Week Four, The Living Room

Week Four already?

Living Room Week is upon us. 

I did a search for images that would evoke the feeling I'm wishing for -- lots of white, and windows open to the sky, and touches of color that remind one of the Pacific off the coast of California. I googled the words living room Malibu and found several images such as I was searching for. I also noticed one that included Barbie (tm) and Skipper (tm) and was instantly intrigued, especially since that Skipper was very much like mine of years gone by (and I loved that pink sweater in that outfit!). The source of the image that particularly attracted me? Apartment Therapy. Yes indeed. 

I may or may not be able to get all that I want to do done this week, as my progress is very much dependent on the kindness of others, and when they’re able to help me shift furniture around.

Alana mentioned that she’s finding herself smiling at her home more often than usual – I’m doing the same. As I feel this Home with a capital H taking shape, I’m feeling happier and happier, and more as though this is MY Home. It’s a good feeling.

Well, on to the tasks at hand:

In Apartment Therapy, The Eight Step Cure, by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, Week Four deals with the living room and all the stuff that's in it. The following is from p. 131, with my comments in italics following each of M G-R’s instructions.

Bones:

Clean up living room and any related closets. Well, I’m pleased to say there are no related closets. Not even any that are fourteenth cousins twenty times removed. Cleaning the living room is a lovely idea, which is dependent on the Archives shelving units getting set up so that I can put away the things that don’t belong in the living room, but that needed someplace to roost. One domino can’t fall until the one before it has fallen.

Repairs are being taken care of this week. I’m really not focusing on repairs in this Cure. So we won’t worry about this one.

Breath:

Declutter all books and media. In my home, books and media are not a part of the living room area, and they’ve already been decluttered prior to this Cure.

Cancel 75% of all catalogues you receive. What’s 75% of two? I don’t get many catalogues, and the unwanted magazine subscriptions have been dealt with.

Empty Outbox. Here’s where a real 75% comes in – 75% of the Outbox has been taken away. The rest will wait for the convenience of the friend who has the large trash bin (who is super busy for the next couple of weeks).

Heart:

Confirm what you need to increase or decrease colour in each room. Oh gosh. Colour. That’s my downfall in every Cure. The living room definitely needs more colour, working from the pottery seascape I am using for inspiration. The bedroom will get an infusion of color during Bedroom Week when I move the blue drapes from the Writing Room to the Bedroom. The Writing Room is … well, the focus in the Writing Room is to surround myself with things that inspire me. That doesn’t necessarily lead to something that would be published in House Beautiful, but it will, hopefully, lead to more and more writing. The bathroom has all the color it can handle.

Identify what you need to increase or decrease softness in each room. Softness and hardness are supposed to be 50-50. I honestly have no idea how to determine this, nor the 80-20 of the neutral-colour balance. I just do what feels comfortable and makes me happy.

Head:

Cook three meals at home this week. I’m working on this, on cooking real, nutritious meals. Many vegetables were purchased on Saturday. That’s a start.

Send out your invitations. Nope. That’s not going to happen.

Alana posted a wonderful list of cleaning plans. I am not going to be that ambitious.

I hope to be able to vacuum where the chairs were, while the room is being rearranged. (I am not able to move furniture around by myself anymore, so I can’t simply pull the chairs away from their places and vacuum.) Actually, I hope to buy a proper, but lightweight, vacuum sometime soon – that will help greatly. I’ve decided that the carpets will be cleaned in July. That’s what works best for me. During this Cure isn’t an option, unfortunately. (My allergies complicate carpet cleaning.)

I have purchased slipcovers, which will need some adjustment to fit, but I’ll find a way. I’m determined. (Some might call it stubborn.) They need to be washed prior to putting them on the chairs, and I’d like to wait until the chairs are moved before I slipcover them, just to keep the slipcovers clean.

I will be looking into the possibility of covering lampshades to coordinate with the living room, since I’ve been unable to find what I want in SmallCity.

I’ll also be looking for toss cushions and possibly a throw or two to add the requisite color, preferably picking up on the turquoise and blue-ish colours of the seascape pottery piece.

Since I may not be able to get a lot of specifically Living Room things done this week, I will be sorting photographs, and decluttering bits and pieces of other rooms and closets – I will not stand idly by while the rest of you work.

Before pictures, and perhaps inspiration pictures, will be posted/linked to in the next post. Stay tuned!