Emergency Decorating
I was watching "The Nate show" on tv this morning and it got me thinking about how much fun it is to do an emergency decorating day with a friend who has some big thing coming up.
One of my most favorite decorating days was when my cousin Kim called me one morning in a panic because her house was schedule to show to a potential buyer. I threw three kids in a car with two walkers and headed over.
The twins were very small, so we put them in the walkers in the dining area and proceeded to go through each room making the most of what was available. Every once in a while we had to run into the dining room and take a collection of artificial flowers from one of the twins because he had pulled them from some arrangement we had displayed perfectly within his reach. It was a fun day.
I rememeber a wall she had that they were in the process of removing mirrored tiles and it wasn't replastered yet. We went into a closet and found some long curtains in a burgundy color and tacked them to the wall. We had to laugh at our genious. It actually looked great.
After finding very creative ways of stashing laundry and clutter, I have to say the house looked very cool.
I've had the opportunity to rework several rooms for friends and family and it's always been fun. I love going through closets and garages to find things they didn't know they could use and repurposing them in a cool way. I'm always surprised what a little soap and water will do, or what I'm able to make with what I find in the yard. There was one Christmas when I needed something on my wall above my bed. I Christmas party coming up within the week and didn't have any extra money to buy something. I went into the front yard and cut a bunch of twigs from the crapemyrtle and proceeded to make a wreath from the twigs. Then I went through my fabric stash and made some simple cloth angels, stained them with antiquing paint, made wings out of cardboard, twigs and fabric, and added them to the wreath. It turned out great and went perfectly with the shelf over the bed. I still have it and that was probably 10 years ago.
I've made a wall devider out of a broken bifold door I found in the shed. I had to use a hose and ajax to clean it up, but it looked pretty good and very rustic. I took some old and new bird houses, cut up a coat hanger wire that I bent into hooks and hung the birdhouses from the bifolds. It turned out pretty cool. Shortly afterwards I think my mother made one for her back porch.
I use the wire from coathangers to make lots of emergency stuff. Right now I have several coat hanger wire, temporary, curtain tie backs. I've also used a coat hanger wire, bent strategicaly to hook on the top of a door, to hang a curtain for privacy. It's amazing what you can do with coat hangers and duct tape.
The house we are in right now has a lot of windows. I bought a few curtains and then had to stop because it would have cost me a months worth of grocery money to finish. So I had to get very creative.
Did you know you can use a skirt as a curtain?
Ok...I know that sounds odd but, if you think about it, a skirt with elastic waist is just a large piece of fabric. Take the elastic out or cut it off and cut down one or both seams...and there ya go.
I had a skirt that was a very pretty eyelet and the elastic was shot. In desperation to find something to cover a bathroom window I decided the skirt fit perfectly.
Now everyone knows you can buy sheets for curtain panels, but did you know you can go to a thrift store and buy a bed skirt and the fabric from that makes a great curtain.
They have these great curtain ring clips that you can use on any flat sheet or peice of fabric. You just clip them on. No sew. Instead of heming the bottom, try a torn edge. You just clip about a half inch and tear away to make the rough edge.
I've also found that you can layer several different types of curtain panels. My kitchen window over my sink has 4 different curtain panels strategicaly placed and is my favorite window in the entire house.
I love when a house tells me about the people who live there. I don't really care if it's messy or cluttered but I love to see what people love, how they decorate, what works for them. When I walk into the house of a friend and they go straight to an old pay phone to tell me the story behind it, THAT is what I think is totally cool.
When I walk into a home, I want to see that collection you love. Perfection in a home is highly over rated. Show me YOU!!! If I can't see something you love, then your home is not quite loving you back.
Oprah says your home should rise up to meet you. I have to agree to a point. I don't believe in perfection but I feel like you should have places in your home that you feel are your sanctuary. When you've had a busy day and you want to chill out, where is that place in your home that you feel good? Do you have a comfy chair with a place to put your feet up, a table to hold your drink, a lamp to give you light and a blanket to warm your feet?
Do you have a bedroom that feels wonderful so you wake up in the morning a feel like your in a good place? Or do you have clutter so heavy on your night stand that there is no room for a book and piles of junk or clothes on the floor? Does your bed feel good with clean sheets, fluffy pillows, a soft quilt or comforter, or do you have super old thin sheets, a flat pillow and some ratty looking blanket from too many years ago?
I don't have a closet attached to my bedroom and didn't have one attached to my bedroom at the other house. I didn't want to have to deal with the overflow of the closet. I don't want shoes and dirty clothes on my floor.
