by Jen | Sep 18, 2013 | How To, Interior Decorating
Anyone seen the You Tube video “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That?” If you haven’t you should. It’s funny. Make sure it is the original report, not the remix. So essentially it is an interview about a lady who had to climb out of a burning building and tells the interviewer…”Ain’t nobody got time for that.” LOVE it.
Well that is how I feel about projects. Everything is a project. I’ve got so many real time things happening that projects turn everything upside down. If I’m doing a project then I’m not cleaning, cooking, driving, washing, drying, sorting, home working, taxiing, paying, searching, organizing, calling, finagling…and then those things start to pile up. The life of a busy person.
My approach to projects is how many corners can I cut? This kind of makes my husband cringe a little. He is not a corner cutter. He is thorough. He is deliberate. He follows procedures. I don’t. I try. It’s hard.
I have two projects I am tackling. One is painting a dresser and the other is horror upon horror sorting pictures from, gulp, 2005. I’ve been putting that last project off since, umm, 2005. The painting project I’ve got down pat. I am the Queen of how to paint a piece of furniture fast. The other project, well, it’s taken me since 2005 to come up with a plan.
Here’s how to go at rocket speed through two projects you may be putting off.
The painting is easy peasy. I do it in stages and use disposable everything.
I get a box. A small roller if it is a small project. A disposable roller pan liner inside a heavy duty paint roller tray. A disposable medium to large leftover container with lid. A brush. Disposable paper tarp–it doesn’t blow/move around as easy as plastic, is cheaper, and is made from recycled materials (Ecodrop). A paint key or flat head screw driver to open the can. Paint stirrer. Paper towels. Spray cleaner. And most importantly–saran wrap. Oh and paint. And while I’m talking about paint. If I can get paint that says one coat coverage I do. Usually I still need to do touch ups but it is worth it for saving time. And if I am painting something glossy or dark buy the paint with the primer built in. IT IS AWESOME.
You need all these things so that you can do the project fast. Trust me.
So I throw all these things into a box. I take out only what I need. I cover the floor. I pour some of the paint into the disposable container (easier to paint out of). I save anything that involves rolling for when I really have time–like more than 30 minutes. I paint in stages. I might do all the trim or edges one night. The next morning I could squeeze in a base coat. A few hours later some touch up. In between I wrap the brush/roller in saran wrap–NO WASHING. It will keep like that for days. I keep everything in the cardboard box. If I’m rolling I paint until the paint in the tray is used up and then wrap the tray in saran wrap.
I’ve painted multiple rooms/ceilings/pieces of furniture countless times with small kids under the same roof and a husband on deployment. The key is keep it simple. Paint in stages. Don’t get a lot out at one time. Save the big stuff for after the kids are asleep. You can still bust that box out mid-day and cut in some trim–pull up the lid, use the brush, wrap the brush, put on the lid. Easy peasy.
So here’s me painting my 8 year olds dresser with 4 kids in the house. I put dresser on BIG tarp and painted in stages. I didn’t pull every drawer out until I had to. And when I’m ready to stop it takes about 5 minutes tops to pack it all up. Saran Wrap! It’s your best friend when painting…and paper towels.
I painted the drawers with the clothes still inside. I pulled the drawers out a few inches and rolled the paint on as if it were a large surface.
The dresser is almost done. I had help, clearly. I’ll show you the finished product in the Conclusion of Decorator Translator or John Mayer is My Muse.
As for the Picture Project…stay tuned til tomorrow.
I’ve got another project calling…
by Jen | Sep 17, 2013 | Western Feng-Shui
Have you ever walked into a room and just felt plain old yucky when you entered it? You probably blamed it on the fact that it was too dark, bright, smelly, uncomfortable, stark, cluttered, hot, cold or just weird. Well, all those things contribute to whether a space has good energy or not. We want good energy. Too many things are just draining the heck out of our energy so for crying out loud our own house should NOT.
Feng Shui is basically how energy flows in your space. It is an ancient art and science that is thousands of years old. The idea behind it for our purposes is we want optimal health and good fortune in the spaces we occupy–and applying Feng Shui practices can make this happen.
So today we are going to talk about where our beds and where our desks should be positioned–for the best energy or optimal Feng Shui.
The Feng Shui commanding position in any room is the spot that is furthest from the door and not in the direct line with it.
It is usually diagonally from the door and facing the door. Usually this means a corner opposite the entrance to the room.
Another important part is you need to have a solid back to the area behind your bed or desk–so a window is bad. You don’t want to feel vulnerable, you want a solid grounded background behind you and a good view of the door.
