets. What color are they on the bottom?

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    1. It's called dovetail gray ... Sherwin Williams

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    2. Thanks! I'll check it out.

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  4. The line about fried chicken lol!!!

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  5. Was that carpet in the kitchen in the before picture?! Thank you Matt for saving the world from that atrocity.

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  6. Eli - just listed to the Short last night - great work - very thought provoking and it made me think about that song in a new way.

    What did you think about Saving Mr. Banks?

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