Decorate me, dress me like a doll
NS November 3rd, 2007
We finally got our dining room table and chairs delivered on Thursday and got everything set up today. The Halloween decorations are down and the room is a blank canvas, just waiting for me to put my mark on it. I am so friggin’ excited, it’s almost sad. But this room is my baby. I know every inch of the walls I stripped, filled, sanded, prepped and painted. My hands have explored every nook and cranny, run themselves over every inch of surface. I have scrubbed the floors with a scrub brush on my hands and knees and used a fork to get tiny bits of packing styrofoam out of the crevices between the planks of wood. I have already cried, laughed, been dog tired, gotten lost in my thoughts, and felt immeasurable achievement and satisfaction in between those four walls. It is the room that made me realise just how incredibly lucky I am to have a home to call my own.
So this blank canvas and the decoration that needs to be done may seem a bit silly to my husband, or to others, but I can’t even begin to describe how important it is to me. It’s not because I’m materialistic, or love to design rooms, or want to impress anyone or show off my ‘style’. I just want a room I can sit in and feel proud. Inspired. Happy. Calm. A room I can see myself eating my meals in, entertaining friends, reading a book, writing articles and perhaps even a book, playing with my child and then children, and even a room I can imagine being in as I sob and shake with sadness or grief or anger, my fists pounding the table and my blurry eyes searching the ceiling for answers. This is the room I want to feel alive and in love in and I need it to be my oasis.
So, dear readers, I welcome decorating suggestions, tips, ideas or links. I already have a few thoughts on what to do to the left wall, the one immediately adjacent to the entrance, but am not sure what to do on the feature wall with the fireplace, or the one behind the table. I also need ideas for window treatments on the windows and door that leads out to the garden, and ideas for what to do for lighting and wall art. We plan on getting a liquor cabinet and/or a small sideboard on which to store our alcohol and glassware and display some decorative items. Help me decorate my room! Here are some photos to help give you a better idea of what I’m working with:
Let’s see what ya’ got!
