The big switcheroo

Every once in a while, I feel like it's necessary to play 52 pick up with the contents of our home. Just take all the stuff in a room out, toss it around, bring it back in and put it in new places. Leave some things out of the mix. Next time you rearrange you may find yourself loving something you were totally over a few months or years ago.

 If you're sure something is really past it's prime- like our coffee table - pitch it.

I find myself becoming accustomed to all the things in our environment that doesn't work. I start to accept the piles of magazines that only seem to grow, the curtains that are too short, the hand me down and thrifted furnishings that look shabby instead of chic. This spring, I've had about enough!

When I bought the house in 2001, I was unpleasantly surprised by the condition the hardwood floors in the living room and hall were in after being covered in a carpet that a previous owner's kitty used instead of litter. My naughty pup, Maggie, likes to sneak and leave her own addition to those spotty areas on the floor. I keep saying one of these days it will get fixed. Close to eight years on, I think the time has come.

The plaster  ceiling in the living room was popcorn treated before I bought the house and chunks of the textured paint had flaked off exposing cracks in the ceiling.

One of the requirements for finding my dream house was a house with a fireplace. We have one but the original red brick creates a focal point in the room I can't bear.

Since I've been in the house all the rooms have been painted.In 2001, I used a Klimt painting as the inspiration for the whole house.  I fixed up the bathroom and renovated the kitchen. When Sweets moved in we tore down the walls upstairs and rebuilt them withproper  insulation to create our studio. We put in landscaping in the back and front yards. All the windows and exterior doors have been upgraded to energy efficient models.

Somehow the living room just languished.

Now is it's time.

Last week we moved just about everything out to have the ceiling fixed. The painter we had work on the outside of the house happened to mention in Sweets' earshot that he was doing a popcorn ceiling repair at another job. We asked him to take a look at ours and he said he could fix it. Instead of taking down the plaster ceiling, his crew applied a new thin sheet rock ceiling over it, taped, spackled and painted. I can't tell you how happy I am just to gaze upon the smooth, serenity that is now our living room ceiling.

During the work, we moved the television upstairs into the media area of the studio. Without it's huge presence in the room begging to be attended to; we've had so much more energy for other things. Like reading and talking. Passing a book on garden design back and forth excitedly brainstorming possibilities for a new backyard layout. When we talk to each other we are really listening, instead of kind of listening while keeping track of what's happening on Iron Chef or nodding in agreement with Rachel Maddow.

The furniture that is left in the room, we have switched around. Now the couch looks out onto the flowering trees of the neighborhood. Our houseplants are situated closer  to the light. With sparser, rearranged belongings it feels calmer in the room.

On Saturday, we picked up some paint chips and we've settled on a color change. We're moving away from the sky blue color to a light, nuetral yellow. I'm finding over the last few years, I don't feel the need for such saturated colors as I did in the past. Now I'm interested in using accessories as color punctuation in a nuetral zone.

The floors are going to be dealt with. We had one estimate done on Friday and we'll solicit a few more.

The fireplace will most likely get a facelift with tile and wood.

When this room is done, I'll really feel like the house is getting there. With the living room all cleared out, we felt like we had just moved in (ironically, this weekend  is the 4 year anniversary of Sweets' arrival). It feels good to look around the house with fresh possibilities. I know some people never work on their houses but we are constantly doing one or two major projects around here. We like it that way. I think we both love the collaboration of designing together.

Comments

[lisa]

this sounds lovely. there is nothing like creating your home, bit by bit.

[Annie Pazoo]

I'm inspired!