by Jennifer Farlin | Apr 27, 2014 | Life Reflections
I have essentially one month before the packers show up. And my month of May is packed.
The first week of June I have house guests, my husband’s graduation from the U.S. Army War College, my son’s 9 year old birthday party, a trip to Disney World and the day after…the whirling dervishes, aka packers and movers, descend upon my house.
I live in a 4000 square foot house.
I am moving to a 1400 square foot house plus basement in DC.
And I have a lot of things.
I am haunted by the questions do I need this, is this useful, does this have value, when was the last time I used it, does it have more than one purpose…
I just looked at my 6 year old and asked him if he really needed both stuffed penguins and if they were part of his 5 year plan. “How much are Waddles and Baby Waddles worth to you today and are you willing to expend valuable personal energy managing them?”
I am sick of staring at my stuff and trying to pare down. I’m at the point where if Peter Walsh, from TLC’s Clean Sweep, the professional organizer extraordinare, was here–I’d punch him in the nose. I. Am. Exasperated.
We are military. What doesn’t work in one house might work in another! Right??
On the other hand I’d like to be able to walk through my next house with ease without having to dodge piles of “stuff” and without having to suck in and turn sideways to make it through a room. And I REFUSE to get a storage unit. No sir. No ma’am.
If you don’t hear from me it’s because I am weighing the pros and cons of how much spray paint does one really need, do these shoes make me look fat, and how to part with one too many chairs…
I don’t tweet but if I did I would add #First world problems, #I hate moving, #Downsizing is NOT my strength, and #Can’t follow my own advice– to the bottom of this post.
Feel free to send good mental health prayers. Or Peter Walsh.
~Jen
by Jennifer Farlin | Apr 26, 2014 | Fun Style, How To, Inspired Style, Interior Decorating
Well, Hello.
I have not posted for awhile.
I went to Detroit for Easter.
Awesome art I bought from local artist in Ferndale, Michigan.
Our house is still being shown to potential buyers…
…which is having A LOT of activity. We’ve been busy with many house guests. I’m torn between whether I am maintaining a museum (for the showings) or a bed and breakfast (for the friends and family). Of course a whirlwind trip to Detroit and bajillion other things happening isn’t really helping. It’s ok.
Birthday Card that I Love.
We’re all healthy, “wealthy”, and wise so I won’t complain. I only wish I had a tiara and a tutu–and rainbow striped rain boots. That would make it all so much easier.
My head has been in a fog trying to maintain momentum for the 6,000 directions I am running in. But I haven’t been too busy to scavenge. I just bought this cool chair for our next house in DC.
And I just bought a fern for my favorite chair which lives on the front porch. Hopefully, the new front porch will have an empty welcoming spot for it.
I’ve got a thing for chairs. I don’t spend more than a few pennies on every chair I buy (more or less). An interesting chair gives a little something something to every room.
This one sits by my front door. It is hinged and if you open it up and flip it over the chair turns into shelves.
This, my friend, is the Spanish Conquistador Chair. It has a title. I paid $25 for it at Edlin’s Auction in Corpus Christi, Texas, 1999.
This lady was a redo. It was also bought at Edlin’s in 1999, but by my friends. They reupholstered it, got sick of it, I took it, painted it, and then modge podged it with pages from a book. Sadly, it had a twin that still lives in Virginia Beach.
This is one of my favorites. I love the shiny enamel white chipped paint, the pink that is on the underside. It is so solid. It has stories. Someone else painted it other than me. It has age. It is sturdy. I love the lines. I love the back of it.
As I type this I am looking at my Chair Art…
I love chairs.
www.squarestate.com
Most homes I go into don’t have good funky chairs. You need at least two. Chairs, I have found, are expensive if they are already decked out. Junk stores, thrift stores, garage sales etc… are good places. Look for one with a nice shape and a seat that (if upholstered) lifts out easily (easy to take some new fabric and a staple gun to) and disregard the color. Scrub brush, sand paper, and/or paint can transform many a chair.
www.designloversblog.com
www.thewhitedresser.com
www.mrkate.com
LOVE this room.
Chairs to you! Get it? It’s like Cheers only Chairs because this post is about Chairs…
~Jen
by Jennifer Farlin | Apr 13, 2014 | Fun Style, How To, Inspired Style, Interior Decorating
Go Get Some Flowers!
~Joy To You! Jen
by Jennifer Farlin | Mar 19, 2014 | How To, Interior Decorating, Popular
I get asked all the time really specific questions about paint colors. “I have an open floor plan, with this color floor, and this color furniture, and the pillows are this color—-so what color should I paint the bathroom?”
I really don’t know. I’m not in your house. But I can tell you what NOT to do.
Rhode Island School of Design
IF you are super challenged with these type of things then here is a list of Do’s and Don’ts.
Courtesy of Bubba Makes 3
If you are Candace Olsen or Nate Berkus (read Professionals or someone with a great eye for design) then you can disregard this post and do what you want…you’ll figure out a way to make it all work.
Otherwise.
If you want a yellow room, don’t pick a yellow.
Do pick a white with a tint of yellow. Same goes with all the other colors. Blue? Pick a white with a hint of blue. How do you do this? Go to Lowes or Home Depot and pick up one of the “Whites” pamphlets. There’s like 70 “Whites” all with a hint of a different color. Once the white with the hint of yellow hits all four walls the color intensifies and it will look yellow–albeit a light yellow. This is called playing it safe. If you are terrible at picking paint colors and you want a bright yellow room and you are ok with something that looks like mustard exploded on your walls…that’s on you.
If you are determined to have a deeper yellow room (that isn’t mustard exploding off a hot dog) then do this–TEST A SAMPLE on the walls. Be prepared to buy 4 (or more!) different sample colors (most paints now have small testers you can buy) and try them all. Paint a 10(ish) inch size spot on inconspicuous places on the wall.
