Four for Friday - the Home Edition

Q1. Paint: Did you paint the walls in your home or were they painted to your liking before you moved in?

The house was a celebration to that cutesy country style that was popular once upon a time, with lots of wallpaper and borders. I liked it initially, but it wore out its welcome really fast.

The first rooms to be redone were the kids rooms, since my kids had outgrown the alphabet-and-nursery-rhyme stage. My daughter opted for peach carpeting - not watermelon, not mango, not lemon, but peach. Finding matching curtains and bedspread was next to impossible. And the only type of carpet available was on the expensive side. She swore she would be careful, but now the carpet sports stains from a variety of sources, from makeup to poster paint. My son opted for neutral shades, but we did add an Indiana University border, so I spray painted the shelving red. too. The wallpaper in these two rooms came off relatively easily, as did the wallpaper in the main bath, which became a minty green.

Years passed. During this time, I purchased from Coldwater Creek a bedspread and matching curtains, to try to motivate myself to tackle my bedroom, which had wallpaper wainscoting topped with a border, the two in contrasting pink prints, with pink walls above. And pink curtains. And a dingy shag carpet. The master bath was more of the same. When I could stand it no longer, I got to work. Apparently, the walls in the master bedroom and bath had not been sized prior to the wallpaper being hung, so removing it involved much labor and cursing and rental of scary tools. I prevailed, though, and covered every available vertical surface with lavender paint. And hung the curtains. Which did not match the paint. And did not match each other. Then I laid what I thought was a gray carpet, but it sucked the blue out of the lavender. The room wasn't quite hideous, but it definitely was not pleasant, either. Meanwhile, I had replaced the flooring in the kitchen and lucked out - it looked great! Feeling overly confident, I replaced the flooring in the main bath as well - UGH!

My daughter came to my rescue and in rapid succession we repainted the main bath a lovely pinky-beige, my bedroom a pale blue, the master bath an icy blue. I donated the curtains and bedspread to Goodwill and purchased some navy curtains (to block the evening sun, now that we are on DST) and a navy comforter. Much better! Then we continued through the livingroom (two shades of coffee), diningroom (a shade too pink - someday we will try again), and the kitchen (another shade of pinky-beige). I crapped out then, with the laundry room the only unfinished area (the family room has paneling).

So. What was the question? One reason I picked my house is I didn't have to do any redecorating when I moved in, but eventually everything changed. Sort of like life.

Q2. Room: What is your favorite room in your house and why?

My new fantasy room, hopefully. I am having the Florida room removed because 1) it blocks the light from entering the family room, and 2) it is in need of major upkeep, and 3) with its particle board walls and ceiling, it is hopelessly ugly. The new room will be a real room, with lots of windows looking out onto my backyard habitat and bird feeding station. There will be a viewing area, shelves for my knitting books and yarns, enough room for meditation and yoga. Ommmmm.

Q3. Work: If your employer offered you the opportunity to work from home, would you take it?

YES, YES, YES!!! Once upon a time, I was self-employed and worked out of my home and I loved it.

Q4. Houseguests: When was the last time you hosted overnight visitors in your home, and how long did they stay? Optional follow-up question: Do you enjoy hosting/entertaining overnight visitors?

We won't count my SO. He stays over about once a week, although this summer we are on an alternative schedule of Sunday afternoons. And I shouldn't count my son, although when the son is here, sometimes a friend of his may show up at the breakfast table, which is fine because we don't want anyone drinking and driving. This also motivated me to dedicate one of the spare bedrooms as a guest room.

Otherwise, the last time I had real overnight guests was a Women's Weekend that somehow wound up at my house. One of the guests paid me the best compliment ever: She felt very comfortable here. Since then, the house has been redecorated and I have new furniture (mission style) and soon I should have a new room. Maybe we should have WW here again.

But, in general, I don't have people over much because then I would feel like I had to clean. I may be worth it, but they are not.