Vive la Différence

Our kitchen island until 2010:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Original vision - I thought the island storage was a spot
where I could sacrifice some function for character/appearance.  

Island, 2010-2012, when I'd decided the function of drawers was more important than the classic, symmetrical look.  Also, we didn't need all that overhang, and could use more storage, so Hubby built a couple more cabinet boxes, and more drawers.  


I gained 5 drawers in place of the doored cabinets, 2 on one side, 3 on the other.  In place of the overhang, I now have one set of open shelves for my scale, a box of cake decorating supplies, and a basket of cookie cutters, and on the other side, have a drawer for ZipLoc bags with a pullout below for vertical storage of cutting boards and rolled goods, such as plastic wrap, parchment paper, and foil.  These are only 12" deep so that there is still space under the counter in the center. That remaining overhang is, honestly, for me, more important as a spot to keep the stool in easy reach, but it's used as a seating spot fairly often, too :                                                                                  

The end is gold (Benjamin Moore Waterbury Cream), because I was 2nd-
guessing my original choice (BM Lancaster White)... but it wasn't right.

And... Ta-Dahhh!  Our island, now:

So this week's changes were Hubby's addition of drawer fronts and pulls, and my repainting the cabinet ends to the original color.  I prefer the beefy, big-island look to the initial appearance, and it functions so much better, which is, of course, what I appreciate most.


The goal:  

Some trim, the legs, and the very-important towel bar, and we'll be there!  I think that to anyone else walking into the room, it'd look complete as it is... Just I know better.  I was going to wait until then to share the progress, but I was too excited not to show the interim improvement.


Linking to  I’m One Project Closer! {DIY Link-It-Up #4} at One Project Closer, where there are so many great DIY projects of all types shared. Have a look and be inspired!                                                                                                                                                       

One Project Closer

This Home Decor Stuff...

In my goals for 2012 I stated that I wanted to become less home-decor-challenged.  

My priorities & my joy.  Also part of what makes decorating
difficult.  Busy family (eating in the living room),
pets, the need for lots of seating, and small rooms.

First I had to examine my motives for doing this, because self-doubt is where I seem to go first.  Was I trying to 'keep up with the Joneses?'  Is it shallow to want my home to be admired, putting time, effort, and expense that would be better used elsewhere?  Is this something God wanted me to put on my priority list, or might it hinder my spiritual growth?


But I was given my answers to those worries.  First, Prince CuddleBunny appreciated the extra half-mile I was going to make our home look more special this Christmas, showing me that these efforts were, indeed, a type of service to my family. 


During this time, also, my The One Year Bible reading was in Exodus.  I spent days reading God's instructions for the crafting of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.  I wondered why the specifications for all the pieces and details were given so much room and time in the Scriptures...   I realized that God clearly cares about beauty and details, and gave us skills and talents in order to create them.  The Lord lives through us here, and the house is a blessing we enjoy...  Making it look its best for my family is good stewardship and a way to glorify Him.


Now that I was past the spiritual hurdle, and I've given myself permission to care, I have a fair share of limitations I need to work within, and other hills to leap: 

Unfinished window trim, but Hubby's working on that.
Furniture from the In-laws' house.  --Make no mistake that
I was happy and thankful to have it,
as ours was torn and tattered.  Now we're wearing this
not-family-friendly nubuck surface to dark and shiny.  And
did I mention that orange is my least favorite color?
Needs: Cleaning, brushing, and pillows.

Finances:  I definitely can't just go out and buy my way to a beautifully decorated home.  I have hand-me-down furniture, and not in the greatest shape.  But it is what it is, and it's a given, at the moment. 


Any money spent will need to be used to the most advantage.  This will necessitate some thinking outside of the box, which isn't always my forte. It will also involve a large amount of DIY, and bargain-hunting, both of which I'm used to and enjoy.

Entry 'photo gallery.'  One photo
missing, one broken, one needs a real mat,
... all dusty.
NO MORE PLASTIC FRAMES.

Attentiveness:  I need to stop overlooking things that could be better... The TV antenna tacked to the wall in plain view. The broken picture frame hanging on the wall in the entry.  Tools and the boot bin on the front porch.  

Maps can be cool decor items.
But not with horridly torn edges.

As a family we need to raise our standards, and stop being OK with having the house and yard in fair (or worse) condition.  Clean up and touch up can go a long way as a start in the right direction.  Hard to do with teens, and while there is construction underway.  It will start with me.






Practicality:  I have a family... a big one.  I don't want a lot more to clean or things that I'll have to get after my family about.  

My favorite, once new & once ruby-red chair.
I love the style... Classic, comfy, and fun.
Unfortunately, a set of baby kittens liked it
-- for claw sharpening--
and it now has an almost nubuck finish, too!
Besides the seat being badly faded.

Kids WILL mess with things, and NOT put them back exactly where I think they should be.  They automatically add clutter to the mix, so more will not be better, even if it's pretty.  


Any surface is 'fair game,' as was evident when I had to disentangle Baby Jesus from XBox controllers that landed next to and around Him in what was left of our Nativity scene.  