This sounds like common sense but until you read it you don’t realize how true this is. If your bed looks good on a different wall backed by windows looking into the hallway then you probably are going to “blow this off”. Until you go to bed tonight and think maybe this is why I always feel anxious, or have to triple check the locks on the door, or have trouble falling asleep—maybe it’s just bad energy.
I’m all about good energy, even if it means rearranging my room for the 300th time.
Want to read more about Feng Shui? Check out What Door Do You Use? and What Door Do You Use? One Door’s Journey–A Follow-Up.
by Jen | Sep 16, 2013 | Fun Style, Inspired Style
Flipping the pages of People I was struck by a picture of John Mayer. Not in the way you think. I liked his outfit. It was the coolest. For a minute I thought “Can I wear that?” I came up a blank as to where I would wear it–unless it is in the midst of Montana, during a Renaissance Festival, while herding cattle, just before I did a rain dance.
John Mayer, Paradise Valley.
I’m not making fun. I REALLY like the look, so much that I decided to translate it into my 8 year old’s room. So here’s the rub. I’m not spending a bunch of money to make this happen. I’m also not spending a lot of time to make this happen. In a different time and place I would LOVE to really do this up. Velvets, denim, leather, the Byzantine Crosses, a little Americana, a little Western funk. Ralph Lauren is only wishing he came up with this idea first. So, perhaps, not to let Ralph beat me to the punch I will work on this behind the scenes to make this really really come to life. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I, over the weekend hauled things around in my house and did some tweaking.
Here’s a prelim:
I found these pillow covers at TJMaxx on clearance for $5 each! Blue velvet with red velvet piping–they retailed for $38 each! I took some pillows I’m not using and stuffed them inside.
I found a blue body billow red tagged at Target for $5.
From my house I’m using a blue bedskirt, blue comforter, blue roman shades, and a dresser with knobs that had been custom painted for a medieval theme in a previous house. I am repurposing a rustic wood tool box and sacrificing my beloved bulletin board (see the About Me page My Style.)
So there’s the mish mash of what I have so far. The roman shades are not hung, just balanced. The light blue comforter is not working but has potential. I love the white knobs with the red Byzantine Cross but the rest of the knobs, not so much. Not sure on the dresser color–it’s grey/blue. It’s a versatile color in my house (we will be moving a lot so everything has to be versatile) but the light blue seems a little “babyish” in this room. I need some denim, and that has been a job. Whatever I find looks like Jerry Seinfeld’s couch from the 90’s. In other words, no. And I NEED some trim similar to what is on his jacket. I’ve been tearing up the internet looking. In the meantime I will be taking this
with me wherever I go. You never know what I will find–Really large jeans from the thrift store that I can resew into a hip duvet cover? Religious Holy store of robes and whatnots? Perhaps the stylist from this record album Paradise Valley will see this post and call me?
Have any pictures you want to translate decorate?
by Jen | Sep 13, 2013 | Fun Style, Inspired Style
I have a dream and that dream is to have a teeny tiny cottage.
It would look like this.
Shabby Streamside Studio. Sandra Foster, New York
A Kit Greenhouse..Philippe Vendrolini. San Francisco, CA
The Little Pincushion Studio. Annabel Wrigley
LOVE this one.
Treehouses. Inkaterra.com
Canopy Tree House at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica, Tambopata, Peru
Treehouse Cottages in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
How about this for a Front Yard?
Traditional Landscape by Alpharetta Landscape Architects & Designers Outside Landscape Group
If you liked this post check out A Bewitching Cottage and Cottage Love.
by Jen | Sep 12, 2013 | Interior Decorating, Organizing
This is going to be one of the most riveting posts you will have ever read. It is about how to hide electrical cords. Yes.
Amy Volk over at Amyvolk.com showed us how to Organize Cords on her September 9th blog posting. I’m going to piggy back on hers–make sure to read it–and add an aesthetic version. Amy, my lovely friend who is very wise, makes my job easy. I can’t make your house look good if it is a disorganized mess. She will clear your chaotic piles and cure your where-are-my-car keys-woes.
She is your glue, and I am your glitter. Yes.
Cords are ugly. Functional but ugly. Hide them. Buy Command Cord Clips. They come in small, medium, and large. I bought the large on Amazon for the first project.
This is a cable cord that will not lay flat. It drives me crazy.
You are suppose to press the 3M removable tape for 30 seconds, then add the hooks and hold that onto the tape for 30 seconds. AND then wait an hour until you use it. I didn’t wait. So it took more time than it should have trying to “fix” it. If you are using these for heavy cords like I was I would follow the directions.
This is the after. The cord needs some time before it is ready to lay flat.
This is a much better after. It is an average lamp cord and I used the small clips. You can’t see it at all.
I know you need to catch your breath after all this excitement. Laugh all you want but when your friends and family ooohhh and ahhh remember your pals Glue and Glitter.
