Long ago

Long ago I was really into decorating.  At first my projects were very thrifty (not in a good way) and involved contact paper and stone spray paint.  Being newly married and living far from home, Steve and I didn't have lots of money to spend.  Our TV stand was a large moving box covered with contact paper.  See what I mean about being thrifty in a not-so-good way?  But it worked.  The biggest project we tackled in our apartment was to "upholster" a wall.  There was an ugly fireplace that I wanted to hide so we gathered large sheets (mauve was the "in" color back then) and hung them on the wall.  I dug up a picture of that for you.

We moved from apartment to rental house to purchased house and I was still into decorating.  We painted inside and out, put in new carpet, wallpapered, and really fixed up the house.  When the house went on the market, it sold in less than 24 hours.  All the expense and hard work paid off.

We moved and had Emma a couple of years later.  We had a deck at this house and it was lots of fun to decorate with container plants and old wooden chairs.  When we had Emma, we both enjoyed getting her room ready.

Then we moved to Georgia.  I guess this is when I lost the decorating bug.  We got our house for a good price because it needed work (roof, gutters, water heater, etc.).  At this time we were the most strapped for cash that we had ever been.  There was no money for anything like decorating magazines, no time for projects because Emma was a toddler, and Steve was working long, long hours.  It was not the best time in my life.

Over the past couple of years we've done some remodeling projects because the major "no-fun" work was done.  But I haven't decorated more than putting up curtains and buying some rugs and throw pillows.  I've been afraid to hang pictures because I don't want to make mistakes and put holes in our newly painted walls.  I've gotten out of the habit of decorating.

But this has started to change in the last week or so.  I've started reading The Nester whose motto is "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."  Thank you for that philosophy!  It's finally sinking in that I should jump in and do this.  If I make a mistake, I can fix it.  And I have lots of stuff sitting around that I can use to make our home look more inviting.

So I'll be pulling things out of hiding, making more regular trips to thrift stores, getting out the spray paint (Oil Rubbed Bronze this time around), and having fun along the way.  Tomorrow I'll show you my first project - a cork board we'll be using for last minute reminders like "Buy gas!"

Comments

[erin]

I can so identify with everything you're saying. Seems I went through similar decorating phases too. In my case, the end result is that my husband has taken over the job of decorating and I'm having fun sewing and knitting :)
all the he best with your cork board!

[Carole]

Ahhh yes, mauve! And that stone paint stuff. I used that on lamps (and everything that would stand still!) back in the day.