A trip to Hobby Lobby may be in order

While I am not terribly creative or crafty (as in homemade, not as in secretively clever), I do appreciate the benefit of investing in homemade projects to supplement home interior decorating. It can offer a completely individual look and save room in the budget for other priorities, such as repairing the garage door. Which we did. Today. With the help of an overhead door service team. Happily, it is now fixed.

But there was also room in the day to begin a few decorating projects. Two items are on the current agenda. Folding origami butterflies and making decorative book jackets. Sounds like a rainy-day project for a 4th grader, I know. The butterflies are pretty and there is a chance that they will fulfill my vision. We’ll see, I’ll need to do a little more folding before I know. In my opinion, origami has a better visual impact in a larger volume. I will need more than 8 or 9 folded butterflies to determine if I have a chance of achieving the look I desire.

But the book jackets have already captured my heart. I was originally inspired by Fullet, a book lover and inspired blogger who found a lovely illustrated paper book jacket for use on a new book. My homemade version features brown shipping paper as the wrapper for my old paperback books with a decorative printed paper stripe along the binding. The task of folding the book jackets, wrapping the books in brown paper, is very reminiscent of 4th grade.

Tomorrow and Monday (a state holiday) the projects will continue.

DIY wonderfulness

Before I started writing this blog, I browsed through a number of blogs without leaving comments. I’m not sure what that is called today. In a previous professional existence years ago, more than I care to admit, we would have called it lurking.

The kind of blogs I liked to read had a home interior decorating and design content theme. Most were produced by a content generating staff or were written by individuals who were professionals in that line of business. I still read them and they remain among my favorites. These days, I leave comments from time to time when particularly struck by a topic or item of interest.

I wish I could say that I have a flair for home and interior design, but I do not. In order to compensate for my lack of innate ability, I really pay attention to the folks who are in-the-know. And I’ve gained a little knowledge.

Well, not that much.

One of my favorite blog themes for decorating and design, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone here, is the DIY: before & after. The kind of fabulous project that someone, just like me, accomplishes at home on their own, without a consultant, contractor or other design professional. Some of these blog posts are completely inspiring. I have taken a lesson or two and completed two or three of my own DIY projects. Not enough to start my own decorating blog, but had I taken some good photos of the before and after, they might (MIGHT) be comparable to similar projects that have been featured on said blogs.

Today, in a light-hearted attempt to remind myself that I’m not a professional, I present my latest DIY project. The homemade canine haircut. The subject is Jackie, my 14-year old mixed breed. Last Saturday, he was in dire need of a haircut. And he doesn't seem to mind the haircutting process. Much.

In the before image, we see Jackie with his nice fluffy fur. He had become a dog-hair shedding machine. Thus, the genesis of my DIY project.

And in the after image, the same dog, but with a choppy-chic new do. Hey, if Kate Gosslin can get the world's attention with a new hair-do....

Sorry Jackie, I promise it will grow back.

Some tasks are best left to the experts after all.

Exhale

Prettily wrapped and tied nicely with a bow.

This phase of work is complete, crossed off our treacherously long to-do list, as we take a giant step closer to moving day. Over 2000 square feet of flooring has been replaced with tile and wood, their deep grounding colors a world apart from the previous incarnation, bland and essentially color-free. The fireplace surround, formerly a nondescript ceramic tile is now gorgeous polished granite. The stunning dining room chandelier, a reproduction design of a French antique, replaces the former plain-vanilla variety from the big-box home improvement store.

Two very significant projects still remain on the list. One is scheduled with a contractor for work early next week and the other Cristy and I are going to initiate ourselves.

Dozens of projects, less critical to our daily existence, both large and small in magnitude, will continue to vie for our time, attention and home improvement budget, but we will address each in turn. We will find opportunities to enrich our world and enhance the beauty of our home in many ways; each project a chance to express creativity, practice negotiating and build our nest together.

Today we stop for a minute to exhale, look around and smile. We are moving forward. Making this journey, together, is the experience that matters to us both.

DIY for novices

I’m not particularly artistically inclined. But once in a while I am inspired to draw upon my artistic genetics. My mother is the talented one, so my theory is that some of those genetics must have been passed to me. Besides the fact that she was an accomplished artist earlier in her career, she is able to take a handful of acorns, some leftover ribbon, a couple of pine boughs and an artificial flower or two and create a beautiful door swag arrangement. Never ceases to amaze me.

Last year, just about this time, I found the inspiration to attempt a little project of my own. I decided to create some simple fall arrangements for the Thanksgiving table. I purchased some pretty supplies and invested many hours tending to this creative project. The outcome was underwhelming. But I laughed about it and put it behind me. Until now.

I am undertaking several DIY household decorating projects. My source of inspiration is not the house and garden network on cable, but the design*sponge blog. This blog regularly highlights the gorgeously successful outcomes of other people’s DIY home decorating projects. The photos make it look easy enough. I’m equipped with above-average intelligence, so how hard can it be, right?

First on the list is a chandelier refinishing project. Our house was built about 10 years ago and strangely, none of the earlier owners decided to alter the original décor. The builder-grade lighting fixtures installed in the 1990s that probably looked economical, but pretty enough then, now look down-right inexpensive and dated. Cristy and I had a vague vision for our dining room and I selected a new chandelier fixture for that room to replace the old one. The new one is gorgeous and it will look splendid. But we do not have the budget to purchase an equally splendid chandelier for the adjacent parlor. DIY to the rescue!

