Flight of Fancy - The Coconut Chronicles: Two Guys, One Caribbean Dream House - page 99

When we touched down at the Vieques airport in early October it was misting rain and much
of the remainder of our visit was humid and overcast. Not ideal but we coped. In fact we
made it to the beach every day except one, which was a total wash-out.
In between, we spent hours wandering the aisles of the inventory-challenged hardware
stores of the island.
Each was disappointing in its own way but there were a few pleasant surprises. In a tiny
store tucked away on a back street in the Floridà barrio of the island, we found a charming
inexpensive set of blue-and-white dishes, including dinner and salad plates, bowls, cups and
saucers, all for $30. In another we stumbled across a tablecloth in a vibrant tropical stripe.
These items were welcome additions to our new kitchen, which was shaping up nicely.
We took a slew of pictures and then, for maximum impact, split-screen them next to “before”
shots and sent the results to our friends and families.
Yes, we had become kitchen bores.
In our absence, Steve had been busy upgrading the bathroom, which was next on his list
of projects after the kitchen. Gone was the freaky brick-platform elevating the toilet.
A bright new vanity stood where the chipped pedestal sink had once tottered and a new
medicine cabinet, and a pair of handsome light fixtures, hung above.
The room's original floor-to-ceiling tile job—each tile adorned with a dainty pink
flower—would have to remain until we'd benefited from a few seasons of rental income. In
the meantime we spiffed up the trim and ceiling with our trusty gloss white paint, hung a
couple of pictures and buffed the faux-marble tile floor.
In the great room and bedroom we arranged and re-arranged the furniture until our backs
ached. I've always been a firm believer in the theory that living spaces, given enough time,
will tell you where their furnishings belong. But these rooms weren't talking and after sev-
eral tries we gave up.
Later that day, Jane stopped by and, after a quick walk-through, put the rooms in perfect
order in ten minutes flat.
With minor adjustments, they've stayed that way ever since.
☼ ☼ ☼
The place was looking great.
All that was missing now was a big splash of color. I had sent down several yards of
striped awning fabric a couple of months earlier with the vague notion of reupholstering the
cushions of the wicker armchairs we'd bought at Pier 1 , and it occurred to me that this fab-
ric could be stitched up into valances for the many windows in the great room and bedroom.
This would soften the harsh rectangular lines while leaving the stunning ocean views unob-
structed.
But hand-stitching the valances was out of the question. Not only were my sewing skills
non-existent, it would take far too long—we had just two days left.