A reminder
When I went to bed Saturday, a little tipsy from my Valentine night out , consisting of beer and nacho's with Jo, I said outloud "I am going to be Super-Mom tomorrow". I had such a crappy day with girls on Saturday, full of nagging, raised voices anad a few time-outs for good measure. At the end of the day, being given a moment to think about things without all the background noise, I realized that I hadn't been entirely fair to them. Their idea of a good time is not going to the Home Depot to look at paint colours (though Grace does have an obsession with the toilets on display). Their idea of a good time is not helping me organize my vinyl collection (and I am deeply offended when they giggle at Billy Idol's "funny" hair cut). Their idea of a good time is not trying to figure out why the beater bar on the vacuum isn't working. Their idea of a good time is playing games of hide and go seek, recruiting their parents of any kind of game and going outside for aimless walks, shits and giggles. I didn't do much to make sure they were having fun on Saturday. And I became frustrated when they kept interfering with what I wanted to do.
And so, Sunday was a new day, and here's how it went down:
-Three slow cooker meals prepared for the coming week - with little hands helping, it made things go a little more slowly, but they were engaged.
-Front hall closet and back closet cleaned out, with little feet playing a game of try on all the shoes (and Meanie has a hell of a lot of shoes....)
-Going outside, cleaning out the garage, girls discovering their bikes, and why the hell not? Doesn't have to be summer to ride a bike, and those frozen windrows make a pretty cool jump!
-Jonas painted the basement bathroom. We never go downstairs, but yesterday we did because he was there, and the girls re-discovered what was intended to be the play area of the house and all the old toys I routinely throw down there when I can't figure what else to do with them
And, to add to my mother of the year skills, the girls even ate what I made for dinner last night.....crispy breaded tofu nuggets.....and they liked it! So did Jo!
As I curled up on the couch at 8:30 last night, with a glass of red in one hand, my book in other, I reminded myself gently that they aren't going to worship me forever, and I can likely alphabetize my vinyl collection down the road.
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Are there any interior design-type readers of this blog? We are re-doing our basement and I have no eye for paint colours/carpets. It is a big space, and the intention is for it to be a space for the kids to play and for Jo to host poker nights. I want it to be welcoming enough for me to enjoy going down there as well (I have an aversion to sub-terrain living, so it has to aesthetically pleasing). We are carpeting, and because the kids and poker people are likely to spill, I want to go with a darker carpet. My question is - what is a good colour for the walls? The carpet will likely be a dark brown with lighter flecks in it. There is one tiny window, but poorly placed, so there is little to no natural light coming in. Any suggestions are most welcome.
9 comments:
a common thought amongst pier 1 shoppers is that people that work there are all interior designers. i will tell you that is a myth.
i dont know the first thing about it so i am no help.
but i am glad you had a good day super mom.
I think Randall's paints (and probably other paint stores) have a service where you can hire someone from their store to come out and look at your space and recommend colours. Then, if you buy the paint from them, it is discounted/credited against the advice. A friend of ours did this when they finished their basement a few years ago, and the colours were unusual (a mixture of greens and oranges) but in the end it looked AMAZING.
Wow, you're organized. I'm impressed! Also a little embarrassed, since I'm home full-time and you'd think my life would be a little more organized.
I'm not an interior designer, but I might choose a lighter, creamy colour for the walls and maybe go with some pictures, cushions and such for the colour pop (either red or turquoise, as they both go nicely with brown). You could also try wallwords.com if you want something cool to stick on the walls. I like their stuff, but can't afford it.
Good luck!
I think carpets are creepy - especially if they're going to get spilled on and live in the basement. I'd go with a nice allergen-free tile and maybe a couple of warming rugs. My room was in the basement as a teenager and I'm telling you there's no real way to make a basement with only one window look like it's not a basement. So, I'd use this space to really explore use warm rich, strong, bold colours like maybe a terra cotta floor and some bright yellow on the walls (not all of them) Yellow on the bigger walls and white on the others. LED lighting and some natural fibre rugs. Splash some bright blue and red accents around; some wood and soft fabrics. Turn the tiny window into art and make it faux stained glass. It should be exciting and vibrant and fun -- leave the relaxing, subdued stuff for bedrooms or the living room
way to go mom! good for you...
http://momofboxer.blogspot.com/2009/02/survived.html
It's so easy to get caught up in the things you have to do and not think of how boring/awful it is for the girls and then snap at them for being bored/annoyed. I fall into that trap all the time, so I can empathize. I'm glad you realized that and managed to still get things done, while being with the girls.
Most of the time my house is more of a mess than I'd like it to be because I'm doing things with the girls instead of cleaning. You're right. We are only the centre of their universe for a short time, and we should enjoy it while it lasts.
Oh, and in response to your comment -- Rae loves Mamma Mia. The whole "I don't know who my dad is" kind of goes over her head, though I think Leah and I will be talking about it. Also the Colin Firth dancing with the young Greek male hottie goes over the head too. The girls are in it for the music and the slapstick dance sequences. I'd say go for it, but maybe watch it yourself first.
My hubby just finished out basement - he did all of the work himself which i really didn't think he could do but he proved me wrong!
The space is awesome, we went with laminate floor "click lock" instead of carpet. I did originally want carpet for warmth and to make it cozy but the space is a play room / family room and with all the spills and messes it's been great having the laminate. I put down a big area rug in the family room area and a smaller princess rug in the toy room area. Light mossy green on the walls with white everything else to brighten the space. Went with a light blue in the bathroom still with white vanity and linen chest but with brown accents for towels etc.
Good luck with your reno!
Have me over. Ply me with food. Show me the basement. I'll work my magic. Your world will be rocked. Rocked.
- Your friendly neighbourhood curator.
I agree with Beyond a Mommy for the flooring. We have carpet in our basement, but I would prefer a warm, honey-coloured laminate with some rugs. And with Maven for wall colours. I like the earthy tones,(sandy colours) with punches of reds(deeper, darker), maybe blues(sky) or greens(sage). Even some light yellowy colours.
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