Why Not…Use What You Have

I am held hostage. Captive actually. By the house I live in. Yes, it’s true the doors do open and close freely. And I can see the sun through the bar less windows, the ancient oak canopy overhead making dark patterns on the lawn. And I can come and go as I wish, unrestricted. But when I return, the house is still there with that crazy hold on me. As if the azaleas and Confederate jasmine were ropes and chains tightly wrapped around the brick walls. Why is that you ask? Because my house is constantly calling for me to rearrange it, to change the paint colors (the front door recently found itself pink) and shift the furniture and furnishings into new forms, molded into new shapes and patterns. Sometimes these calls are whispers, silent and secret declarations in my ear. But sometimes they are screams of anguish that say you MUST rearrange me NOW. Ah. No. Not now I say. Bleh. But to no use. The house has to be obeyed. Do you ever feel like that? If you do, then you know exactly what I mean. So when those screams of change arrive, use the things that you have. You don’t always have to go shopping for new furniture (although shopping is a lot of fun). I always try to use what I have first. Case in point. One of my guest bedrooms was arranged informally with low twin beds, catch all tables, and a mixture of art from different times and places in my life. It had been in need of a serious make over for some time and the time had come according to those inner voices. I had four old shutters that I had divided into twos and hung on the wall as head boards for the twin beds, a lamp and table between them. I moved the beds together, raised them with bed risers and brought all four shutters together in the middle of the wall, creating a perfect king headboard.

I put a couple of cool aqua art deco tables from another room on each side of the “new” king, moved a chair with a great, updated fabric on it off to one side, and hung a Butler landscape on the shuttered headboard with twine adding texture and depth to the bed and wall. I brought in some large pillows that had been in storage (just waiting for their new home) and finished it off with a king size comforter that I had but wasn’t using. Viola. The room transformed from cottage twin to elegantly chic king guest room. Without buying a thing. And the bonus? The room actually felt and looked bigger. So why not use what you have when it’s time for a change. You will quiet those shouts and whispers and will likely end up with something you love.