Redecorating Progress

The new drapes arrived last week and the valances arrived yesterday, so the work in the living room has begun in earnest. I am anxious now to see things all put together. Since we love our wood stove and use it for heating, the decorating ideas sort of hinge on what will work with a wood stove as centerpiece ! We have opted for the English Cottage sort of look, it suits us well, as it also allows for us to have books here and there. I am not happy with my sofa as its huge but its relatively new and there is no way I could justify getting new furniture just because I don't like the size of it. There are a few finishing touches we still need to purchase, like the crown moulding but we can get that when we need it, rather than having it in the way while we do the other work. The front guest room will be a rather simple job to do except we will be putting in a wooden ceiling like we did in the other guest room. That's not the easiest of jobs but we like the look and its practical for us. I found the perfect bed at a thrift store, it needs to be painted but that was always the plan anyway. Have the bedding already, just need to decide on the drapes and bed skirt, those will be of the same fabric. I found a great little table to go in that room at a yard sale this past weekend, so all that is left to buy for that room is the paint for the walls and a mirror. I have decorating notebooks for each room we are doing over, keeping in it, fabric swatches, the decorating plans, room and window measurements, paint samples with the colors and numbers on it. By keeping focused and knowing exactly what I need for each room, it will save me from buying things on a whim that I really don't need. I may see what seems like the perfect item, only to find its not part of the plan, which at this point I feel is complete. In the next month I will be having one huge yard sale to get rid of all the things I will no longer need. Keeping it simple works best for me, and there is no longer that need to hold on to stuff I might, maybe, perhaps, sometime use. No more going to Goodwill to randomly buy knick knacks that I like but that have no real place in my home. I am excited about this new venture...it will take 5 years to complete all the rooms. Buying as we have the funds. No debt for us. Life is fun, it is exciting and it is simply good.