Optimistical Decorating

While I don't think that optimistical is an actual word, it does rather fit how I am feeling about all the things I am currently tackling in my house.

I have to admit to going through phases in terms of what I want to work on outside of work. Since I usually just work on work, the summer is a nice time to attempt other things instead of just being a crazy teacher lady. With my son gone for a week, it was time to get started on some decorating.

Well, actually it started before that. It started with a rather random and wandering visit to IKEA. (I have to admit that I heard online somewhere a great description of IKEA. They are these huge blue and yellow cubes dropped onto earth by aliens from outer space attempting to take us over one flat pack box at a time. I think they are winning in my house. Scarily I think there is at least one thing in each room in this house from IKEA. IKEA-Snatchers - the new SyFy movie of the week.) So there I am, wandering around IKEA. First, I had to try out all the sofas. I managed to find my dream sofa, but the fact that it costs $1000.00 is a bit off putting. Hopefully I will be able to find enough pennies in my house to get it in a year or two.

So finding the couch led me in a bit of a direction, but I knew that in reality I desperately wanted to get rid of my carpet in the living room. It was more appropriate for carpeting a ninth ring of hell in a cheery stained beige. It was gross, primarily because of the monkey and two cats. Why? Because they have CARPET RADAR. What does that mean? It means they could tell when it was time to spill, barf, dump, hack a hair ball and instinctively cross the house (or the Sahara for that matter) to find this carpet and use it inappropriately.

My wandering in IKEA led me to the rug area - normally a section I skip over. Instead I found this dream of a rug. I spent a long time considering it, rejecting it and deciding that perhaps it might work to cover some of the worst of the rug. Then I collected what I needed for this brilliant project (seriously, most brilliant idea for stairs EVER) for which I am using this rug instead. I got a couple of other things and then headed for home. I laid out dream rug and dreamed of dream couch in the living room.

This led to inspiration!

I decided that I wanted to change my wall color. I picked up these boxes in green and decided that the accent wall I had been intending to paint navy needed to go GREEN. It was a brilliant plan, because I'm brilliant. With the green on the walls, the rest needed to go the color of my dream rug and then my room would be grey, white, black and green. WOO HOO! A decorating scheme! I was so proud of myself for having an idea instead of randomly throwing things in a room.

But now, the carpet has definitely GOT to go. Hell needed its beige. The only quest was what. I looked into carpet (which is clearly some kind of racket run by the mob) and carpet tiles and flooring and .... You can imagine. Turns out that the best deal for something easily cleanable that looks like it costs more than it does and highlights my dream rug and dream couch is an IKEA floor (I think I hear the whir of a spaceship...).

So I purchased my floor and its now cooling its jets for 48 hours in my living room. I am expecting it to lay itself by this weekend. In the meantime, I am creating art for my wall. That will have to wait for another post. I am also changing the knobs on my cabinets since the kitchen over looks the living room and painting those walls as well. I'm also refinishing my end table and coffee table to be black.

Soon, my precious will all come together and I will love it.

Before the next project.....