It’s Done!

One of my mantras for 2014 is beauty and a goal I had set for myself regarding that idea was to paint my living room. I’m happy to say that I’m finally done with it and have it all put back together. Special thanks to my friend Rex who did almost all of the actual painting.

When I moved in, the living room was all white with a wallpaper border at chair rail height. I removed the wallpaper and all the adhesive they used (THAT was a major project because instead of wallpaper glue they used some industrial strength adhesive). Because the walls have a sort of vinyl finish on them I decided to prime with Kilz before painting. Then Rex applied a pretty chocolate brown paint to the walls and white paint on the trim.

After the painting was done, I did a major rearrange of the furniture because previously all the furniture was arranged against the walls. I wanted to create a more cozy feel so I put one chair facing the center of the room with its back to the front door. All the rest of the furniture is against the walls but I think avoiding placing the one chair against the wall helps create a conversation area.

Here are pictures of how it looks currently:

 

This is what you see when you first enter the house. As you can see, there is a big open space in the corner; that is where my brown leather recliner is going to go. I don’t get good television reception in the living room so I’m waiting until I get cable to move my recliner in there. Currently I have another television and the recliner in the master bedroom.

 

 

 

 

 

Moving around the room to the left you see my armoire and display case that houses my elephant statue collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing to the left there is a television in the corner, a window, and the front door. The curtains are a beautiful turquoise and have a lovely texture to them. You can also see my favorite lamp that is also a wonderful turquoise. My dog, Daisy, had to get in on the act. You can also see her bag full of toys in front of the television.

 

 

 

 

In this view you can see the chair that has its back to the front door.

 

 

 

I love mid-century traditional so I decorated with many pieces from that era and style. All the tables were purchased on eBay and are from the fifties. The lamps are also from eBay and are vintage from the same time period. Eventually the carpet will go and I’ll have a laminate wood floor installed. I have a gorgeous rug that will also go in the center of the room.

I can’t wait to start living in the room but, like I said, that will have to wait until I get cable TV. I hate the idea of paying for television but that’s the only way to get reception in that room.

I have a lot more painting I want to do but both Rex and I need to recover from this experience first. The front bedroom will be painted lavender with white trim and that’s where I’ll sleep, the front bathroom will be white with medium pink trim (I have a flamingo theme in there), the master bedroom will be aqua with white trim (and will be transformed into my studio where I will create greeting cards), the master bathroom will also be aqua with white trim, and the kitchen will be turquoise with white cabinets. The third bedroom will be a storage room so I’m going to leave it as is. It’s taken me seven years to get the living room painted so who knows how long it will take me to get the rest done. But I’ve started and that’s the important thing.

Mothers’ Day

So yesterday was Mothers’ Day and I have a bone to pick with mine. She could have raised me like so many other mothers: to be inconsiderate, oblivious to others, and downright rude. But no! My mother (and father) had to raise me to think of other people and consider how my actions impact those around me. What a cruel trick.

I’m not saying I’m the most wonderful person in the world, but I am considerate of others and that is a rare trait these days. I hold the door open for people (without them acknowledging the act), I use my turn signal when I’m driving (some days I feel like I’m the only one), I don’t hold loud parties, if I had kids I wouldn’t let them run around the neighborhood screaming and carrying on, I make sure my dog doesn’t bark incessantly, when in customer service jobs I provided excellent service (unless the customer was being a jackass, then all bets were off), and in general I realize I’m not the only, or most important, person in the world and act accordingly.

Because of the way I was raised, I expect similar things from others. Ha! Consequently, I often find myself irritated by people in general. I know there are other people in the world who were raised well, but I very rarely encounter them (with the exception of my friends, of course).

So thanks a lot, Mom. You could have done a crappy job of raising me so I could go through life as oblivious as so many other people. But, no, you had to a good job and then release me into a world of inconsiderate, self-centered asses.