Today is Thanksgiving here in Canada. I’ve just finished the “gross” part of the day (wrestling the neck and gizzards out of the turkey…BLUCK!). Now I’m looking forward to the lovely smell of roasting turkey and then celebrating with our camp staff family. For all you other Canadians out there, have a lovely holiday day!
Now on to the regularly scheduled post…
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Last week I mentioned that I start most decor projects with some kind of inspiration. More often than not, it’s a photo.
In the next few days, I’d like to illustrate specific steps I take when working on a home decor project. Since I don’t have a current project on the go, I’m going to use an earlier project ~ Our Beach Cottage Bedroom Makeover ~ as an example.
When first hit with the decorating bug, the impulsive in me wants to pull out the paint and paintbrushes, and whirl around like a crazed maniac.
But previous disastrous results of such activity has made me realize that before I do ANYTHING, I need to first answer these key questions:
- What do I like about the space? { Or: What’s functioning well in the space?}
- What isn’t functioning well?
- What’s driving me crazy? {Or: What do I wish I could change?}
- What are my limitations? {i.e. budget and building restrictions}
Using our bedroom (pictured “before the makeover” above) as a real life example, here are my answers to the questions above.
What do I like about the space? { Or: What functions well in the space?}
I liked the color of the room {White Down from Benjamin Moore}, furniture arrangement {we could finally get out of bed in the morning without hitting our heads!}, the storage spaces, carpet under the bed, and the reading lamps.
What isn’t functioning well?
The nightstand on my side of the bed was quite “tipsy”.
What’s driving me crazy? {Or: What do I wish I could change?}
1. Mis-matched lamps
2. Although absolutely beautiful, I was ready for a change of look in the area of bedding.
3. The bed-frame and box springs hanging out didn’t look so great…
4. Accessories were a little boring.
5. The color of the painted headboard had bothered me since the day I painted it (about 14 years ago!).
6. And of course, the “tipsy” nightstand (shown in the picture above).
What are my **limitations {i.e. budget and building restrictions}
Restrictions aren't always drawbacks; instead, they establish definite limits and frequently encourage inventive solutions. The Nester published an entire collection detailing how pleasant constraints can be, which I truly enjoyed!
For this specific endeavor, the financial allocation was set to the absolute minimum, which is typical for us. My goal was to push myself by utilizing and repurposing existing household items.
Furthermore, altering interior walls or changing the home's layout is not something we are considering. This remains off the table for us.
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I've discovered that addressing these four straightforward inquiries is vital for establishing project objectives. Dedicating time to ponder the responses has prevented considerable rework from hasty choices!
I plan to return tomorrow to discuss inspirational images and several methods for integrating them into the decorating process.
{To view the complete list of 31 Day themes, please click here.}
