This old, painted demilune table from IKEA sits against the tiny supporting wall that joins the dining room to the living room. Join being a relative term for an open floor plan mid century home. I always imagined an etagere full of plants in that spot because of the great light it gets, but until that day this table works. It actually works well because it allows me to store ottomans for extra seating out of the way. Where it doesn’t work well is that it’s become a landing strip for anyone with an XY chromosome.
My contribution to this mess is zero percent. I’m hardly bragging, since every other project in this series has been all me. I’m just pointing out the obvious, that sometimes you clean up messes that aren’t your own. I had someone ask me what the point was in me doing The William Morris Project if someone was always coming from behind and messing it all up, and I guess the point is that a decluttered environment makes me happy and brings me a sense of peace. It’s easier to keep up. It piles up again because we are living, breathing creatures with lives. A perfectly clean house is a perfectly empty house.
The other question is what I do with all the clutter. Most of it can be thrown away, and I suspect if your clutter has been piling up for more than a couple of weeks or so, yours is mainly trash as well. The only items of mine that haven’t been clutter have been school paperwork, and that’s all over the house because I have yet to clean out my system from last year. I need to do that and I need to revamp it, too. As the boys get older, they have more paperwork I need to hold onto and reference regularly. It’s no longer about stuffing it into bins until it’s time to purge at the end of the year.
More flowers, this time snapdragons. I’ll tell you what, if not eating out means I get to buy myself two or three $3 bunches of flowers every week, it’s totally worth the sacrifice–and it’s still less than what I would spend in coffee in one month!
Best series ever. Such a great example how a few minutes and the simple things make a huge difference.
Yup! I’m amazed.
Oh my gosh – just adding the basket and flowers make it such an intentional looking space. I find that places w/o intention are the ones that get the most cluttered in our house.
What/who is that picture of? Its so cool!
I don’t know if you noticed, but that basket was on one of the ottomans! It was holding a bunch of craft stuff.
That picture is of my husband’s grandpa Jim, taken during WWII (he was a Navy fighter pilot). It was actually one of my first William Morris projects ever.
That’s a great photo! Even better that it isn’t random. Years ago I read a tip on a website that suggested buying random old fancy portraits from thrift stores & garage sales to make it look like you come from money. Still makes me laugh!
That is even more amazing, Jules, having it be a family member. It looks like something from a movie set!
HeahterL – what a funny idea. Can you imagine how hard it would be to keep up with who these “family members” where if people asked. “And this here is Uncle Ichibod…….” LOL
This project is so inspiring. I love how you say a perfectly clean house is a perfectly dead house. I need to remember that most days. Do you find yourself having an easier time keeping those drop spots clean once you’ve prettied them up? I know it’s only been a week, but I find that I love to declutter but I have a HORRIBLE time keeping areas decluttered (my desk and this one counter in our kitchen especially).
And that lamp is AWESOME. I love how your house seems homey and welcoming but not frou-frou or “designed” but rather a collection of great treasures. I think William Morris would be proud.
The areas still get cluttered (they’re hot zones for a reason) but they’re much easier to clean out now. Knowing I can do fun stuff like buy flowers keeps me motivated to keep them clean. My desk, for example, took only seconds the other day. I suspect this landing strip will be even easier because I’ve made it off limits–Mikey tried to put something on it just hours after I cleaned it instead of putting it away in it’s proper place.
That lamp is from Target and was a William Morris project from last year that I never blogged about. And I’m glad you think our home doesn’t look frou-frou or designed. I would be very sad if it did! I want everything in our house to be linked to a memory or truly reflect us as a family, eventually. I bought that lamp because The Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of our favorite movies. Also, it’s cute. :)
Oooooooh this was a depressing post for me. Not because your project wasn’t absolutely worthwhile, but because you finally showed me the lamp I’ve been searching for, and it is no longer available. The internet has failed me.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh this is a sad sad day…
Oh, that’s the worst! Well, it’s a year old and people follow trends. I’ll bet people start trying to get rid of theirs soon, so maybe check ebay?
I love that lamp!! And the snapdragons are gorgeous. I need to bring more plants into this house. Then again, I’ll probably just kill them… maybe I should stick with candles and vases. ;) Love this series!
Thanks, Sarah! Flowers and plants make all the difference.
Your small projects are inspiring; you really transformed the space. Such a great family photo … I’m tempted to make a pilot – landing strip pun. And I also covet your awesome lamp. :-) I’m enjoying your daily small projects!
Good grief! I didn’t even make the fighter pilot/landing strip connection until you said something. Hahaha. How embarrassing.
Oh, that “after” is like a breath of fresh air to me!! (Well, this whole series has been very exciting, and no I’m not just throwing that word around.) While the overall too-muchness of my house bothers me a lot, it’s the tables and counters which were once pretty, and have now been obscured by stuff, that are like a poke in the eye. I’m leaving the computer NOW to go fix one, and have you to thank for it!
Awesome. I hope you’re looking at your cleared surfaces with smug satisfaction. :)
In love with that after picture. That lamp has so much character. You’ve got me thinking I need to get some fresh flowers at the farmer’s market this weekend. :)
Do it! You won’t be sorry. :)
clicked over from nester! you’ve got me thinking i need to bookmark your site and come back often!! : ))
love the table re-do. it really is the little things that make the most difference!
Hello and welcome, Amber. :)