Today I noticed...Sometimes a quick fix is better than a total transformation

A few weeks ago, Luci came for a visit and stayed a couple of days. Grandchildren Days are a long tradition in our family. 

I usually try to plan some sort of project or adventure for us and also provide some down time where the grandchild can just relax and and some space to themself. This time, our adventure was testing out the basement bedroom. I have begun transitioning the bedroom into a guest room and had stagnated. One of the things I've read is that a person needs to sleep in the guest room every now and again to see what it needs when a guest might stay there. So, Luci and I trekked down the stairs to test things out.

Right away I noticed that the room needs a fan. She and I, both, felt that the room was a bit stuffy. So, Luci crept back upstairs and got the inexpensive fan that is kept in the guest bathroom for just such situations. I made a note that some sort of fan needs to be added to the guest room. A quick fix that worked for now but really will need revisiting.

Later that night, I noticed that the bathroom needs a night light for those trips when a visit to the facility is necessary but a bright, wakeful light is not. No quick fix for this one during the wee hours but it will be revisited.

We also discussed that the wall facing the beds needs a clean-up and some sort of artwork. The TV that was mounted on the wall there has been moved to the office. So, there are holes where the mounting screws were and black marks from the equipment that was there.

Eventually, the wash stand will be gone as it was given to the bonus son. So, I'm pondering what might sit there and have a good purpose in that space. In the meantime, something needed to be done to the wall.

Filling the holes and painting is an option. However, I'm not - and never have been - fond of the grey color that is on the walls everywhere down there. Grey seems institutional to me. Plus, the walls were painted about ten years ago and even with left over paint, the color probably won't match seamlessly. 

So, I decided to just cover as much of the unsightliness up and move onward. 

I had come across a vintage map tucked into some pictures and papers that were my mother-in-law's. So, I held it up to get a feel for things and decided that might be the ticket for now. I sat down one day shortly after Luci's visit and measured the map and ordered a simple frame for it. 

I think it will be perfect for the start of some sort of gallery wall. Smoothing the map out was simple and popping it into the frame was easy. This was nothing transformational but it was a quick fix that sent my mind wandering about what else might be a fun look for this room.

I've got a few directions I could take using what is posted on this map. I think the details really add to it!

It is an Interstate Highway Map of the United States. I'm not sure how old it is but it obviously was intended for travelers who wanted to get somewhere fast. There are other features and keys on it that I really like as well.

I love how it explains the different interstate highway shields. I don't think a lot of folks know this information. Because the map does not include Interstate 840, a radial or alternate room that bypasses Nashville, that tells me that the map was printed before the road was started in 1991 and completed in 2012. So, this would make the map be at least 30+ years old. 

Reading the section above made me wonder how many of these will survive and be accessible for travelers with all the cuts that have been made recently by our federal administration. Below are the lists of scenic, historic, man-made, and recreational wonders that are marked on the map.

It might be fun to add some travel posters or vacation spots, images of historical places, or scenic photographs. So, while a total transformation was not made by framing and hanging this vintage map, ideas have been generated and the wheels are turning!

Patriotic Decorating

I've always enjoyed celebrating and decorating for Independence Day. Not only is it a good reminder to me about how fortunate I am (at least for the time being) to be able to live in the country with the most freedom in the world. 

Years ago, one of our granddaughters was spending some time with us and we worked together to craft decorations that I look forward to displaying each and every year in my Patriotic Decorating.

When I hung his little banner of flags so carefully stitched, I was smiling the entire time. Once again I was remembering the sewist.

When she was working so diligently at stitching the flags to the ribbon, she was concentrating and quiet and working hard at stitching.  Then, her stitching got looped around the ribbon and had a bit of a tangle. All of a sudden, she exclaimed, "Grand B, we have a situation here." 

We worked together to get it all straightened out with no "situations" in our finished products. She learned how to stitch and how to take the stitching out and stitch again.

I couldn't help but smile at her little snaggle-toothed exclamation then and I think of it every single time I get that banner out to hang it up for celebrating.

My, how time does fly! When I finished hanging the banner this week, I sent the photo that starts off this post via text to that little sewist, who now looks like this...

What a situation!

Family Portrait Gallery

 I have done a little work with the photos that I shared in this post.  I'm satisfied with what I have - for now. There is a small landing as one descends into our basement. Where the stairs pause at the landing there is a large cabinet where I have added some books. As one turns, to continue down the stairs, I've added a gallery wall with some of the family photos. 

To the left of the gallery photos is a series of three stairs which stops on the basement floor. There is a wall on either side, forming a sort of hallway. So, I am probably going to add some more photos there. I think it would be a good place to add a collection of photos such as family members who were posing for team pictures or those who are posing with an animal from a livestock show. I'm going to continue to think about this because I'm not absolutely certain of how I want to decorate this little space. 

