Un-do It Yourself
The interesting thing I’m finding about moving into a previously lived in house instead of a new construction is that before we can “DIY” we have to “UIY”… UN-do it ourselves.
When Greg’s mom moved into the house at the turn of the century*, the walls were in pretty bad shape. Structurally, they were fine, but hooooo-boy did those previous dwellers have some decorating issues. At some point (like when we have a scanner) I will scan and post the pictures of how the walls were painted, but suffice it to say that they loved to mix textures, patterns, and colors in a way that only colorblind people could appreciate.
Cyndi did a great job of UN-doing their mistakes and creating clean, neutral walls again. The open, main room, which combines our living and dining room, is thankfully now plain white, the second bedroom (which will be Greg’s “mancave”) is beige, and the master bathroom is a solid, pretty blueish green. Beyond that, she didn’t do much in the way of decorating the house, mostly because she didn’t enjoy those types of projects very much, and she spent so little time at home that she didn’t feel it was worth the effort. I can’t really blame her, and am actually thankful that she didn’t leave us with too much to UN-do before we put our personal touches on the place.
That said, there was this thing. Above the window in the master bedroom. I believe it was intended to be decorative, but I can’t be sure.
My guess is that Cyndi saw a picture in a magazine of a do-it-yourself curtain with valance and decided she didn’t need to go to a store, because she already had everything she needed to accomplish this project at home. The supplies she used were bedsheets, yard sticks, and nails. Yes, you read me correctly: bedsheets, yard sticks, and nails.
I can only imagine that Cyndi was here with us, laughing her ethereal butt off as I climbed a stepladder to take down that abomination. I was laughing, too.
I’m thankful that this is one of the few “UN-do it yourself” tasks we’ve had to tackle so far.
Did you have any fun “UIY” projects when you first moved into your current living space?
*I love saying that when I mean 2002.
Ho boy. My grandmother would use sheets for decorating projects a lot (since they tend to be cheaper than fabric by the yard… I did the same for most of the sewing projects in my college years), but being a good seamstress helped quite a lot there… yard sticks and nails are just pushing it!
I cannot sew to save my life, but I will gladly use powertools, paint, hang stuff, etc. I rely on my more crafty friends and happily pay them for sewing projects and stuff like that. That said, I don’t think I would have attempted a home-made curtain of any kind on my own.
She managed better than I would’ve. I have, in the past, simply attached sheets (or a rarely-used blanket if the sheets didn’t keep enough of the cursed daystar out) to whatever curtain rod brackets had been previously-installed. Yeah. >.> Decorating was not my thing when I first got out on my own :p Now, though, I can’t wait to have someplace I can do whatever I want to.
I am still a decorating newbie, so I feel ya there. But I’m learning a lot in a short amount of time… and it’s much more fun when it’s your own place and not shared with someone who doesn’t get your style or rented from someone who won’t let you do cool stuff.