Every Room Should Feel Loved

A friend came over for dinner last night. It had been brutally hot, and although we have air conditioning, the effects of the day had taken its toll and we were all a bit cranky, sweaty and tired.  As we decided where to sit and drink our iced tea, I vetoed each room, saying it was too warm (my house is small, and in the Summer can feel like is has more windows than walls).

She absently suggested we sit in the TV room, which was cooler, and I quickly said “No”, explaining that ” I hate that room. We just watch television in it, nothing else”.

We found a cool spot to sit in, but the thought of what I had said lingered with me through morning. Did I really hate the room? And why? Was it the smallness of it, the distressed seen-better-days sofa, or something else? I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had said, and I felt guilty (yes, really) that I had such awful thoughts about one of my rooms.

Of course, the room isn’t horrible, but it no longer relates to who we are. It feels designed and comfortable, but there is not enough of our personality in it. Because the accessories (ie. board games, crafts, doll house etc)  were always geared towards children, I had deliberately diluted the furnishings to balance the volume of the chaos. But now, many of these things are not used, and the room seems lost, indifferent to who we are.

If you have one of these moments, like I did, then try and take the time to fix it. But, forget lofty, expensive makeovers, think simple and small. What can you do in an afternoon, or a few hours, that will make a difference?

This is what I plan on doing this weekend to perk up my room.

• Remove any decorations, artwork,  CD’s, Videos and DVD’s that we don’t like or use. Store in the cellar if necessary.
• Organize my daughters games and craft supplies. Hide as much as possible.
• Repaint the main cabinet a different color (it is brown at the moment) and see if I can paint, revamp, remove or replace, the dated bookshelf.
• Find a colorful throw or pillows to put on the quite tired sofa.

If you have a room that bothers you, don’t wait for the perfect moment, and don’t ignore it, just give it a little bit of love.

My Junk = Your Junk

Someone asked me what was in my Junk Drawer. I told her I didn’t have one, and I could tell right away that she thought I was being a little smug; a ridiculously organized decorator, superior to the rest of the universe in her controlled lack of need to corral her chaos.  

As we chatted about the drawer that everyone has, I realized that I honestly didn’t have a junk drawer, but I had something far worse - Junk Bowls! Almost every room in my house has a decorative bowl filled with miscellaneous things that I don’t know where to put. It is my solution to the drawer, but it is round, decorative, and out for everyone to see; being open about it, doesn’t make it any less junky, I just pretend (in my mind) that it is an accessory.

So, to the person who thought I was superior in my organizing, I do hope that this makes you feel better; in fact, I probably have more junk than most people do. As I waited for my computer to warm up, I grabbed the nearest bowl (I actually have five in my house) and this is just some of what was in it:

An empty roller perfume bottle (to remind me what scent to buy next time, and, I admit, I sometimes hope that the perfume will magically reappear). A watch that doesn’t work. Lip balm that I bought for my car, but forgot to put in it. Eight earrings and three necklaces that need to be repaired. Several assorted nails and screws. An expired dog license tag. An American quarter and an English penny. A hair tie, a rubber band and a button from my jeans. A safety-pin. A ring. A necklace that a boy made for me in 1979…

The list goes on, and we all know I will probably never fix the jewelry (well, I might, someday), or put away the other things, but this is what I keep - just like everyone else.