[redwitch]

Sigh, you guys make me feel downright guilty. I hate decorating. It's like, um, work. My walls have always been a simple offwhite. I break down and paint them only when I have to. Heck, once I actually sold my house and moved rather than paint it -- too much like work. I do love art and have some special pieces from an artist named Lu Hong from the Hunan School. They were great in California -- I get some odd looks here .... they're nudes done in a contemporary/Asian mode. My taste in furniture is contemporary and Asian.

Nonie, at least your furniture has some style and fits TV. And HB, I loved your house the first time I saw it. It so suits you and Sidney. Even DickY's house has more flair than mine does (or would if I had decorated it). lol (Actually, DickY's house is quite nice and suits him to a T.) I know SamHass doesn't believe me, but her home so reminds me of Northern California. The furnishings would fit perfectly around the Carmel Highlands or Berkeley/Oakland Hills or Marin County.

So, when I finally get my own place, I'm just gonna let you guys come over and decorate to your heart's content. The only thing I'll ask is please no antiques -- they're just not my style.

[graciegirl]

Boomer Sharon Nancy Sandra Linda BeBack. (I am guessing your real name!) You did not offend me, nor could you ever. It was alright that I used the Northern tissue baby prints in my widdle princess's nursery because I lived in COLUMBUS at the time and the Proctor and Gamble people didn't get wind of it. Anyway P & G didn't offer sweet little pictures to frame at that time.

You are the greatest, dear Boom, if only I knew who you are.

Your devoted fan,

GracieGirl

[kyblue]

I absolutely love the Cincy thread in todays reading. I work at P&G and found this so cool - sometimes I slip and say "Colgate Smile" and am quickly told "Crest".

You mentions Skyline - but I think Graeters is getting a bunch of attention now. Oprah has it delivered and I hear others do to.

I know this was not a Cincy thread - just wanted to connect with other Cincy people.

Even tho I bleed Kentucky Wildcat Blue!!!!

[Boomer]

GG & KYblue,

Now watch ol' Boomer do her thing here while she weaves the Cincinnati stuff into the decorating theme.

Go Boomer. . .

Well, I just want you to know that my Cincinnati laundry room has a little print hanging on the wall. The picture is of two children. The sweet little girl is carefully building a house out of bars of Ivory soap. She is completely immersed in her architectural endeavor. She knows that it is looking good.

But standing beside her, arms crossed behind his back, is her slightly older brother. Just waiting. The little girl is not quite finished with her perfectly constructed little Ivory soap building.

I was doing a little art apprec. or whatever one day when my grandson, who was maybe not quite 5 at the time, a little older than his sister, my favorite granddaughter, was visiting.

"Tell your favorite grandmother, my favorite grandson, tell me true," I said. "What do you think that big brother in the picture is going to do next?"

"Kick it over," he answered, without hesitation.

So there you go. You can combine P&G and decorating. And even a little art appreesh on the side.

Yes! Boomer is redeemed!

High Five, Boomer!

NowIgottagetoutahereandnotlookbackuntillatermuchla ter.

Seeya.

Boomer

[kit9240]

Boomer - thank you for the link to "Maine Cottage" - I have ordered the catalog! I think this is the way I will decorate my home when I get to TV (1 yr). I decided I would leave everything behind and start over with a new theme. Besides, my daughter told me my floral couches are "old lady" looking! I want my home in TV to be colorful, comfortable and friendly! I'll be buying a Patio Villa and I frequently go on Villages4Rent just to see how they are decorated. New homes are like a blank canvas, very neutral. It's interesting to see how creative people can be and how they can transform a bland space into something inviting and interesting. Travel: I love the colors in your home. Painting one wall a vibrant color and the rest neutral adds interest. Your furniture is perfect!

Thank you all for sharing pics of your homes! I love to see how other people decorate their homes!

[swrinfla]

Having already confessed to having avocado pots and, until recently, Harvest Gold washer and dryer, I suppose I should also tell you that a lot of my walls "up north" were papered! Not only did it seem to be The Thing to do, we learned early on that the paper helped keep our ancient plaster (the house was just over 100 years old when I sold it) up and on the walls!

:joke:

SWR

[Boomer]

Well, maybe I should pay attention to a decorating tip that says, "Do not ever put a computer in your kitchen. The kitchen is where the coffee is. Where lunch is. Where you have to stir the chili for supper sometimes. Too close to the laundry room. Where you have to go in and out and in and out. It is not a good decorating scheme to put your computer in the kitchen."