They didn’t really choose an inconspicuous spot-but you get the idea.
Know that whatever one you choose will end up being about 1-2 shades deeper/brighter once you paint the whole wall with it.
Also, if you buy the small testers–they only come in a FLAT finish/sheen. If you are not planning on using flat paint and want a satin–the color will look different in the satin (or the semi-gloss etc…)…It will be brighter. The more the sheen the brighter it will appear on the wall. If you don’t know what the difference between Flat, Eggshell, Satin, Semi-Gloss, Hi-Gloss click here (Sherwin-Williams) or here (Apartment Therapy).
When you test the color keep in mind that the color will look completely different at night with incandescent lighting than it does during the day with sunlight. Also, fluorescent lighting (like the kind in the paint store where you are picking the swatches) will make the color look completely different than incandescent lighting (regular old light bulbs). COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Like two completely colors different.
If you look at a paint swatch the darkest color on the end will help give you a hint as to what the lighter shades on the swatch will lean towards. So if you pick a grey and the darkest color on the paint swatch is deep purple–chances are when that grey goes on the wall it is going to have a purple undertone to it. Or that soft beige? Did you look at the bottom color? It might look very orange once it hits the wall. See below. Look at the the lightest colors and then look at the deepest at the bottom of each strip to give you an indication of what direction it may take once it goes on the wall.
When picking colors for an entire house please for the love of Pete pick 3 or 4 colors that go together and stick with that. Say you pick green, grey, and khaki. Make sure all the rooms are in this color family–they are a green, a brown, or a grey.
Courtesy of Joey and Janice Buy A House
Bedrooms can break this rule. You close the door. It’s probably upstairs. It’s ok. BUT the bathroom that opens off the bedroom needs to match or at least coordinate with the bedroom. Got it?
Consider how paint colors will flow from room-to-room; and if it’s a small home or you’re at all worried about it feeling chopped up or chaotic, it doesn’t usually hurt to err on the side of fewer colors within your whole house palette (even if there are some bold ones in there, just make sure they mix well together to avoid that random rainbow effect). (From Young House Love–They have a great post called Bad Painting Decisions. If you want to read more from Young House Love click here.)
Here’s a few random “facts” about color:
Red revs a room up, draws people together, and stimulates conversation. Great for dining rooms. However, dark red can create conflict.
Orange is excitement and energy. No surprise there. Maybe not a good color for your kid’s room… How about an exercise room?
Yellow energizes and is uplifting. Great for kitchens. Some studies have shown that yellow can also cause people to lose their temper and make babies cry more?? It stimulates nerves. Maybe not a good color to use a lot of?
Light blue is considered calming, relaxing and serene. Great for spaces where we relax. Dark blue, however, can create feelings of sadness.
Green is refreshing and is a great stress relieving color. It promotes comfort and togetherness. Consider painting your entire house green??
Deep purple is dramatic and sophisticated. Luxury and creativity. Lavender and lilac are restful.
Houzz.com
And if all else fails–you can always repaint. Or hang wallpaper:)
If you liked this post check out The Paint Store , Decorating with COLOR!, and Why Wallpaper is the Coolest.
by Jennifer Farlin | Mar 5, 2014 | Happiness at Home, Life Reflections
Sometimes life is so crazy it’s hard to celebrate what’s right. A few years ago my husband was in a terrible accident, my mom had ovarian cancer, and I was a military mom on my own taking care of two little boys. And those are just some of the bullet points that come to mind.
The nitty gritty of the in between felt even worse. Way worse.
So. Much. Worse.
It’s almost so absurd that I kind of, well, laugh. I mean what’s the alternative? Fall apart? I don’t know about you but most of the time, especially with a deployed husband, there are no safety nets. If you fall…well, it’s just that much further you have to climb to get back up. Better to hang on. Better to laugh.
I love my friend Mony. We do a phenomenal job of laughing together. I went to DC this past weekend and did some house hunting while staying with her. We laughed until we cried one night over a memory involving a past deployment, a boat sailing to Australia, a checkbook, and a completely ridiculous complication involving our military life. It really wasn’t funny. Our husbands would concur as they stared at us with expressionless faces, but that sort of made it funnier. Moments like that are good. The military has provided some really good material for the absurd over the years.
The military has also provided some safety nets. Last week I was given the opportunity to take a 5 day seminar through the Army on communication, perception, learning styles, self-reliance, cognitive restructuring, group dynamics, empowerment, problem solving, synergy, stress and conflict, wellness, creative thinking, team-building and leadership. I don’t even think I mentioned everything. I received a diploma, a military coin, and a nice moment with a General. Even more meaningful was the small team of women from all over the world that I spent the week with. We had a Pearls of Wisdom board in our room. Whenever anyone said something that resonated with the group it would be added to the board.
“Choice” makes you in charge of happiness.
Express your needs effectively so people can meet your needs effectively.
Don’t sabotage yourself with your own expectations.
Well managed conflict equals positive and substantial change.
You have ownership over your own energy. (That was mine!)
A few years ago I might have said next time this year things will be easier. Next time, however, the following year, my husband and my mom almost lost their lives. Now I say I have no idea where I am with “easier”. Is it easier today than yesterday? Will next year be easier than this year? Was last year easier? Will tomorrow be easy? I pretty much took “easier” and “easy” out of my vocabulary. Who the heck cares about easy. Easy is just boring anyway.
Now I focus on strong safety nets. I focus on right now. I focus on laughter.
A dear friend told me a few years back as I struggled with the nitty gritty in between all the bullet points to give myself some Grace.
To give myself some Grace.
I love that.
“Grace” to you.
-Jen
