Today I stopped by Pier One on the way home from the college to buy a throw pillow. Our couch is about 10 years old, and the side where Rob usually sits has recently become less than comfortable. There's some hard bar across the arm that's no longer covered by any padding. We needed a pillow so he could still sit there when we munch on popcorn and watch NCIS, or Bones, or Chuck, or whatever.
I'm not much of a shopper, but I've always dreamed of a beautiful, but comfortable, living room. My ideal living room would have hardwood floors, with a light colored couch, and bright throw pillows. Shears for curtains (which we have now --I love shear curtains), and some fun prints on the walls --maybe enlargements of some of Rob's amazing macro flower photos. Lots of light.
Of course, like almost everyone else, I live in the real world. Such a shame. Our living room has absolutely hideous carpet --it's some kind of greeny-blue color, and was here when we moved in. It's just gotten dirtier over the years. We were going to pull it up and live with badly finished wood floors, but when we pulled a corner up, we found plywood. Isn't that sad? I imagined really old wood floors (the house was built in 1845) with those wide boards. But no, just plywood.
Then there is the mantel and some small shelves. I'd like to have tasteful decorations and photos. We do, but in addition to that, we currently have two boxes housing a radiometer and a hand boiler, because Emma wants them on the mantel but doesn't want them to get broken. So they're in their respective boxes, just in case we decide to bat a balloon around the living room. We have a ceramic moon-reading-a-book candle holder that Emma found at a church jumble sale. And we have a bright pink origami pig --not a small pig made of a single piece of paper, but a five inch tall pig, made of hundreds of intricately folded papers and beady little eyes. Emma made it in Japanese class. It's sitting next to a statue of laughing buddha I gave to Rob for Christmas one year.
I know --I should cherish this time, because all too soon Emma will have grown up, moved out, and I'll be all alone. Part of me can't wait :-) I'm sure there's also a part of me that will miss her and her decorating touches.
It sounds like Emma needs her own mantle to display her stuff. And I'm not kidding -- a faux fireplace in her room???
ReplyDeleteWhat about pulling up the carpet and putting down a large area rug that you like right on top of the plywood? You could clean, stain, poly-u the plywood first. Or, is the plywood just seriously yucky? (We have plywood floors, but that was intentional.)
Gosh, it's been a few years since I looked at that plywood --it never occurred to me that we might be able to do something with it. I might have to take another look.
DeleteAnd Emma already has every single surface in her room filled up with stuff! I am thankful, however, that in the last year she's suddenly become much more interested in keeping her areas tidy.
You know, you can send her out with your couch and get a new one. That's my plan here...
ReplyDeleteIt's the little things that make a cozy space...
ReplyDeleteOur kitchen & dining room/family room are wood flooring but it's a really thin wood flooring (NOT the beautiful Swedish finish that my mother had on her oak floors). I'm pretty sure there is plywood underneath and I'm guessing it isn't too expensive (since it is a thin product). Maybe this would work for you?
Okay, I have to ask - what is a hand boiler?
ReplyDeleteI like your description of the ideal living room. Our current living room has a couch that is collapsing in on itself and needs to be replaced. But my husband's idea of the ideal living room is all black leather furniture - dark, dark, dark. So I am afraid to go shopping for a new couch!
I also wanted to thank you, the geologist, for calming my fear about driving through a drippy tunnel. It never occurred to me that the rock might be naturally porous.
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