So I have a closet on the other side of the house that I keep messy cause I don't have to live in it. And I don't feel guilty one bit. :)
One of my most favorite decorating days was when my cousin Kim called me one morning in a panic because her house was schedule to show to a potential buyer. I threw three kids in a car with two walkers and headed over.
The twins were very small, so we put them in the walkers in the dining area and proceeded to go through each room making the most of what was available. Every once in a while we had to run into the dining room and take a collection of artificial flowers from one of the twins because he had pulled them from some arrangement we had displayed perfectly within his reach. It was a fun day.
I rememeber a wall she had that they were in the process of removing mirrored tiles and it wasn't replastered yet. We went into a closet and found some long curtains in a burgundy color and tacked them to the wall. We had to laugh at our genious. It actually looked great.
After finding very creative ways of stashing laundry and clutter, I have to say the house looked very cool.
I've had the opportunity to rework several rooms for friends and family and it's always been fun. I love going through closets and garages to find things they didn't know they could use and repurposing them in a cool way. I'm always surprised what a little soap and water will do, or what I'm able to make with what I find in the yard. There was one Christmas when I needed something on my wall above my bed. I Christmas party coming up within the week and didn't have any extra money to buy something. I went into the front yard and cut a bunch of twigs from the crapemyrtle and proceeded to make a wreath from the twigs. Then I went through my fabric stash and made some simple cloth angels, stained them with antiquing paint, made wings out of cardboard, twigs and fabric, and added them to the wreath. It turned out great and went perfectly with the shelf over the bed. I still have it and that was probably 10 years ago.
I've made a wall devider out of a broken bifold door I found in the shed. I had to use a hose and ajax to clean it up, but it looked pretty good and very rustic. I took some old and new bird houses, cut up a coat hanger wire that I bent into hooks and hung the birdhouses from the bifolds. It turned out pretty cool. Shortly afterwards I think my mother made one for her back porch.
I use the wire from coathangers to make lots of emergency stuff. Right now I have several coat hanger wire, temporary, curtain tie backs. I've also used a coat hanger wire, bent strategicaly to hook on the top of a door, to hang a curtain for privacy. It's amazing what you can do with coat hangers and duct tape.
The house we are in right now has a lot of windows. I bought a few curtains and then had to stop because it would have cost me a months worth of grocery money to finish. So I had to get very creative.
Did you know you can use a skirt as a curtain?
Ok...I know that sounds odd but, if you think about it, a skirt with elastic waist is just a large piece of fabric. Take the elastic out or cut it off and cut down one or both seams...and there ya go.
I had a skirt that was a very pretty eyelet and the elastic was shot. In desperation to find something to cover a bathroom window I decided the skirt fit perfectly.
Now everyone knows you can buy sheets for curtain panels, but did you know you can go to a thrift store and buy a bed skirt and the fabric from that makes a great curtain.
They have these great curtain ring clips that you can use on any flat sheet or peice of fabric. You just clip them on. No sew. Instead of heming the bottom, try a torn edge. You just clip about a half inch and tear away to make the rough edge.
I've also found that you can layer several different types of curtain panels. My kitchen window over my sink has 4 different curtain panels strategicaly placed and is my favorite window in the entire house.
I love when a house tells me about the people who live there. I don't really care if it's messy or cluttered but I love to see what people love, how they decorate, what works for them. When I walk into the house of a friend and they go straight to an old pay phone to tell me the story behind it, THAT is what I think is totally cool.
When I walk into a home, I want to see that collection you love. Perfection in a home is highly over rated. Show me YOU!!! If I can't see something you love, then your home is not quite loving you back.
Oprah says your home should rise up to meet you. I have to agree to a point. I don't believe in perfection but I feel like you should have places in your home that you feel are your sanctuary. When you've had a busy day and you want to chill out, where is that place in your home that you feel good? Do you have a comfy chair with a place to put your feet up, a table to hold your drink, a lamp to give you light and a blanket to warm your feet?
Do you have a bedroom that feels wonderful so you wake up in the morning a feel like your in a good place? Or do you have clutter so heavy on your night stand that there is no room for a book and piles of junk or clothes on the floor? Does your bed feel good with clean sheets, fluffy pillows, a soft quilt or comforter, or do you have super old thin sheets, a flat pillow and some ratty looking blanket from too many years ago?
I don't have a closet attached to my bedroom and didn't have one attached to my bedroom at the other house. I didn't want to have to deal with the overflow of the closet. I don't want shoes and dirty clothes on my floor.
So I have a closet on the other side of the house that I keep messy cause I don't have to live in it. And I don't feel guilty one bit. :)
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