For this gallery collection, I have Started at the top, left with Mike's paternal great-grandfather. Next to him is Mike's grandfather, and then, his father rounds out the last oval frame. Below those oval-framed photos are pictures of Mike's parents. I think the two small ones are school pictures. They look like they might be about third grade level photos. The larger photo between those two shows his parents at their eighth grade dance.

The gold scalloped frame holds a collage of Mike in his first year. There is a portrait of him at three-months, six-months, nine-months, and one year. 

Then, there is the large antique portrait of Mike's great, great grandmother. Below that is a photo of his father on the left. Then, his great-grandmother is pictured in the middle and the photo on the right is a photo of the great-grandmother at an older age.

I love the variety of vintage frames and feel quite fortunate to have inherited the photos as well as the beautiful frames. 

Projects - Lamp Project

Don't we all have projects that we postpone until we have plenty of uninterrupted time to complete them? 

I have such a plethora of projects that have been postponed. I am starting to tackle some of them one by one. It is such a fabulous feeling to have space to work, to have time to focus and dedicate to completing projects, and to have the luxury of walking away from them or pausing and coming back to them.

One of the first projects I've tackled is to transform a lamp. 

Several months ago, I picked up a lamp from a local fellow who sells items that he picks up in storage facility sales, home cleanouts, at the end of estate sales. He advertises to sell STUFF. I follow him with a social media account and have picked up some treasures. The lamp and shade for $10 was one such treasure. 

My plan was to use it in the basement bedroom on the bedside table between the twin beds. Shortly after purchasing, I saw a blog post that inspired me to take on a little DIY project. Rachel at The Ponds Farmhouse had transformed a similar lamp to create a dupe of a Ballard Design lamp. I decided to follow her example and update my rather simple lamp. 

I began with a spray on primer coat for the lamp. Then, followed Rachel's instructions exactly.

I searched online and found a lampshade for about $14 at Hobby Lobby and my project is complete!

It has wound up in the basement den because I thought the space needed something of substance. That means, I'm on the search for another lamp for the bedroom. Here is a look with it lit up in the space.

I'm pleased with the project and hope that it is just the start of loads of fun and successful ventures.

Designating a Room as the Office

 One of the things Mike and I knew immediately that we wanted to do when reworking the basement and parceling out his mother's belongings as she had wished is that we knew I need a designated space as an office and work room. 

Since I was sent home to work during Covid, I had just perched on a little desk space that my parents had made when I was a girl and it worked out fine. Sometimes my need to be online in a live virtual meeting was an inconvenience for Mike. Sometimes there were distractions when I needed to be working. All too frequently, I worked long, late hours because it was just too easy to work with my computer and desk right there.

So, now we have the space for me to designate a room as the office. Just after Christmas, I noticed an inexpensive desk and chair offered for sale on Facebook. It was just the right size - large enough to hold my laptop and extra monitor and microphone and notes but not a big executive desk. So, I jumped on that and brought the desk home. Mike helped me get it out of my truck and into the room. 

I shoved the wicker sofa, chair, table, and accessories to the other end of the room. With the beginning of the new year and a new school semester I was beginning work in my new office!

I had already decided that we were going to set this office up on a shoestring budget. I didn't want to spend a potload of money to make it beautiful and functional when we already have so much stuff. However, I also wanted it to be beautiful and inspire me to work.

With a little time, I began to search for inspiration to make this really become a space where I want to work and am inspired to do good things. So, I started thumbing through my 'look books' where designers who are featured in places like Southern Living show how they have decorated homes for clients and themselves. I began to scroll through Pinterest and Instagram and save ideas that I saw which inspired me. 

source

My first thought was that I would put my desk in the space where the window would be off to my side. So, this office really inspired me. I had thoughts of painting the desk and adding panels of drapery at the window and really making it a feminine space.

source

I began to notice that another characteristic seemed consistent - there was shelving and storage in each of them. Knowing that I wanted to set this up on a shoestring budget and that I might not always want to have built-in shelving and storage in the room, I began to try to think of how to provide that shelving and storage in another way.

source unknown

source

source

I also noticed that several of the pictures I was saving as inspiration had cozy seating. Knowing that the Mister might stop in to visit and chat, I knew I would need an extra spot to perch. I thought it would also be a good thing to have comfy seating for when I'm not doing computer work. So, a comfy chair or seating area needed to be included.

