Anyone Want to Help Me Move a Couch?

 I’ve mentioned before that I have decided quit waiting for enthusiastic buy-in from my husband. 

 

It's frustrating to think it took me almost 30 years to figure this out. I had hints when it was time to get our first dog. The months dragged on as I waited for Tim to show a modicum of enthusiasm. Finally, a one year old chocolate lab fell in our laps, I arranged it, and Shadow joined the family. Guess who was Shadow's number one person? Tim. Years later, we went through the same thing with Charlie. What a love affair! If Tim talked to me and cuddled with me the way he does with Charlie, it would be Valentine's Day every day over here. I’m not saying I did these things behind Tim’s back. I got his less than enthusiastic, barely perceptible buy-in and then ran with it.

 

What made me think of this today? Well, despite my bad back, I swapped our kitchen and dining room tables by myself. It doesn't look great, and will probably only stay this way a week, but I don't care. I was feeling itchy in these four walls, and sometimes you just want to move shit around. When it comes to house stuff, if I didn’t get the ball rolling, we’d be in a state of stasis forever. Men, don't often wake up and say, "I wonder if that couch would look better by the window." My latest project is getting a tree cut down, and I've set a goal for myself to on figure that out this week. Tim will know, but I won’t wait for him to high-five me on it. Few things turn a man into an ardent conservationist or decorating purist than saying you want to cut down a tree, or, God forbid, paint wood paneling. 

 

I'm not saying men shouldn't have a say in anything. I'm just preaching to myself here, REMINDING MYSELF not to use Tim's general lack of enthusiasm as an excuse, when I really could pick up that paintbrush, move that table, plan that trip, or do that next thing. 

 

99.9% of the time, he likes what I've done. He becomes the dog's best friend. He appreciates having appliances that aren't broken. He thinks white paint really brightens the space. He’s glad we went on those trips. Now I know I’m probably mashing everything up because it’s Monday morning and I haven’t had my third cup of tea yet, but it kind of reminds me of fooling around. I may be less than thrilled about the prospect, but afterward I’m always glad to have participated. Sure, there’s buy-in from me, but sometimes the enthusiasm comes later. 

 

Let’s hope Tim feels the same way about the tree. 

Gray and Pink Teen Room Makeover, High/Low Edition

Margaret and I re-did her room on a budget.

To raise money for the project, we found whatever we could around the house to sell on a yard sale site. This helped us set our budget and also get rid of excess clothes and accessories that were cluttering up her room. We moved a bunch of books and keepsakes to the basement.

The look she wanted was Hollywood Regency meets Modern, and she was able to find a lot of ideas online. She wanted a mix of metals and textures, with a lot of white throw in.

To plan for the room, she sent me links of what she wanted, and I poked around for less expensive options. In some cases, we went with her choices, and in others mine. We are both happy with the results, and I thought I'd share the process with you here:

The paint color we  used was a continuation from our lower level: Benjamin Moore's Moonshine, a soft gray; we kept the white trim as-is.

An upholstered queen headboard was the centerpiece of the room. This is the one she wanted:

HIGH

Ella Headboard from Pier One: 449.00

I found this one:

LOW

Baxton Headboard from Overstock.com: $129.99

VERDICT: We went with the lower priced one from Overstock and it works perfectly!

She wanted pale pink bedding and there were LOTS of options! 

She chose this set from Urban Outfitters:

HIGH Eyelash bedding in Rose: $189.00 for comforter, $49.99 for 2 shams

I found this much less expensive one, that is quite similar in tone and texture: 

LOW Amazon LUSH Decor Belle 3 Piece quilt Set: $74.99

 And this one for even less, although not in the perfect shade
:

LOWEST Amazon Chez Moi Collection Ella 3 piece comforter set: $49.99

VERDICT: She asked for a gift card from her grandparents for her birthday, and went with the more expensive option from Urban Outfitters. She loves it!

Fuzzy Throw Pillow

HIGH

West Elm Mongolian Lamb throw pillow: 79.99

 LOW

Amazon Mongolian lamb throw pillow: 37.99

LOWEST  

Target throw pillow (FAUX): 17.99 (sale)

VERDICT: We decided that real sheep fur wasn't as important to us as price, so we went with the Target one.

 For lamps, she was looking for antique brass like this one.

HIGH

Crate and Barrel Theorem Aged Brass Lamp: $219

LOW Amazon Satin Brass Hoyt Table Lamp 79.99

LOWEST

Target Hudson Industrial Brass Table Lamp: $49.00

VERDICT: Target for the win-- again! What a great lamp. I hope she gets tired of it, because I want it. Wait until you see it in her room.

Makeup Vanity:

HIGH

West Elm Mid Century Modern Desk: $399

LOW

Target Basic White Desk: 93.49 (sale)

VERDICT: Target desk! Easy to put together, and it keeps all of her makeup neat in the wide drawer.

Vanity Chair:

HIGH/LOW/LOWEST

Online these range from 450.00 on down. We bought one from Tuesday Morning for 99.00 (not available online), but here is one just like it, for less.

