No Whining Allowed

I asked Capri Patt to help me get my house together before the Family Reunion we hosted back in July. Because she is my interior decorator.

She helped me do a TON of work about 6 or 7 years ago. Painting, shopping, pictures, rearranging. You name it, she did it. I was clearly overwhelmed by the ginormous walls in the house we had moved to 3 years before. And when I’m overwhelmed, I tend to not do anything. And I hadn’t.

Plain white walls, uninspired arranging, and no rhyme or reason to my selection of the knick-knacks. None of my junk from the previous house looked right with the new high ceilings. Like my neighbor once said, the wreath looks like a Life Saver over the mantle. Everything needed to be BIG.

When she asked me what I wanted to do, all I could think to say was, “I REALLY like your house”. So it began.

We have painted the entire main floor of our house, all 3500 square feet of it. Except for The Boy and Mousey’s bathroom, which is an abomination and undeserving of attention. We wall papered the dining room, we have shopped for some furniture, logged many hours in the Trifecta of Good Shopping,  Homegoods, Marshalls and TJ Maxx, looking for this and that, and loverly things. All the while, she has patiently taught me many useful skillz and transformed our boring beige house into a vibrant, comfortable home.

We enlisted Capri Deb’s skillz as well. She is a wonderful sew-er, no to be confused with a sewer!  Although, right about now, we would LOVE to have a wonderful sewer. She made beautiful cushion covers for our ratty leather couch, sewed many pillows, and has made many valances to grace our windows. She is really way more than a sew-er. She is an Artisian. Very diversified!

After Capri Patt helped me enormously, I did not do too much else.  I loved it so much and I didn’t want to wreck it. It had remained mostly untouched, except when she would come over and move things around. She likes to do that. It’s like “Where’s Waldo”. I hear she does that at other homes as well. Like a little calling card.

Sometimes, before she and her husband go south for the winter, she gives me little homework assignments. That I rarely do. I need her here, cracking that decorating whip.

She has been suggesting that we needed a couple of chairs for our family room. Or maybe I suggested it and she agreed,  because that big naked space has always bothered her. She looks at the big picture. My concern was providing more seating for our television viewing pleasure. See how our needs dovetailed nicely?

Honey had told me earlier in the summer to go ahead and get those chairs, as we had been planning to get them the year before anyway, but ran out of time.

She took me to a delightful little furniture store, cleverly named “The Furniture Store”, to look at some chairs she had found that she thought would be perfect for the family room. Another great thing about Patt. Not only does she shop for herself, if she loves you, she shops with YOU in mind!

My requirements were that they swivel and rock, to facilitate better TV viewing pleasure. Her requirements were size, they could not be too large, and the look of the fabric. Actually, I was all about the fabric too. Stain resistance was my goal.

I loved  the chairs she had chosen. And I really loved  the fabric! It was an upgrade, and that was a concern. You know, The Ford Fiasco Family Budget and all.  So we called Honey and tried to explain what it looked like.  Matches the existing furniture well (good), Micro fiber (GREAT), looks like alligator skin (pause on the phone). Well, not really alligator skin, but we could not find the right description of the fabric. Finally, he said to do whatever we felt best. Because he is a big old Hunk of Honey, and he has always been happy with End Results by Patt. But I’m sure this one had him worried. And that upgrade? Do they really consider $15.oo per chair an upgrade???

We bought them and they came some weeks later. I promptly locked them up in the dining room until after the cats had their permanent manicures. Because, as I have said before, they like to feel new furniture. With their claws.

I asked her to come over this July and help me stage our house. I wanted to spend as little cash as I could, so she just used things we already had. Really, she moved things around and took down stuff, because I am notorious for buying something that I have no place for. I’m pretty sure I drive her crazy.

As a matter of fact, she has banned me from EVER buying another picture frame or sign with words on it. Banned, FOR LIFE.

Here are the loverly new chairs, that meet both of our needs!

The “alligator skin”

The only other thing we bought were the tall things to go in the vases (that I bought last year at Ross Dress for Less for $9.99, while on the Capri Weekend Extravaganza). I don’t remember where we bought the tall things,  OR how much they cost. See yesterday’s post.

Please pretend that the lid is correctly on the basket that holds our winter down throws. I know I will.

Mrs. Schmenkman has commented several times that she would like to see a picture of the new additions. Here you go Schmenky!

And a big THANK YOU to Capri Patt for her invaluable assistance in getting The NutHatch ready for it’s close up!! I heart you forever!