source

Sometimes saving a picture sparks more ideas and would prompt me to consider things we already have that could be put into service. For example, in the image below there is a green checked wingback chair. There was already a green checked wingback chair sitting in the room that had been my mother-in-law's. Seeing the drop leaf table also made me realize that there was one in the basement den and that might be a great way to have expandable surface space. It could be handy when I want to craft and need more surface area for spreading fabric out or other crafting supplies. 

source unknown

Seeing a couple of photos that had the desk centered up in front of the window helped me to realize that I could be taking full advantage of the light there. The room is in our basement and is painted what I call 'prison grey.' The paint color was chosen by my mother-in-law and is still in good shape but grey is just not a color I like. So, I hated to go to the expense of repainting when the color is rather neutral. I decided that I would just use the assets we have and make the most of it.

source

I began to scroll through online estate sale postings and Facebook Marketplace. One of the first china cupboards I saw, I fell in love with. I thought the color of the wood was nice, warm, and light and might not even need painting and liked the number of drawers for holding things. The catch was that the seller wanted more money than I wanted to spend.

A friend started surfing and looking for similar items with smaller price tags. Yet, when I would inquire, it seemed that each one had a catch - something might be broken or the drive was more than an hour away or the seller didn't respond. So, after a couple of days, I bit the bullet and bought the one that tugged at my heartstrings. When I got it home, the Mister was all grumbly but I could tell he mostly was grumbling about having to move it more than anything else. He had lined up my bonus son to come over and help provide some brawn to get it unloaded and placed in the space. So, the three of us manhandled her into my new office!

Once in place, the bonus son commented, "That's a nice piece of furniture." So, the Mister rolled his eyes and I puffed my chest out and all was well with the world. Immediately, I moved the green checked wingback chair that had been sitting in the corner over on the opposite side of the room and things started taking shape.

Next, I dragged a drop-leaf table from the basement den down the hallway and set it across the room from the new cabinet. The color of the wood was almost identical. Plus, it would provide that expandable surface area when needed - and it is a nice, beautiful piece of furniture as well.

Things that are always being considered as I work on this space to make it a reflection of who I am and what the intended focus of this room is include:

• It is a basement room and there is very little lighting - only one can light in the center of the room.
• It will be used for my work as an instructional designer until I retire from the education business.
• It is where I will be working on writing projects and will continue in that capacity even after I retire.
• It is where I will be doing stitching and sewing in the space. So, there will be lots of stray threads and scraps of fabric.
• When I sew, I will also be using the ironing board and iron. So, there will need to be open space for that vital equipment.
• I will need to store fabrics, trims, thread, office supplies, crafting supplies, and such in there.
• I want the space to be a work horse but also keep to my shoestring budget.

So, the designated office space is taking shape. Updates will be shared in a later post. It already looks quite different from the photos here but it still has a journey to go before I will call it meeting up to my inspiration.

Wreaths on the Fence

 I've enjoyed Christmas decorations all my life. I fondly recall piling in the car and Daddy driving to town just to look at the way folks decorated the outside spaces of their homes. I grew up on a farm and we lived a long stretch from the road. So, we didn't do a lot of outdoor decorating. Going in to town was a real treat and getting to see the decorations made it even more so!

When the children were small, we decorated a lot. We would add to our decor each year. It isn't something their father really enjoyed doing but I guess I guilted him into it for the children's sake. I kind of lost sight of that childhood joy for several years. Then, I moved into a new house and rekindled that love. A few years later, with a new grandchild to enjoy it, my joy seemed to grow even more. Then, Mike and I married and I had a new house to decorate and decorating became something that was a newfound delight. I just wanted to make hour home welcoming to his family and mine. 

Last year I admired so many homes decorated for the season each day as I went in to work. Many of the areas that I traversed daily were bordered by large homes and people paid somebody else to do the decorating. Some of them were lavish and some of them were relatively simple but all of them made my heart sing.  

One especially inspired me with plank fencing all around and lights strung across the top plank to frame the home and surrounding area. I told Mike I'd love to do that but the initial expense is just really prohibitive. So, we decided to just take on a wee bit this year with hopes of adding a bit each year. This year, I decided to tackle the entrance to our farm. I noticed that Mike had some old ring clamps that used to hold a top on a barrel and thought they would make perfect forms for a wreath. So, that is how my inspiration grew from a seed to a product.

First, we gathered the supplies. I picked up a couple of the rings, we rode round the fences and trimmed off some cedar clippings. Then, I got some twine and scissors and began to craft some wreaths.

I started by simply lowering the tailgate of the ATV and snipping some lengths of twine. Then grabbed a branch of cedar and tied it on. After a few branches were added, I hung the partial wreath on a branch of a crepe myrtle that stood nearby and kept adding sprigs of cedar with twine until I had the ring covered.