Amazon Casper Dining Armchair in Clear: 71.27

VERDICT: I still think we got a pretty good deal, but I wish I'd seen this one sooner and purchased it.

Dresser:

HIGH

Pier One Mirrored Silver Dresser: 999.95

LOW

Wayfair Mirrored Dresser: 580.60

VERDICT: Mirrored dressers are lovely, but even at almost 50% off retail, the "low" one from Wayfair was outside our budget. Instead, we kept the same 75 year old white dresser she had and spray painted the handles gold for an update.

Nightstand:

LOWEST Amazon Graham Mirrored 2 Drawer End Table: 169.99

VERDICT: Yep, she wanted a new nightstand too. This one is indicative of the MANY mirrored ones we looked at, and the price is the best we saw. However, we were still out of funds, so we painted her old nightstand's handle gold and are keeping our eye out for a more modern, less expensive nightstand down the road.

We are leaning toward something like this, but hopefully on the cheap:

Hay Needle Baby Relax Miles Nightstand: 149.99

I hope you enjoyed seeing our choices and are inspired by how Margaret got the look she wanted, with the budget she had to work with. While she only got a few new pieces of furniture, the room is transformed!

Up next: Photos of the room itself! 

(affiliate links provided for your convenience)

New Pergola!

I really miss our screened porch. For some time, I've been hoping to make part of our deck seem more room-like.

Last week I did a little shopping and asked on the An Inch of Gray Facebook page which of these we should keep, and which we should return:

1) 11 ft solar telescoping umbrella from Bed Bath and Beyond

Or

2) 9.5 x 9.5 Metal Pergola from Home Depot.

Well, 100% of the respondents picked the PERGOLA and Tim and two friends assembled it on Saturday. They secured it to the deck with bolts.

I am in love!

Definitely the right choice, even with one caveat.

Here's the thing:

It looks terrific, but it doesn't provide any rain protection for our furniture. I don't like heading to the deck in the morning with the doggies and my tea and getting a wet rear end from rain and dew. The kind of tent/canopy I was looking for originally would have provided rain protection, but none would fit on the side of the deck.

Here are two examples of what I originally wanted, but were just too big for the only rectangular space on our deck.

So, with our deck size/shape, it was either pergola (and only sun protection) or umbrella (rain and sun protection, but the potential for it to blow away).

Go, Team Pergola!

It makes such a cozy space, and we have eaten dinner there the past few nights. It's going to be a great place to sit with a cold beer. Truthfully,  on the hottest Virginia days, it will be too hot, and on rainy days it's a no go as well. But that doesn't mean I'm not smiling every time I walk by and look at it!

Ta-Da!

Shade cover pulled back:

 Bigger view of deck:

I'd love to add a rug, but Tim is against having a wet rug sit on a wet deck. As you can see, we need to re-stain the deck. Thoughts?


P.S.

If you like the look of a pergola and have an even smaller deck area, this (8 x 8 one) might work for you:

Gallery Wall

I have a lot of artwork to hang in the new house. I'd like to paint a few rooms first, so most of the paintings and pictures and mirrors will lean against a wall in the basement until I get around to it, say next summer? I love the paint color in our family room, however, so it was time to get some things on the walls! I started with twice as many pieces as made it onto this wall, so they'll find homes elsewhere in the house.

My first step was looking at what I thought would go well together. This included a painting by my mother in law of the "house that made me," some high school artwork by my mom, inspiring paintings by friends, and an amazing portrait of Jack by one of his classmates. Yeah, an 8th grader did that. Wow.

I had signs, too, one purchased from TJ Maxx and another hand painted by Kristi from Barn Owl Primitives with the words my sister said about Jack at his funeral, This is what she learned from him:

I wanted art from Margaret and Jack on there as well, so you'll find her fish painting plus his watercolor Tiffany window. The wooden piece is  a slat/spindle (?) from the porch railing of my great grandparents' house that is no longer standing in WV, and it hangs below a tender painting of Jack and his cousin.

I tried Martha Stewart's technique first, of cutting brown kraft paper the size of each piece and then taping them to the walls. But the paper got curly and kept falling down, so I moved to the floor. I taped off an area the same size as the space on the wall and just arranged and rearranged until I liked it.

Then I had Tim start the nailing, so I could step back and see if it was coming together the way I wanted.

It's so nice to have these sweet paintings on the wall. Makes me want to get going and personalize more of the house.

So, what do you think of the piece of furniture beneath the gallery wall? We call it "The Dumpster Dive" because I got it out off someone's trash pile about 8 years ago. I have never loved Tim more than when he helped me remove it from the curb and get it inside the back of the minivan without making any snarky comments.

It lived in the carport at the old house and I knew that when the movers came last month it would be my one and only opportunity to get it inside after 8 yrs of waiting. Even at the last minute, the (male) movers and my (male) husband were debating the wisdom of bringing it inside a house and saying things like, "well, maybe if you fix it up." Puh-lease. Ain't no changing the Dumpster Dive.

