I sit at my house and stare at empty walls a lot.
Like this one.
Our furniture isn't adult-sized yet to fit the space :)
I am afraid to go too big. I thought the photos I had printed were big. Hmm... not so much. Neither is that itty bitty lamp. The little Target side table has been with me for almost 8 yrs. Elise helped me pick it out when she had no job and loved to help me use my money to furnish our tiny apartment.
I have a lot of home ideas now collected on Pinterest, but I'm afraid I won't like what I do... so I do nothing.
Our dining room sideboard table is begging for some decoration.
I think it would be cute to put something above this doorway into my kitchen... in that cute little rectangle. Maybe our family theme? "Enjoy the journey. Stop for treats." :) It would make me smile every time I walked through the doorway.
The stairs are also a blank canvas. I am terrible with sizing... like this photo frame that seems way too small for the space when you look at it from a distance.
Some people think we just moved in because our walls are so empty... but really it is because I don't know what to put on them. This wall (below) stares me down every time I go downstairs. I want it to contain something meaningful... not just random art... so I overthink it... and do nothing.
I constantly contemplate hiring a decorator to help me... but then still do nothing.
I may actually get some pictures on my wall due to this photo wall display formula... but first we need some pictures that I like enough to put up- that are also recent. That is a constant dilemma. You'd think it wouldn't be... since you all know I take wayyyy too many pictures.
Instead of tackling the blank walls... I take baby steps and keep bringing things home from stores to try out. This week I'm attempting a "Back to School/Fall" theme on the sideboard. If you look closely you can still see all the price tags on everything. The vase needs to be more full. I didn't want to buy too many things and then have to return them (like I did a few weeks ago... but then LOST the receipt and had the most horrendous store return experience ever). Everything I try is BORING to me.
I also need some sort of Fall colored runner? By the time I make up my mind it is going to be Halloween or Thanksgiving and I will need to start all over again.
I love my very white kitchen... but it has no personality. It basically looks exactly the way it did here when we moved in. I saw this tutorial today... and now I want to attempt Faux Roman shades in my kitchen over my sink. I think I change my mind every day when I see a new creative idea though.
Does anyone else have the same commitment problems that I do?
I usually solve this blank canvas problem by planning a party or organizing some playdates. After all, when I die, I'm not taking my house with me... so I guess it doesn't really matter? But I think I would enjoy the time I spend in my house more if it was a better reflection of my personality.
Pass along your ideas. What would you do with my blank canvases?
6 comments:
I don't have any ideas for you but I can totally relate! Whenever I try something it never seems to "work" as well as the pictures on Pinterest...and I hate spending money on stuff that doesn't look good. I'm also lazy, so something as simple as re-painting a frame can take me days to work up to. A decorator would be nice...
I feel your pain. I haven't hung anything of my walls because I'm afraid I'll hate it afterwards. Mikey gets mad at me cause I still have all our wedding gift cards to crate and barrel. He wants to sell them on ebay but I won't let him.
I'm the same way - it took me a year to hang anything in our house because the nail holes seemed so permanent. And there were too many things I liked - I couldn't decide what to do! I would start with less permanent things - like your ideas for the sideboard in your dining room. Then you can do something diff. without patching holes :) Maybe a big mirror above your entryway table would look good? And I don't think the stairway picture frame looks that small, but maybe in real life it looks smaller. You might be able to add some coordinating frames to make it a larger collage. And for the big empty wall on the stairs - we have a big picture of the temple we were married in that I love - maybe a cool temple picture would be meaningful? Anyway - those are just some random ideas :) Good luck!!
Becky- you and I think alike. I thought the same thing later tonight. I think I'm definitely putting a b&w picture of the Manhattan Temple somewhere in the mix.
So glad I'm not the only person without things on my walls. It feels so permanent and I just need to get over that. Holes can be patched! :)
My two cents...
I love the idea for the wall you see when you come down the stairs. Make it a family wall with a picture of the temple (maybe as the center pic). You could use wedding pics, all those darling professional pics you have of Andrew and Cate when they were born, random cute pictures you've taken, and maybe even pull in some cute vintage pictures of you and Kevin. The skies the limits.
When I did my photo wall, I went to Target (late at night) pulled tons of frames I liked, laid them down on the floor (at Target) decided on the ones I liked, and brought home tons of frames. Target has a great return policy.
Once you get home with the frames, cut paper (freezer paper, paper grocery paper, construction paper) the same size as the frames you want to use and then tape them to the wall with painter's tape. Put the paper on the wall in the collage you want. Then sit on it for a day or two, and THEN put the holes in the wall. This way you can change the frames, get more frames, see the spacing between the frames, etc.
Okay the small frames as you walk up the stairs...do the frames come apart?? I actually think the frames could be the right size if just spaced out a bit. If they are all attached, through the frame in your guest room or hallway to the garage, and buy the same size frames and just space them out in that area.
I love the idea of your family motto as you walk into the kitchen. Maybe you could use an etsy shop and have a vinyl sticker made. The area you are using is already framed. Vinyl is also rather cheap, and totally easy to put on and take off.
For the sideboard...I know you like the traditional, clean style, but I think you have some creative flare in you! I say go with some color. What about color vases instead of clear. You could even experiment with this idea using the clear vases you have, fill them with water, and add a drop of food color. I just think color would spice that room up. Also, what about a group of vases different height, sizes, etc. Just get a table runner!! Go to Home Goods and just buy one already!!!
For the kitchen...I would SERIOUSLY make you some curtains. I would make simple valances for the bay window, and you could do a roman shade for the kitchen sink, or I have an easy curtain that would look cute too. http://madeonmaple.blogspot.com/2010/10/simple-curtain.html If you let me know what color or style you are going for, I might even have fabric in my stash that would work! If you want my help, I'm totally willing.
My last suggestion is for the open wall to the left when you walk into your house. I agree that random art isn't my favorite. The picture above my couch probably looks random to most people, but I had a girl I used to baby sit who went to art school paint it for me. So to me, it is meaningful. Do you know any artists that you could commission a painting?? My other suggestion, it's probably more my eclectic style (and I have one in my house), would be to do a "B" wall. You could start collecting B's and then just add and add to the wall. Just a suggestion!
Lastly, I've lived in my house for 6 1/2 years and it took me 3 years to start really liking the things I put up in my house. I think we're all the same and are nervous that we won't like what we do. But we'll never know if we don't try!!
Thanks for giving me something to think about on my morning run this morning, and SO sorry how long this is!!
I never decorate either. Jonathan finally went crazy after about a year with nothing on our walls and hung up a bunch of pictures. Mostly I didn't like them or where they were hung. But they're still there.
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