We loaded the pair of wreaths onto the ATV again and gathered some heavier twine to hold them in place. Then, off to the end of the driveway we trekked. I tied the simple wreaths to the top plank of the fence on either side of the driveway entrance. Rustic, charming, simple, and most importantly - FREE!

via

A week or so before, I had ordered these relatively inexpensive, solar, string, fairy lights and thought I'd give them a try as a start for lining our top plank on the fence. So, I gave the wreaths a couple of swirls around and stretched the tiny lights down the top plank for a space and doubled back to the wreath in hopes that doubling up would give the little tiny lights enough umph to shine brightly and not be lost in the broad open space. I hadn't set the solar panels out to charge, hadn't tried them out at all, just decided to give it a go.

I completed the first side of the driveway and began working on the other. I had just clicked the on/off switch and the mode switch a few times and hoped for the best. I used the small brown twine and stretched the cord taught to hold the lights in place across the top plank of the fence. Just as I was finishing up the left side of the driveway, the right side came on! I quickly began clicking the on/off and mode switch of the left side to get the lights from blinking to a steady glow.

I was almost giddy with excitement! While it isn't blindingly bright, the solar lights provided a soft glow and really look pretty to my old childish eyes.

I dashed across the highway to snap a quick photo to show Mike before I made my trek up toward the house. I was truly excited and quite pleased with our first step of holiday cheer! I was so excited that Mike climbed into the ATV and we rode back down so that he could have a first-hand look. We decided that the daytime version needed a little punch of color. So, I've ordered some red ribbon that was advertised at clearance and plan to add a big red bow to the wreaths. Stay tuned for an update!

I was not compensated for this post. I'm simply sharing how we add a little glowing Christmas cheer with some inexpensive solar lights, a discarded metal ring, and some free cedar clippings. 

Staying Home

 When we first got the stay-at-home policy, I was so thankful.  I was glad for the opportunity to be able to stay at home.  The chance to be able to just stay here and not HAVE to go out every single day has truly been a blessing to me in lots of ways.  

One of the things staying home has provided me is the blessing of simply enjoying the front porch.  Last year I gave Mike new porch rockers and a new porch swing.  The ones we had were older than vintage.  They had been on his grandparents' porch before they graced this front porch and time had done what time does to wooden porch furniture. Slats in the seat of the chairs and bench were broken, the back of the swing had pulled away from the seat, countless coats of paint had begun to chip and wear away and they just didn't seem safe anymore. 

The image above shows a bit of what time had done to the rockers and swing.

So, last fall after Mike said not to give him a gift for his birthday and I said not to give me a gift for my birthday, I took it upon myself to bend the rules a little bit and give him rockers and a swing for his birthday and say that it was his gift to me as well.  I shopped by surfing the net and finally landed on something that I liked and thought would take on a similar profile to what had always graced the front porch.  

The new porch rockers

The rockers are not those tall, 'Cracker Barrel' rockers and have a lower profile like the old ones did.  They have a wide seat that provides plenty of room and comfortable support.  When they arrived in their flat boxes, I could hardly wait to pull the pieces out and put them together.  I love the woven seat and back.  I love the color of the wood.  I just couldn't have been more pleased with the new rockers.  

Shortly after, I also ordered a new porch swing using the concept of a Christmas gift exchange as the excuse for this purchase.  I knew that I wanted something a little longer than the previous swing so that two adults can comfortably sit on it. So, again, I surfed the net and found one that was simple and had a similar curve to the arm as the rockers.  It came unstained and I had to think for a while to decide if I wanted to paint it or attempt to stain it to coordinate with the rockers.

Stain won out and I set to work.  Then, after giving it a week or so, I oiled down the rockers as well as the swing with some of the oil finish I use on the butcher block counter top we have on the island as a protective coating.  It weathered the winter well and I gave it a new coat of oil this spring.

The front porch has sort of turned into an oasis for Toby and me this summer.  We both have enjoyed hours out there.  He stretches out for a nap on the rug and I sit in one of the rockers or the swing and read a book or nap.

The addition of some ferns and flowers have truly made it seem like a summer oasis. I've so enjoyed the beauty of the green, the dark walnut-wood color of the furniture, and the shade.

It is friendly and welcoming as well as relaxing and comfortable whether we are napping or just sitting and watching the world go by.

A tall ice-cold drink in the afternoon or a delicious cup of coffee in the morning will usually be enjoyed right on the front porch.  I've enjoyed the space so much, that other instances of metamorphosis have taken place and even more will be coming.  That's another story for another day, though.  Right now, I hear the front porch calling to me and maybe I'll let Toby tag along!