There is a teeny weeny issue in that I think it is infested with carpenter bees. And that the latent larvae inside the bee tunnels may hatch sometime next spring and start feeding on the wood of our house, thereby reducing it to a pile of rubble.

Small issue, I'm sure. I mean, look at how great it is!

10 Minute Project, OR, Longest Post for Shortest Project Ever

So, I'm still in  love with the house!

And my diabolical plan in posting crappy, blurry pictures has paid off because my friend Dorie, a professional photographer, saw how bad they were and offered to come over for a cup of tea sometime soon so we can chat and she can take MUCH better photos for you.

But I can't invite her over yet, because that would be a reward for me. And I don't believe in rewarding bad behavior. Just go back in time and ask 4 yr old Jack if he ever got that Dora the Explorer movie he had a fit about in CVS? Ok. I know, Dora, embarrassing....

I am working from home right now, trying my hand at writing full time. In theory, breaking up with my day job in the church bookstore, though a bit sad, should provide me with ample time to write. And it does, but this time starts far too early, as we are now on the hellish Middle School sleep deprivation schedule, and ends far too soon, as in "How can school be over by 2:45? I was just getting my groove!"

And I'm in my cool new house. You know, the one that's almost exactly like the old one so there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that MUST be done to it? The furniture fits, the dog knows her way around, and everything was set up in a matter of days because it was all so familiar. Except there's a lot of yellow and green. And I'm a little more of a tan and gray person. Or blue. And look at those brass switch plates!  What an easy fix that would be to just swap those out on a quick trip to Home Depot....

Working from home has been wonderful, but I'm oh so easily distracted. If you have surmised that my blog productivity has plummeted in the 2 weeks in which this work at home experiment has been  in place, you would be correct oh keen observer.

So, I'm trying to bribe myself and up my productivity with little rewards related to the house. Not big,  "Let me paint the yellow master bedroom my beloved Palladian Blue" rewards or "Let me buy a new beer fridge to replace the one Margaret and her friend destroyed by accidentally puncturing the Freon with an ice pick."

No, changes of that caliber are not sanctioned until I get more writing done.

But I've been trying to build in a 20 minute reward during lunch each day. No, it's not called Facebook, although that's another distraction (addiction) I must contend with. These small rewards have something to do with the house, like sifting through artwork to decide what to hang on the walls, or organizing a shelf in the garage.

Today I took gorgeous wrapping paper and lined the back of my antique secretary. It adds a small touch of gray amidst the yellow and green, enough to tide me over until the whole house coordinates with this gray beauty:

Thank you, Kristi of Barn Owl Primitives for this incredible painting you made! Did you notice how Kristi painted "Jack" behind his favorite Bible verse? LOVE IT.

The  secretary, however, has seen better days. When my brother, sister, and I were dividing up our family furniture more than 15 years ago, it was not my first, second, or even third favorite piece from the dining room. It was the booby prize, even though it is pretty cool looking and is from the 1830's.

First of all, it has a bum leg. It has had a bum leg since my grandparents bought it in the late 60's or early 70's. This was something that was drilled into us as we were growing up that kind of took the fun out of it. Whenever we'd get close to it: "Don't lean against that thing! The leg is just propped there." I think the three of us had kind of a Pavlovian response to avoid it after all of those years.

No one ever seemed to consider getting the leg fixed. Tim and I just anchored the secretary securely  to the wall and pretty much stayed away from it..

And we've had to baby it a bit each time we moved from house to house. Not that it seemed to appreciate it one bit, delicate and persnickety as it is.  For instance, when I was sizing it up today before my quick project, a tiny piece of mahogany veneer fell off while I was looking at it.  Not touching, looking. It just kind of leapt right off and landed on the floor at my feet. This does not happen with my other furniture.

Also, those little windows make it hard to display anything inside. Currently, there's this oh-so-cute photo of my young parents on their wedding day:

There's an old family Bible from the 1830's with brittle pages bearing the birth and death dates of our relatives from Ireland. There are a few books by Dickens and Austen, a nod to the furniture's British roots, and some pretty birdies people have given me.

There's also a yellowed newspaper clipping from the 1970's from my Grandpa Harris. The clipping talks about an antique mahogany secretary that was valued at $6,000. Grandpa's note to my mother in the margin says: "Check this. We paid $200. It came from England. It was in Dr. Carter Bishop's home."

I'm pretty sure my mother never had the time, pre-Internet and mid-childrearing to check on the value of our three legged secretary, but she did tuck the note away a little hidden drawer for safekeeping.

You may be wondering if I think antiques such are too dear to be tampered with. Nah! In fact, there is still sticky residue on the shelves and the back from when my mom covered them with harvest gold contact paper circa 1977.

So much so that when I cut the gray wrapping paper to size, I barely had to use any tape (yep, scotch tape) to hold it up. The 40 year old stickiness pretty much did the trick.

So, there you have it. A long-winded post about a short little project.

Measure. Cut. Stick. Admire. Go back to writing.

And if any of you find there's a seller's market for sticky 3-legged 1830's mahogany secretaries let me know. I have a few house-related projects to fund.