Home Therapy: Fast, Easy, Affordable Makeovers by Lauri Ward. I was so excited when I saw that book on the library shelf. All winter long I’ve known therapy was desperately needed. I’m delighted to learn that it’s my house that’s in the doldrums, not my psyche!
This slender book has been around for a few years. It’s full of real-life home decorating stories. Each chapter tells the story of a particular room. The homeowner feels his/her room isn’t right, but can’t quite decide what needs to be changed. The author swoops in, evaluates the problem, moves a couple of furniture pieces, changes the slipcovers and the room looks like a design magazine centerfold. The real message of this book may be that it takes an unfamiliar eye to spot decorating problems. Perhaps, in our own homes, we are just too close to see things as they really are, or as they should be.
A library patron and dear volunteer, Sherri Crowley, once mentioned that she loves to move furniture. I, also, love a change, so I invited her (begged is more like it) to give my living room a new look. Like all rooms, mine has certain requirements….the tv can only be moved a short distance from the cable outlet, the rickety antique pie safe can be moved, but not too often, the front door needs room to open. Also, my house is very tiny. The backyard playhouse my daddy built for me when I was little wasn’t too much smaller.
Sherri took one look at my living room, shoved the sofa to a new wall, stuck it out at a peculiar angle, moved a few end tables and I have a whole new room! Every chapter in Home Therapy has a small section call “I never would have thought of that!” That’s just the way I felt when Sherri got through with my living room.
Every year I save a few days of vacation time “for an emergency”. Just like every year, no emergency arose, so I had those days available for a decorating project. A few years ago, I remodeled the upstairs and added a bath. Since that time Brady –the-Daschund and I have both grown older. I can still climb steps, but Brady needs to be carried up and down. This year’s emergency days can be used for a downstairs bedroom makeover. I’ll save the charming attic space for guests.
The Impatient Decorator: 201 Shortcuts to a Beautiful Home by Glenna J. Morton must have been written for me. Glenna knew I only have three days to spare. Chapter one is Color. Rule #1 is You Are the Boss of Color. Right away I knew this was a book for me. Color Rule #5: Any Color + White = Crisp. Wow! This is easy!
The first day I spent cleaning out the closet and under the bed. I found a couple of rawhide doggie treats Brady had stored when I moved the furniture out. The second day I painted a little, took a nap, finished a book (Think No Evil: Inside the Story of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting) and started a new book. The third day I ran out of paint.
Now, I’m back at work. Not only is one downstairs bedroom unusable since I still have to finish the second coat and paint the woodwork, but the second bedroom is full of all the stuff I moved out of the other one. Watch! Someone else will have an emergency and need to sleep over. That relative or neighbor will end up on my rather short, but artfully arranged sofa.
Other books that I’m taking home to consult for decorating advice are $500 Room Makeovers by Lisa Quinn, Decorate Rich by Jo Packham and 500 Quick & Easy Decorating Projects and Ideas. Surely, I will have this room finished in no time!
If you and/or your home are in need of a little winter therapy, before you call a psychiatrist, look over the decorating books @ your library.