My Projects in the Raw

As we are cruising through spring, I wanted to give you a look-see at the projects on my list.  Beware, this post contains some scary images of the place I call home.

First up, our backyard.  It is always haggard this time of year.  I have dreams of a raised vegetable garden, grass instead of weeds, and a pretty place to sit.Heard of the woman who lived in a shoe?  I’m the woman who lives in a shoebox–a long, rectangular ranch house.  And, our box house has a square cement patio.  With a round trampoline off of it.  Now, I’m not knocking the ugly tramp because we have goodtimes with her–but she does not add to the beauty of the yard.  So, the mission includes creating a kid-friendly adult space on the patio, adding the annuals, creating a garden space, growing some grass, and successfully ignoring the trampoline when not in use.I’m working with these chairs I bought from Lowe’s a few years back.  They lost their table last year when it became the dining room table at the cottage.  They have to do.I have a pair of planters that killed two boxwoods last summer–that’s how I’m telling the story.  I’ll try some more boxwoods this year and water, ahem.I want to do this as inexpensively as possible yet fabulous, of course.  Time to work some magic.

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Next, I’ve been asked to add some warmth to the waiting room of a surgery center.  The building and furnishings are fairly new.  I’ll work with the existing black chairs and go from there.  People wait for their loved-ones through surgery in this room, so it needs to be calming and low-key. 

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Furniture cast-offs huddle together in my studio.  Don’t be scared, little ones, I will give you new life.  My friend Holly found the bench on the right at a church yard sale.  She called me right away, described it, and said it was so me.  Now, how do I make it completely me?  Paint the frame something bold?  Leave original finish and reupholster in faux white reptile?  It will eventually live in the guestroom.  I’ve been thinking something grass green on the groovy rocker I picked up at Scott Market last summer.  It would be a perfect reading spot by the bookshelves in the family room.

The side tables behind hail from the Salvation Army and have such great potential with paint.  I mean, look at the quatrefoil.  Since I hope to sell these, I don’t know what color to do.  Suggestions?

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An important but not pressing project is my living room.  We’ve been in our house for almost three  years now, and it has yet to be a great place to hang.  The first mistake was the oppressive brown walls that I hastily chose when we moved in and I was 8-months pregnant.  It is a large room but we have never had enough furniture to fill it, and then it became a makeshift storage room for the furniture I was buying for the cottage.  What did I care if the room was stuffed with, uh, stuff?  We weren’t using the room anyway.However, when we moved the cottage furniture out, I declared that the living room’s time had finally come.  Holly and I came up with an amazing plan…and then the man and I found a wonderful house to buy.  All living room fluffing came to a screeching halt.  Turns out the other house wasn’t a go, and now months later, the living room still waits and waits and waits.  I’d love to take her to the finish line.  Does it drive you crazy that I personify everything?The whole rug thing completely scares me.  Where is my confidence?  I think a white shaggy one would be so dreamy here, but a black and white print would be much more dramatic.  And then there is that whole thing with the geometric orange and white fabric I ordered still on the bolt in the closet–where is that going?  This room cracks me up:  how many trend pieces can I cram in one room?  Garden stool, check!  Lucite table, check!  Paintings layered on mantel, check!Pair of statement lamps on table, check!  Pair of chairs flanking table with pair of lamps, check!  I’d love to have this space cozy yet chic soon.  Just another thing on the list.

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Finally–and this is the scariest of them all–my cave.  People, this is where I spend a lot of my time–homeschool, blogging, and various other Internet wanderings.  Is there any question why my soul is slowly seeping from my body?  Ask my husband how many times I tell him I hate this room.  First of all there are no overhead lights and very little natural light.  Second, there is too much junk and too little soft.  Keep looking at it and you’ll need an antidepressant.  Not pictured in the room is our drum set–the cherry on top.Something has got to happen before next school year.  Ugh.

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And this is the point where I would like to sprout an extra pair of arms and maybe get a few extra hours per day.  Thankfully summer is coming up, and I have some more time.  What are you working on right now?