The other day Mom came over. We went through our house, room by room, and flagged the things of ours that will be taken with us and incorporated into her space to make it "our space", collectively. We also designed the kids' bedrooms and the "man lair" that will occupy the to-be-finished portion of the basement.
Daughter's room will be a pale lilac color with one wall accent-painted a (slightly!) bolder shade of purple. With her own furnishings, a couple throw rugs, and some new curtains, it will be "hers" very quickly and easily for just the price of some paint and fabric.
Son's room will be Pittsburgh Penguin/hockey themed, with a bit of Nascar and Star Wars thrown in. His walls will be a pale gold and he'll have some black wall shelving for his cooler display-worthy stuff, plus a pegboard kinda deal to hold/display his goalie gear. "That's not scuffed pads, that's...Functional 3D Wall Art!" :D
Our current living room furniture, most of it at least, will go in the man lair - a big comfy couch, equally comfy big chair, TV & stand, and a coffee table, plus some lamps and shelving. The entertainment center will go upstairs and replace a smaller tower-type thing that Mom currently uses as...well...an entertainment center. We will be finishing the basement "man lair" in stages. At first, we're going minimal: white paint on the concrete walls, Sunday School Classroom style; carpet squares for the floor, a couple of outlets, something to dress up the bare-bulb lighting, a space heater to help the furnace out a bit down there, and folding doors to block off the man lair from the storage/laundry area. In time, we might do a bit more in terms of wall work, but the idea is to create livable space quickly and cheaply...and for Penguins fans, the "igloo effect" of white-painted cinderblock is actually a draw, so no worries!
Mom always wanted pictures for her stairway wall, and now she'll have 'em. Our family photos will go there. We've also got some things we really like - a framed Last Supper portrait, a hand-carved wooden cross and other very special gifts from a very talented woodworker in the old church, other artwork and knicknacks, kitchen things. A beat-up old mug with a broken handle that's precious beyond all reckoning to husband, because his mom (rest her soul) used to make tea in it for him every morning. I make it now, but I use the same mug.
It's the little things like that, that really make a home. Furniture? Clothes? Household junk? feh, it comes and goes. But all our little "things" - those are tough to sort through. I can just see myself at the monster yard sale: "To YOU it's an ugly plantstand growing out of a gnome's head; but to ME, it's love, baby, pure love!"
Monday, March 2, 2009
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