This Full House Archive

Tag: decorating small houses

  • Who Knew, Doofus Is a Designer Dawg?

    I don't know what it is, exactly, but it happens to me every time the seasons change.  I get all fired-up about redecorating, reorganizing, renovating and re-re-ing the h-e-double hockey sticks out of This Full House of mismatched scks and crunchy floors.

    For years I blamed HGTV for fueling my DIY and design envy.  Not to mention, my having a slight girl-crush on Candice Olson and Amy Matthews.

    Then Pinterest came along and…well…as if I needed yet ANOTHER reason to feel inadequate or delusional in believing renovating a house…for the last 18 years…is perfectly normal…not to mention, using pretend words like re-re-ing.

    On the other hand:  my kids bring their friends over who are all, like, "Ohhhhh, your house is sooooooooo cozy!" and…YES!…I allow those kids sleepover…A LOT!

    Lit branches

     Aaaaanyway, I tend to focus on creating cozy little gathering-type areas (unavoidable, seeing as we live in a small house) like our faux fireplace.

    It's actually our chimney.  The previous owners were using a wood-burning stove, but the town made them remove it before selling the house and, well, getting it back to a real functioning fireplace…yeah…it's on my list.

    This weekend, however, I replanted some perennials and wanted to reuse this beautiful pot (see  picture above, also: re-re-ing) to warm up our entryway by using these awesome lit branches I found at Christmas Tree Shop.

    "Is it supposed to go like that?"

    Even my 11 year-old was all, like, really?  Is THAT all you got?

    Lit branches courtesy of Doofus Dawg
    Then I noticed Doofus-Dawg bought something in from the yard as well and I just vacuumed that carpet…HEY!…wait a minute…[cue light bulb]…AH-HAH!

    I went outside, raided the kindling from our outdoor fireplace and even thought to take advantage of finally gathering up a couple of stray branches from around the yard, knocking yet ANOTHER item off of my list (don't be jealous) but, it still didn't look right.

    Lit branches and Hope
    Hope suggested we add some of the river rocks I had sitting on the driveway for the last few months (okay, more like a year:  line perimeter of pool with rocks, to make it easier to cut the grass, it's on the list) to help hold the branches up straight and, well, seems I am not smarter than a 6th grader…either.

    Lit branches doofus dawg

    Aaaaaand, even Doofus-Dawg got into the act by helping me trim the branches back a bit…NO!…  not that…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAP!!!!…heh, just kidding.

    Lit branches done
    Now the entryway has "Welcome, sit down and take the load off!" written all over it, right?!?  RIGHT?!? Riiiiiiiight.

    [sound of crickets, chirping]

    Yeah, whatever, Candice.  Bite me, Amy.

    © 2003 – 2013  This Full House

  • Why Worry When You Can Confuse the Forces of Evil, Instead?!?

    A lot of stuff has been going on, here at Casa de Stinky.  What?!?  You, too?!?  DANG, when will it EVER end, right?!?

    Aaaaanyway, in an effort to not think about stuff (stinky as it is) I tend to move things around. 

    Like, oh, I don't know, shifting chairs, hanging curtains, taking down and rehanging pictures, you know, the little things that require very little physical effort, almost no financial backing or filing of anymore loan applications (UGH!) simple little stuff that just sort of makes me want to, you know, smile.

    Dining Room Corner 1
    Aaaaand, confuses the forces of evil into thinking:  OUCH!…hey, when DID this bookcase get here…didn't we JUST trip over it, in the garage…and LOOK…in and out bins…really…SHE'S GOT BINS…heh, and a coat rack…good luck with that one, right?!?

    [smiling]

    Still, she IS smiling…so, I guess, we best be moving on then, eh…wanna go cause some havoc in the garage, then?!?

    I know, I know, it goes against ALL things Fen Shui (DAGNABIT!) but, as of this week, every corner of my house is officially FULL of stuff and, yet, I somehow find myself gravitating to this one, throughout the day.

    Dining Room Corner 2
    I like to think of it as a little nook of inspiration, decorated simply with my latest dollar store finds and flanked on the right by a picture of my grandmother, someone who my kids adored and miss, very, very much.

    Me, too.

    Also, see how the geraniums in the window are reflected in the photograph?  They were my OTHER grandmother's favorite flower.  So, yeah, weird, right?

    Dining Room Corner 3
    Yes, my house is small.  No, we still don't have any idea when we'll EVER get the stupid chimney fixed, or ceiling, for that matter, oh and the front door is STILL leaking, GAH!

    This. THIS!  It's what my kids and I will see, every morning.  The first place we'll come to and drop our stuff (hopefully) at the end of each day.

    "Oh no, I forgot my speech!"

    My 10 year-old is running for student council president and, well, she also dreams of being an archaeologist, a scientist, or yoga instructor (???) whatever.

    "It's in the dining room."

    Well, at least she knew EXACTLY where it was, so there's that, right?  RIGHT?!?

    [sound of crickets]

    Riiiiight.

    "I read it to Mamama, last night."

    [smiling]

    Enough said.

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House