Satisfying Little Projects

I have been tackling some little projects around the house and I have found such satisfaction in completing each one. 

Last week I decided that I had procrastinated long enough about repotting what the Mister had proclaimed was a jungle. I must admit that I did have a lot going on with my plants in the kitchen.

The first little project was to separate and repot my lemon/lime trees. I read where growing lemon trees is a fun endeavor and that it is simple to start a tree just by saving the seeds and letting them dry a bit before planting. So, I saved a few seeds from a lime and some from a lemon. I laid them on a paper towel on the counter to dry for a bit. Then, I bumped them and knocked the paper towel onto the floor, mixing the seeds. I was not deterred, I still planted them. I decided that it didn't really matter to me which was what and I would figure it out when and if they ever produced fruit. For now, I was just going to give the growing thing a try.

So, I put the handful of seeds into a small pot and set it near a window on the kitchen counter. Sure enough, a handful of little green leaves poked their heads out of the soil and began to grow up into tiny trees. One had gotten tall enough that it was a bit crowded under the cabinet. 

I didn't have many spare pots sitting around. So, I dug into a closet and found an old brass planter that had come from a thrifting adventure where I got several items for one price. So, I went off to the barn and found a plastic pot that would fit inside it and brought it to the house along with a few other plastic pots.

I'm hoping it will grow into a stately tree and be worthy of such a fancy pot. 

A couple of the other trees went into the plastic pots and I had a basket that fit around the outside of one of them to dress it up a bit. I'm still searching for something to hide the serviceable but not pretty pot. The remaining three little trees are in small pots and back onto the kitchen counter corner for now.

The other jungle that the Mister had pointed out was the dish garden that had been living on the dining table for a couple of years. 

The photo above shows how it looked last fall and it had grown even more. The tallest plant with leaves that are yellow in the center and green around the edges had fallen over and I feared it was a goner.

Again, I needed pots that look sort of nice and I had none. So, one day last week I stopped in at the local Goodwill store. I found a couple of nice pots and figured that would give me a pretty good start. One has a raised vine design around the top and an attached drip tray. The other did not have a saucer or drip tray but there just happened to be a square plate sitting nearby on the shelf. So, both pots came home with me.

In the pot that the Mister said looks sort of like a deep dish fudge pie, I replanted a Madagascar Dragon tree and a small little prayer plant.

There were two or three other prayer plants in the jungle. So, I put them into a blue and white pot.

The peace lily went back into the pretty green ceramic pot and is still gracing the center of the dining table. I've learned that I like having a live plant on the table and it serves as a nice center where I can add seasonal decor but also looks alive and welcoming on the daily.

The poor plant that laid over got put into the thrifted pot with a raised vine pattern. I staked it up with a small dowel rod and some raffia. I've learned that it is called a dieffenbachia or dumb cane and is a member of the peace lily family. I think the species I have is either Camille or Tropic Snow. I placed it where it was leaning away from the window in my office. I am telling myself that it is straightening up and moving itself toward the light of the window a little each day. Fingers crossed.

I saw on a plant care site that it can be propagated. So, I will give it a bit of time and if it doesn't straighten back up, I will give propagation a try.

I'm so glad I got the inspiration to visit the local Goodwill for my pots. While I was searching for plant names, I also learned that glazed ceramic pots like those sell online for anywhere from $20 to $70. I really got a deal, paying only $6 each and the additional plate that serves as a saucer on the brown glazed pot was $2. So, I got all of my planters for less than one that was advertised at the lowest price. Deal! Deal! I love getting a good deal! 

And I love having projects like repotting plants that help me to feel like I accomplished something worthwhile and have even more opportunities to spread greenery around our space. Little projects like that are so satisfying!

The Domino Effect

Why is it that once we make a change in a room, other changes need to take place as well?

Around here we have experienced that sort of domino effect when it comes to furnishings. First, we had The Summer of Chairs where I was on the lookout and replaced almost all of our dining chairs. 

The chairs we had before - nice, serviceable, but not very comfortable.

Some of the new-to-us chairs that are sturdy and comfy.

The season changed but The Chair Project - Continued. Since there was two sets of chairs and they were similar but just enough different, Plus, the cane-backed chairs had two different seat covers and the urn-backed chair seats made there be three different seat covers. I needed there to be some cohesiveness and I guess I needed to put my stamp on the new purchase.

I had long admired chairs with a buffalo checked seat that I saw in blog posts and decorator books. So, I ordered some buffalo checked fabric in a neutral color. Then, spent a little time and a bit of muscle to cover them all.

I still smile when I walk through the house and see all of our new-to-us dining chairs. They are exactly what I have wanted for eons and the checked seats give them that finished, consistent, planned, southern look. I have them scattered all throughout the house and they look wonderful in every single room.

The next domino effect occurred when I picked up our new-to-us sofa from our family friend's estate. It looked a bit dated and didn't really fit in with our other furniture. So, this time, I contacted an upholsterer and had the sofa recovered. 

When I brought it home, we had the Sofa Shuffle.  I knew that new upholstery would really made it look refreshed and fit so much better with our other furniture. Well...except having that bold buffalo check on the sofa sort of conflicted with the ottoman that we use as a coffee table. Plus, the ottoman was sort of looking sad after eighteen years of use. So... the domino effect again.

Eighteen-year-old faded, thread-bare ottoman

I first thought about just making a slipcover for it. I ordered what I thought might be something similar to the striped fabric and the Mister let me know that he didn't think it would be appropriate. I stumbled across a grain sack type fabric and even began measuring and figuring out how I would stitch up the slipcover. Then, one day I was looking through some decorator books that I have here and noticed a different sort of fabric that I thought might let us keep the animal print but be somewhat more subtle and not fight with the checks on the sofa. I began searching online for fabric and found just what I thought would work. So, when I went to pick up the sofa, I dropped off the ottoman and fabric.

The cheetah print is almost exactly the same colors as the checked sofa. Yet, the print is such that it is still somewhat a neutral. Animal print - check. Neutral - check. Enhances the new-to-us sofa - check.

To me it is always surprising how a more modern fabric on an antique piece of furniture makes it look fresh and updated. All of this may have come as a result of the domino effect but every single bit of these updates, changes, and additions were fairly inexpensive. The fabrics for all of these pieces of furniture (chairs, sofa, and ottoman), the cost of upholstery work on the sofa and ottoman, and the cost of the thrifted chairs still totaled less than an new sofa or a new set of chairs. 

All of these pieces are quality pieces of furniture that are sturdy, well-made, and fairly classic styles. So, I think they will hold up well to our wear and tear and last us for many years to come. Sometimes it is like that children's book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, and becomes a circular tale where one thing leads to another thing and you wind up right bac where you started. This time, though, I think the domino effect we have implemented will be something that leads to a longtime and lasting part of our household.