We also have pets.  It doesn't pay to have things that aren't tough and easily cleanable.  Any new decor has to fit into an easy, comfy and barefoot, casual type of lifestyle.




Vision:  I need a better idea of where I want to end up.  I need to look at more photos.  Pinterest and Google might help if I can figure out the right words to put in a search.  I know I don't like fussiness or clutter, and most rooms I love focus on grand architectural details, and comfortable, but nicely designed furniture. 

From Houzz.com

 Stone fireplaces and great windows or built-ins are my type of decor...  Things I can't sew up, or change in any kind of hurry.  


I think room decor should be like a woman's makeup... Augmenting what's there, diminishing imperfections, perhaps, or turning them into advangages, not fighting with what is, and demanding the attention.  I can make pillows or hang photos or artwork, but the biggest problem is that I want everything to work together to be a whole vision, and I'm not sure I know how to do that... Yet.

A sneak peak at a planned task.
The kitties were here, too.
I've never re-covered anything,
and I'll be starting
with our 12 dining chairs.

This is all a little vague or general, I know.    I do actually have a few specific home tasks in mind and will share them in future posts.

I'm going to link this to 2012 Home Goals Party at the Nesting Place.  I think reading and sharing in such a fun party might help start me on my way.

Maybe I Spoke Too Soon

I said on Sunday that I wasn't doing resolutions this year, but would do 'goals' instead.  Working on the list, I decided there isn't much difference.  I'd always felt that resolutions were inflexible, do-it-or-FAIL, prescriptions.  But that, of course, has more to do with how they're written/decided, and my own outlook and judgement of myself, which I've been working on.


So anyway, onto my objectives for 2012:

1) Drink more water and add weight-bearing exercise into every day... Get off the backside and stand up!

2) Improve my gardening results.

3) Re-energize homeschooling. 

4) Become less home-decor-challenged.   

5) Sew more.

6) Write a monthly to-do list, and ACCOMPLISH.

7) Keep reading.  The Bible, yes, but books of many other types and topics, also.

8) The most important, which could enable me to reach far past any goals I could imagine: Give each day to God in faith and thankfulness, then proceed into it without allowing the "what-ifs" to get in the way of anything He can accomplish through me.

If you want to read a really excellent blog post on setting goals, see Goals Make Us Available, not Perfect on SimpleMom or (in)courage.

Frustration

As you may, or may not, have noticed, this week, I missed a few days of blogging, only to follow up that absence with a comparatively lame post about an apple peeler.  Not to belittle the help it may have been to those interested, but it wasn't exactly the profound, beginning of the new year thoughts I'd hoped to share.  --But 4 days into 2012, I had to post something!


I've been struggling with a few things.  

• I've been trying to formulate my goals and tasks for the coming year.  I feel there are more swirling around in the back of my head and heart than are spilling out on my note pad, but I can't seem to grasp them clearly.  

• My brain isn't helping --either a bit of hormonal imbalance, or, most likely, remaining fatigue from nights up with sick kids over the holidays. But my mind won't let go of words I need, thoughts are a jumble, and I have to specifically think through routine, usually mindless tasks to make sure I'm doing them in the proper order... Like brake, shift into Park, and then turn off the car.  

• I've been kitchen cleaning.  Mostly alone.  When everyone was sick around Christmas, I decided to do more than my usual so that my chore-doers could relax.  While doing so, I thought I'd demonstrate a new standard of cleanliness in hopes that others would fall into maintaining it.  Mostly, I hoped for reactions something like, "Wow, this looks great so clean.  When I make something to eat, I'll take care of the dishes and food right away so it stays this way."  The family seems to have surmised, instead, "If no one steps up, Mom - or whatever mythical creature did this - will do it all."    

• All of my cleaning hasn't even been wholly successful... Over the holidays, the cream puff filling and a pot of cocoa splashed over the edges of their pans and made pools in the hot pans under the burners on the rangetop.  Tuesday, I dismantled the whole thing, and scrubbed away at the remaining spots.  After quite a time, and not much progress, I turned to fume-free oven cleaner.  It sounded like the last-resort option, and I was no longer willing to try something that 'might' work.  I generously sprayed the underpans from the stove, and left it to sit overnight, the amazing foam, supposedly eating away all of the cooked on problems.  In the morning, I scrubbed some more, and added more oven cleaner, and did the same again in the afternoon.  I'd say that for most of the areas, this did a better job than other solutions.  But we still have ample evidence of the holiday spills on our most often used burner pans. 

The cleaner ones

The clean, but not clean ones

• Too many bills await me...  

• And my back hurts.

School starts back in today, so maybe a more regular routine will help.  I'm sorry if this comes off as whining.  I truly think that it is a bit of spiritual warfare... Which I've come to believe means I'm probably on the right track with something in my faith journey.  So I'll take it as a good sign and keep forging ahead. 

And things aren't all bad... I had apple pie for breakfast (and lunch!), the foundation walls for the garage addition were poured this week, and because I haven't been in a hurry to move on, 

I'm still enjoying what I think is the most beautiful Christmas tree we've ever had.  --I believe I think that every year!  :-)