But I do not pay attention. And here I am. Back in the kitchen. And I just had to look at TOTV and at this thread. And I was not going to do that until tonight.

I will try to not talk so much about Cincinnati. Not even about how to decorate Cincinnati style. I will try to remember that Cincinnati is not the center of the universe. Well, maybe my little universe. But I will try to behave.

And besides, what started all this was my little trip last weekend up I-75 where that little decorating supplement to the Detroit News made me a whole new woman. Here I am back in Cincinnati ready to "color my world."

Now, I have to show you what I have been doing since that Maine Cottage site came into my life. I have found the most wonderful sofa. (My people call it a couch, but OK, I can say sofa.)

I saw this one in the newspaper article. It is called "Venus." It is a little channel back honey. But it costs a blue fortune. I think so anyway, especially to put in a sunroom/snowroom/whatever. But this little sofa-couch-davenport is calling to me. I have been going into the site and changing the colors of that upholstery since I got back in town. I am not even sure that we are permitted to have such wild looking pieces of furniture in Cincinnati.

So here's "Venus." (Whoops! I checked the link and see that it shows up without the fabric I keep putting on it. It has some dull, bland color on it in the picture. It must think it has to be more subtle to live in Cincinnati. I keep playing around with the blues. If you want to have a shot at it, you can upholster away, too. All those colors are right there.)

http://www.mainecottage.com/ProductB...PRODUCT_BROWSE

Boomer, A New Woman After Traveling Abroad to Michigan

[Peggy D]

Love this thread. The pictures are stunning. I am not brave enough to paint in bright colors, but after seeing what everyone has done, I'm searching for paint and a brush.
Thanks Boomer for starting it.

HB
LOVE the coffee sign. That is just my style.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Boomer BeBack

Well, maybe I should pay attention to a decorating tip that says, "Do not ever put a computer in your kitchen. The kitchen is where the coffee is. Where lunch is. Where you have to stir the chili for supper sometimes. Too close to the laundry room. Where you have to go in and out and in and out. It is not a good decorating scheme to put your computer in the kitchen."

But I do not pay attention. And here I am. Back in the kitchen. And I just had to look at TOTV and at this thread. And I was not going to do that until tonight.

I will try to not talk so much about Cincinnati. Not even about how to decorate Cincinnati style. I will try to remember that Cincinnati is not the center of the universe. Well, maybe my little universe. But I will try to behave.

And besides, what started all this was my little trip last weekend up I-75 where that little decorating supplement to the Detroit News made me a whole new woman. Here I am back in Cincinnati ready to "color my world."

Now, I have to show you what I have been doing since that Maine Cottage site came into my life. I have found the most wonderful sofa. (My people call it a couch, but OK, I can say sofa.)

I saw this one in the newspaper article. It is called "Venus." It is a little channel back honey. But it costs a blue fortune. I think so anyway, especially to put in a sunroom/snowroom/whatever. But this little sofa-couch-davenport is calling to me. I have been going into the site and changing the colors of that upholstery since I got back in town. I am not even sure that we are permitted to have such wild looking pieces of furniture in Cincinnati.

So here's "Venus." (Whoops! I checked the link and see that it shows up without the fabric I keep putting on it. It has some dull, bland color on it in the picture. It must think it has to be more subtle to live in Cincinnati. I keep playing around with the blues. If you want to have a shot at it, you can upholster away, too. All those colors are right there.)

http://www.mainecottage.com/ProductB...PRODUCT_BROWSE

Boomer, A New Woman After Traveling Abroad to Michigan

Boom.

It looks like it is from the 40's era, when our moms were gorgeous. But she says, But it looks like a two but sofa not a three but couch. And it looks beautiful but not comfortable.

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Peggy - I could not resist it. The moment I saw it and heard about it I knew I had to have it. The owner was absolutely wonderful. He held the sign for us for two weeks, did not want any money to hold it - he trusted us. I was impressed.

Boomer - I love Venus - fortunately they have a color that would go in each room of our home in TV. Only two things stopping me from buying three of them 1. Hubby and 2. cost.
Other than those minor details I would order it.