The old dining room chandelier is substantial, and nicely proportioned; its bright brass finish is dated and not exactly suited to our taste. So refinishing it for use in the parlor would be just the thing! On Saturday, I walked confidently into Lowes (for the 9th time that week) and described my “project” to one of the employees so she could direct me to all of the supplies I would need. Target look: antique porcelain finish. Way better than shiny brass.

Let’s see. I needed a 10-foot ladder, some spray-paint primer, 2 colors of latex paint, some crackle faux finish product, paint glazing product and a clear spray-gloss. Plus a drop-cloth, foam brushes and tape. Not exactly a low-cost project. But hey, we really needed the 10-foot ladder to change light bulbs and air filters anyway. Back at the house, I removed the chandelier, hung it in the garage, spread out the drop-cloth, taped up the light-bulb holders, cleaned the surface and applied primer to the metal. Step one complete.

Step two was Sunday’s task. Applied the latex paint base color coat. So far it looks ok, but this is going to take a while. I still need to apply the crackle product, glaze and spray gloss. Then I need to do something about the chain that suspends the chandelier from the ceiling. I guess this will be part-2 of the same project. Hopefully it will be finished by Friday when our lighting installer shows up.

Belongings

A few personal belongings still remaining in my old house. Over the course of the next couple of days, I will either pack or throw away all of these items. The things I keep will probably fit into one box.

There is nothing like the process of moving to provide a mental refresher of the inventory of your belongings. The quantity of my belongings have increased through the years as a consequence of natural inheritance: gifts from loved ones, passed along in life or after their death. Some of these possessions are special, but not entirely useful. For example, when my father was in high school, he took a wood-shop class one year and brought home all of the items he made in class. His mom dutifully kept them all. My grandmother died several years ago, but before she died, she gave me a large box full of my dad’s wood shop class projects and some family photo albums. I love the little wooden trinkets that my father made when he was 17, but in all honesty, they have little use and he, himself, forgot about them many years before he died.

My own mother, still alive, has given me a number of gifts through the years that were her own possessions as a young girl. I have a pretty porcelain piggy bank, a doll and some tiny ceramic figurines in the shape of skunks. (I don’t know the story behind that.) I also have a couple of sets of pillowcases that someone in my recent ancestry embroidered. I sleep on these pillowcases often and I love thinking that perhaps my great grandmother may have sat on her front porch embroidering these on peaceful summer evenings.

I evaluate my own belongings: clothing, dishes, books, art, jewelry, photographs, towels, shoes, furniture, mixing bowls. I wonder what will become of these belongings as I grow older? I do not have a daughter that might want my mother’s porcelain piggy bank or my amethyst earrings or the linen tablecloth that my grandmother cross-stitched. It is doubtful that my nephew will have much interest in the belongings that are so special to me now.

The pages of the calendar of my life continue to turn. As busy as I am or and as young as I feel, I continue to get older and my belongings move through the years along with me. With a renewed cognizance of the inventory of the stuff I am carrying with me, I hope to either incorporate infrequently used items into my life or discard them without guilt. With any luck, I will dig deep to find the ingenuity, stamina and wisdom to achieve this goal.

Decorating for dummies

Back on the home-selling / home-buying track, we stand at an estimated T-6 (days) until the first close transaction (aka, C1) and T-10 until C2. C1 will supply the funding to initiate several renovation projects in the house we are purchasing (C2), mainly flooring replacement. However, besides having available funding, the other prerequisite to beginning this work is the actual selection of the flooring material. Cristy and I have looked at wood and tile flooring exactly one time. I believe neither of us has had much success envisioning the desired results and we have had less success collaboratively assembling a vision.

We have some degree of concurrence that tile is a more durable product for our living requirements than natural stone. We also agree on a dark floor color preference. Beyond that, the options are wide open.

I went to Master Tile today at lunch to peruse the inventory. I initially identified 5 or 6 items of possible interest, looked at those tiles assembled in a larger grouping, and then narrowed my preferences to 3 or maybe 2. Probably 1 favorite. This is from a girl who generally likes everything. But I found that I immediately began to narrow my options by discarding choices predominantly composed of shades of beige, light brown, red or anything with a muddy color. Then I ruled out tiles with a lot of texture since I want the surface to be easy to keep clean.

My logic with the color narrowing may or may not be sound. My assumption is that the color of the floor will serve as a foundation for the remaining color palette of the house. I prefer to keep a cool-neutral palette (pale shades of grey, green, pink) and prefer to avoid warm-neutrals (beige, gold, orange). Without a professional decorator guiding the process, Cristy and I are on our own to select the foundation colors that will serve as the basis for our modest décor.

We are going to Master Tile tomorrow morning together. I will have the opportunity to evaluate my choices again on a new day and observe the colors and textures to which Cristy is drawn. I will have to try my best to avoid the temptation to promote my own selections first. My goal will be to keep an open mind and think about the products in terms of the larger context of scale and overall color compatibility.

Natural architecture

In Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead, Howard Roark struggles against society’s tendency to conform to architectural and design standards of mediocrity as he attempts to break away from predictable patterns and create useful, beautiful buildings in harmony with their surroundings. Mother Nature provides a range of examples of naturally occurring architectural excellence – a perfect blend of form, beauty, simplicity and function. Honey bees, beavers, birds and ants all possess the intrinsic ability to act as architect, engineer and builder.

Mollusks are perhaps my favorite example of architecture in nature. Seashell homes provide shelter for the tender soft-bodied creatures with unimaginable beauty. Each home unique, an example of perfect geometry covered with a splendid range of colors, ridges and enamel-smoothness. Finding the shells empty on the sea shore offers a glimpse into the artifacts of the ocean, an impromptu tour of a secret world; an example of architecture unmatched by human creation.