| The Great Room | ||
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Gardening (this link will take you to a different page on my site)
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We've been developing the great room gradually since we moved in. The first project was to buy some artwork. We bought five major pieces at Art Fair in 2000 and have been adding gradually ever since. Next up, we painted a focal wall to complement a nude that Derek bought me for a birthday gift (this, one of the five pieces, was the biggest, grandest, and most expensive). We painted the wall a nice color called "Western Sky" in November 2001.
People always try to talk us out of using bold colors. On everything we've done! I think, as a rule, most people are too conservative with their choice of home decor. But we have yet to be disappointed with color, so we're going to keep on using it. Besides, WE are the ones who have to look at it 365 days a year; it should be something that WE enjoy looking at! In Summer 2003 we added two really nice sculptures by an artist team from Wisconsin. The pieces are called "Orbit" and "Sphere" hall table (click to enlarge).
At this time, we rearranged the furniture to make the room more "feng shui."
In June of 2004 we got new carpet. Again, people tried to talk us out of getting a bold color, but we got it, are thrilled, and haven't looked back. It's called "Egyptian Blue," and the pictures really don't do it justice. It looks sort of drab, but it's a very vivid shade of teal.
In July of 2004, we replaced the ratty old vertical blinds with some new Levolor blinds. These back windows are prime bird-watching spots for Ratso, so whenever the blinds were pulled shut, he was poking his nose through so he could see. Four years of bird watching have added up to vertical blinds coated in black hair, so we decided to get something we could pull up to "Ratso height." While taking down the old "poufy" valances that we never really liked, we realized we'd have to spackle and paint over the holes anyway, so I suggested painting that wall another accent color--another color from the nude painting. Derek didn't hesitate. "Do it!" he said. And I did. And we didn't even put the poufy valances back up, because the new blinds and the new accent wall look fantastic without them. Darn flash didn't work!
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