The only thing I did wonder about is - how comfortable is it to sit in. I was thinking specifically of the back of the chair.

swr - I know what you mean about plastered walls. Our son has a hand painted oil of sunflowers that was done by a noted artist. I wish there was a way I could take it off the wall and bring it to TV.

kit9240 - I did the same thing. I also went to The Villages resale homes. I looked at every one of them. If any of them had done something I liked I wrote down the vls number for future reference.

I love this thread. Now I want to go out and buy another home just to decorate it. It was so much fun doing this home.

HB

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Boom.

It looks like it is from the 40's era, when our moms were gorgeous. But she says, But it looks like a two but sofa not a three but couch. And it looks beautiful but not comfortable.

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!!!! Thank you, GG. You just saved me about 3 grand! That thing is too much money anyway.

And it does look pretty uncomfortable. Who says the internet is not a wonderful thing! I love the advice. I would not have put it out there if I did not want to know.

I am sitting here laughing out loud. Truly. You must be a hoot and a half at an art museum.

Now, I will resist talking about my new objet d'art, my Graeter's clock. (Cincinnati again.) I am going to hang it above the bulletin board in my office. It has an ice cream cone in place of each number. Twelve flavors in all. The best ones that we all know and love. It is the most exquisitely tacky thing you have ever seen in your life.

I guess I had better go back to Maine Cottage now and start all over looking for the perfect couch/sofa/davenport.

Whoops! Just tried to post. Red sign. Looked down. HB is here. Hi HB. Yeah, I know. Venus does look pretty uncomfortable. I guess they were going for the look of "Venus on the Half Shell" or whatever the name of that famous painting is. (GG will know. She knows stuff like that.) I am pretty much over Venus now.

Boomer

[Sidney Lanier]

I really enjoyed wallpapering for many years and frankly did it fairly well (mostly...). Nowadays I prefer the paint colors that we selected not only at our home in TV but also the historic colors we recently redid our Hudson Valley home after the flood took out our whole first floor. My funniest wallpaper story was being asked to do the kitchen in my brother's and sister-in-law's house. My brother could do--and did--absolutely everything (an engineering type) in their house--even built their first color TV and gave circuitry improvements to the company that had manufactured the kit!--but he couldn't do wallpapering. They had a floral pattern above the chair rail and a geometric pattern below the rail and on the soffits. The paper was up for some 15 years until she decided to replace it (my brother had died...), and it wasn't until that point that we realized that one of the geometric sections was upside down in relation to the other. Imagine, 15 years! She hired someone to do it that time, my having given up that particular joy....

[graciegirl]

I am in our Hadley house and I have just used three rolls of blue masking tape to tape the baseboard and ceiling and other nooks and crannys. I have "cut in" I guess they call it , when you paint around the edges with a brush and then use a roller. As you can tell, bargain breath here did not give a thousand dollars to a decent painter, she is gonna do it herself. Sweetie's last day of a contract ends tomorrow, so he has been hunched over the computer and although it isn't quite the end of his career it is close. It must be a mixed blessing, having worked for the same huge company for 47 years. I digress.

Tomorrow I will roll on this shade of Ralph Lauren's shoreline blue in the kitchen and hall, leaving some walls white. Then in November, I will put the lighter shade on walls in the great room. We will see if when it is done it spells MOTHER.

I love this whole experience of making this house home, and I am so enjoying this thread.

[Sidney Lanier]

Though HB and I collaborated on selecting colors (in some cases based on their marvelous Madison Avenue names...), I did all our own painting which, though not 'professional,' I really enjoyed--and we now enjoy the satisfaction of knowing we're decorating our home by ourselves--and having fun doing it together! As I mentioned earlier, our resale was all white--a fresh and clean slate, so to speak--so it was a ball! I should add, however, that when I finished the last room, I wrapped up the paint tray and roller in plastic and put them out with the trash....

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

I am in our Hadley house and I have just used three rolls of blue masking tape to tape the baseboard and ceiling and other nooks and crannys. I have "cut in" I guess they call it , when you paint around the edges with a brush and then use a roller. As you can tell, bargain breath here did not give a thousand dollars to a decent painter, she is gonna do it herself.

Dear GG,

Here is my favorite DIY painting tip:

Step 1 Ask husband to help.
Step 2 Proceed with painting for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 3 Drip a little paint here and there.
Step 4 Maybe blob just a small amount of paint on a window.
Step 5 Get fired by husband who finishes job perfectly all by himself.

Princess Boomer