Let’s talk big moves, shall we?
Or maybe medium moves. I’ve got bigger moves in mind for later.
First up – the dining room may be the death of me. I am silently (or not so silently) cursing its very existence. Its very location. Just about everything related to it. I thought the living room was the project that would not end, but now I know better. The living room took awhile, but it’s looking so good, and we had direction, followed through, and carried on.
The dining room is vexing, and also covered in drywall dust and dropcloths and plastic, so let’s ignore it for now. Working on that room is like stepping into a black hole – it sucks the time and the life out of you, and I’ve got no clear direction for it yet – just floating ideas, and most of the good ones are M’s. I’m just stumped. Agreeing to ignore it, and moving on.
I should entitle this series “Projects to Plan and Start While Ignoring Everything Unfinished in My Life”. I’m okay with that. I need a room with less square footage, enclosed by four walls, and only asked to perform two basic functions: cleaning and voiding. I apologize if that sounds a little blunt.
I outlined some of my long term goals for this room in the Master Bathroom post here – including my first run at a mood board. I’m still thinking along those lines, but I’m honing it a bit. Indigo, white and wood – I really want to introduce some wood into the room. That might seem a little strange in a room that deals in water and humidity, but I love the idea of bringing in some wood of a similar color and style as the rest of our wood-happy house. I also talked about my thoughts on simplicity / utility made beautiful – as exemplified in Shaker style buildings and furniture and design.
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Currently, when the door is open you stare at a fairly large expanse of bare space – a luxury in a bathroom, I do think. We have an old pie safe in there, with four zillion coats of paint on it. My parents gave it to me when I furnished my first apartment, and did a lot of work to make it more functional. They even promised to pay for some cool leaded glass panels in the open spaces of the doors to replace the old chicken wire long removed – but in a move that was entirely my fault, I never took them up on it, never designed the panels, or had them made. It’s quite functional – you can access what you need from the cabinet without even opening the doors. But it’s cluttered, and no amount of cleaning / organizing helps with that.
Years ago I sketched up ideas for built-in white cabinets there – like the ones we have in all the bedrooms. But M kind of balked at the idea of turning every single room of our house into a custom white wardrobe wonderland. I think he’s right on that. I would love drawers – drawers full of magically appearing fluffy white towels that never look old or worn or tired. A drawer to hide all the contact solutions and static guard sprays and our one and only concession to my vow to never darken the doors of a Sam’s Club – the bulk razors. Can’t you picture a simple tray on top with a stack of white towels and my grandmother’s milk glass with fresh flowers? I’m sure that’s what M’s picturing each morning as he heads in there before dawn.
The wainscoting is started in there – it wouldn’t be difficult to finish out the verticals, and then to add a very modern, sleek rendition of the classic Shaker peg. I don’t really want to hang a zillion things from each one, but I could see a few beautiful things hanging there – a mirror or a brush.
As the season changes to longer nights and cooler temperatures, I find myself soaking in that tub more often. I’d love a room that can transform itself from straightforward morning business to simple evening luxury. Think lighting that can highlight and illuminate bright white ceilings and high walls in the morning, and then other lighting that can be darker and moodier and almost disappear into inky blues in the evening, almost candle-like.
I have the blue and white sun prints I did awhile back that I would include in there, and I love this kikiandpolly piece that just might be on my Christmas list. That, and/or just about any Michelle Armas piece.
More wood in the form of a wood framed (oversized) modern mirror and maybe even a wooden beaded lamp for some tub reading. A wooden plank to rest a book or a glass of wine or a candle. Nothing overboard, just a hint of it in a few key places.
And finally, I’d like to repaint the black bottom of my cast iron tub a lighter shade – maybe inspired by the subtle gray waves of Abigail Edwards’ Seascape wallpaper or Shibori.
These are all small moves (excepting, perhaps the dresser), but I think they would add up to a truly beautiful space – a retreat, perhaps, from the dining room debacle below.
