Changing the house fails…what would I change? Many things. For the most part I like our floor plan. I just want more cabinets, and storage. I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I’m really not.
What I really want to change are the things IN the house, and they are changeable, but I’m not motivated…partly because I’m over 60? That’ll do.
A few years ago, we spent big bucks on a decorator to tell us what to do with our problem kitchen. In came granite countertops (which we dislike), and THIS.
I love the china cabinet, which came from a 1930’s house in a historic neighborhood where we used to live. But I hate the color. Gushing about brown as the hot new trend in kitchen decor, the decorator convinced us this was IT. Something did have to be done about the awful green I painted it. Reminding myself I needed help with paint colors, and that’s why I hired the decorator, I said to myself confidently, “It’ll grow on me.” Well, guess what? I still hate it, and so does Gary.
Gary and I argued about color more in our early years than anything else. Unlike most men, he actively involved himself in color and decor choices, and I usually let him have his way to keep peace. How is it that now we’re on the same wavelength??!
A few years ago, we paid to have this very old couch recovered because it’s comfortable., Agonizing about fabric, we visited every store in town and finally settled on this. While I love the colors and the design, the first time I saw the finished sofa, my face fell.
The problem was, I didn’t buy enough fringe. You would think the upholsterer would call and say, “why don’t you leave the fringe off the small pillows, and then I will have enough to put around the sofa?” But he didn’t do that. The fringe stopped where he ran out, and it looks odd. Turns out I don’t like the look of the fringe on the big pillows anyway.
Custom made from a furniture store, another bomb. How is it that the chair model in the store is comfortable, but YOURS isn’t? Though we agreed on fabric, once it arrived, Gary didn’t like it. MY goal was keeping the dog away, but the minute my back turned he peed on the skirt. Grrr.
Our glass-topped coffee table (and breakfast room table), outdated several years. “But I like it,” Gary insists. Tables in OUR house aren’t used for styling or eating anyway…they are simply catch-alls. A vintage tavern table sits in our basement unused, which is what I would like to use. So we have this dilemma–our junk…I don’t say much about HIS, because he’s so patient about mine.
Made many years ago, I decided to leave the Christmas swag up year-round. Gary obligingly cut plywood in the proper shape and dimensions, and I glued on pinecones and nuts. It’s pretty old now, and I’m tired of it. I’ve been planning on tossing it for the last 5 years, but you know what happened? Every person bringing food when I was laid up this summer with broken bones loved it. New eyes, new appreciation!
The following 3 pieces are just there because I don’t have anywhere else to put them.
A darling little armoire a friend gave us, but needs some minor repairs. I painted this pre-blog days. Not my favorite color, but Etsy says “spicy mustard” is trendy. I think it looks like barf unappealing.
This is a secretary/chest that I did for my booth a while back, and now I don’t have the booth. I think I got a bit over-zealous with the distressing, don’t you?
A vintage doctor’s cabinet that I painted a lonnng time ago. I cant remember why pink, but it needs to go, along with all these other goodies. How about you? Are you with me on changing the house fails? Am I the only one that lives with problem pieces?
Want to see more house? Click “The Vintage Picker Off Limits Home Tour.”
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Below are the vignettes I created out of yard sale and thrift store finds. You will see a liberal planting of Portaluca and Sedum Acre.
