Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Lounge Lizard

Well, my little lounge 're-do' is moving along ever so slowly. I was working in the evenings spiffing it up in wee doses until our wild pony decided her bedtime did not fit in with the needs of her busy schedule. She currently has added a couple of extra hours to her night time routine and by the time she's safely sound asleep, I am a faded flower. Right now I know that my mother will read this, she will smile a satisfied smile and perhaps even chuckle whilst thinking to herself, "Ha! Payback!" for all the nights I kept her up and away from her own quiet time. Little night owls run in the family it seems.

Pony Girl is now in the process of working on a very exciting extravaganza. It is a sort of pop opera which combines elaborate set design (giant castle towers made from wooden blocks), costume drama (scarves, blankets and layers of dresses), operatic ballads (sung with all the power and emotion of Maria Callas), punk rock and interpretive dance. Her Casio keyboard can be heard at top volume into the wee hours and she is out to gather her parents every 5 minutes to show us the latest bit she has been fine tuning.

Oh yes, we were talking about the lounge...

One day I was out and about with the smallish one and came home to find that The Engineer and his cousin had put up the new curtain rods as a surprise for me. Then, to better show off his handy work, he rummaged amongst my shelf of vintage lovelies, chose perhaps one of my favorite tablecloths, and hung it up as temporary curtain. Which just goes to show you, even when you think that you live with a 'doubter' who does not give a care, or is not paying attention...the Mr. has been learning a thing or two and does something so dear that it renews all faith.

Nothing is quite in it's place yet, no real decorating has been accomplished but, when the rare moment of sun break happens (there's been heaps of rain these days) the sun floods through the windows and the light is just lovely! Those moments erase any doubts I had about going with the white walls. Actually, the color I chose is called, "Twinkle Twinkle" and it does shine!

We have purchased new eco paint and curtain rods which do fall out with the challenge but, I am feeling little guilt over it. We did purchase two very nice vintage mid-century modern Dutch record cabinets for a song!

Look at that light! We still have temporary "curtains" up, I haven't had much time for stitching and I am just waiting for a good long spell of handmade home making. Fortunately, I do have a good collection of vintage tablecloths and pretty retro sheets to fill in for a bit.

The biggest quandary is the sofa, known as "the couch that mocks me". It seems to defy spiffy attempts of all kind. For now it mocks me and sneers in challenge, daring me to make it shine. It waits for pretty cushions, pretty covers, and snickers smugly at me. Oh just you wait and see you mocking couch, you snickering sofa, you daring divan, you challenging chesterfield...I will have my way with you someday. Oh yes I will.

So, that's how it's coming along, with many miles to go. Still, I do think it is an improvement. I have also realized that me being me and all my stuff being what it is; thinking I could stick to a two color scheme was simply a dream in the straw. There are just so many lovely colors out there, oh my!

14 comments:

Wendy said...

I love that your husband hung up one of your favorites as a curtain--don't you love it when they surprise you like that? Those record cabinets are great, too!

CraftySmiles said...

Hello. It all does look very nice. I am trying to finish my one ,started last November,and always something gets in the way. I have planed to get it done by end of May-with no excuses.
I like your blog it is very nice.
Wish you all the best on your way of finishing the lounge : )

Floss said...

We're the same with no-energy after bedtime these days - pre-teen boys seem to be able to stay up quite as long as their parents, however hard I try to be firm to prepare them for school the next day! It's so hard as the nights get shorter.

I'm intrigued to follow the ongoing mocking-sofa-saga. Mine is still unfinished, but at least I feel it's going the right way now. And your colours and the sunlight are both wonderful!

A Bun Can Dance said...

Ah what beautiful light you have flooding in, and big windows too! The tablecloth looks absolutely fab as a curtain - your man has such good taste!
I hope you had your 'ladies lunch' and that you were able to bring home a posy each :-)
Happy days,
Denise x

Sherri B. said...

What a sweety pie The Engineer is to be so thoughtful and have such a decorator eye. My Mr. B. has his moments also...who knew they were watching?

Katiebee said...

I can see why that particular cloth is your favorite! Love the record cabinets and the fact that you still have records~ the changes you've made are wonderful~
If Pony girl is like my children, she'll catch up on sleep when she's a teenager..*L*

june at noon said...

Everything already looks great, I can't imagine how it will look when it's done! As a night owl myself, I am right there with Pony Girl, too.

crzylady said...

applause for the engineer! How very sweet. and everything does look very twinkling :) Love all your wood color choices. Very softening.
I like the temp. curtains.. the bird is sweet! And another round for pony girl and her rock opera!

mel @ loved handmade said...

I love the tablecloth curtain!! Your couch fabric is quite lovely too...

Unknown said...

Lucky you with a husband like that!! Yes, that couch is screaming for some bright and colourful pillows but I have no idea what to suggest. It's definitely a challenge to redecorate and best to take your time and let the little things find you instead of buying just for the sake of filling space. xo m.

lifeshighway said...

Am I the only one who is curious about the mystery of the green bird or did I miss it in a prevous post.

Tania said...

But isn't that why your walls are all a Twinkle Twinkle? Two-colour schemes are wonderful, but white walls mean you can reneg on all those good intentions and put out all your lovelies against a nice blank 'canvas' and let them get on with shining.

Can't wait to see what fate you have in store for the sofa! Go easy. I'm sure it hasn't the foggiest what it is in for.

Mary said...

RE: Pony Girl's later hours - I can sympathize with you as my daughter has always been a night owl, and I'm a morning lark! But one must follow the siren song when one's creative muse is calling.

Unknown said...

Your lounge looks so blissful and very relaxing. Everyone will go here will be relaxed and will feel very comfortable. We also have a home that looks almost exactly like this but the only difference is some other materials used there are from brass tube suppliers and sheet brass suppliers so it looked modern and yet very refreshing as well.