Renewal

Nesting has properly set in. All I want to do is organize things and replace all in my house that is old, tatty and faded. Only problem is, when you have lived in a house for 8 years without replacing anything, most everything looks like it needs replacement. Oh, you know what I mean. Things like the blanket over the couch is not hiding as many fabric flaws on the couch anymore. The dimmer switch on the family room light is not hiding the subtle stains on the carpet. The pre-stressed furniture purchased long ago is WAYYYY passed the pre-stressed natural state and is bordering on needing to go to the dump. The brown paint in the foyer is not necessarily brown naturally..it's brown due to sticky hands, feet, dirt etc. from my four crying out loud. And my family room curtains that used to be white...well, have turned a lovely eggshell. sigh. Shamefully I admit that I would rather up and move to a shiny new house than renovate or re-do what I have, but that is not possible since house prices around this town are totally out of control. So instead, I decided to make a few changes around here to spruce things up.

First issue at hand is the family room furniture. The frames of the couch, chair and ottoman are in great shape, but the fabric on these items are faded and have holes poked in them from years of babies using toys with sharp edges (you know, Playmobile swords, and the occasional electric screwdriver that daddy left out). Kids will play with anything. Anyway, after looking long and hard for a reasonably priced set of furniture to replace the old ones, I realized that purchasing new would be expensive and silly since baby #5 is coming along, and who knows what he/she will do to new furniture. (after all, Dad might leave out the electric screwdriver again, and we'll be right back where we started.) So I decided to look into re-upholstery and was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable and practical it was. I found a shop nearby that sells all their fabrics at $7.99/yard and it was filled with some of the most beautiful colors and patterns I'd ever seen. I had a great time mixing and matching fabrics, gaining opinions from neighbors and friends, and feeling empowered that I could actually put a color combination together that I could live with. The best part was that it was 3 times cheaper than the next option I had. My goal was durability first, beauty second, but I think I have both with what I selected.

I collected my color swatches and went home to show everyone. We all agreed on the wine color for the couch, a yellow floral (with wine accents) for the ottoman and chair with coordinating pillows for the couch, and some large green floor throw pillows for the kids to lay on. I got the blessing from the family and continued my home improvement project. I called the upholstery store (a home-grown, reputable place in the county) and they came yesterday to pick up my sad furniture. Yes! I am currently writing this post on the floor of my mostly empty family room. Very roomy, very.

Now that the furniture is gone, it's time to look at replacing the carpet with something more durable and darker than the light colored beige that the builder put in years ago. I visited Lowe's this evening with the kids and Chris and we all agreed on a think pile carpeting which everyone liked since it was softer than most of the other options. Three of the kids tested the softness with their hands, Nick tested it by rubbing his head on the sample. "My head will be laying on the carpet mom, so I need it to be soft." (Strange child.) Anyway, not 30 minutes after we agreed on the carpet, I made an appointment for the Lowe's team to come out to my house and measure. They will be here in two days.

I started painting the foyer of the house myself last week (an olive green to replace the icky brown), but lost interest and inspiration when I started feeling wobbly on the ladder. I may just have to take my time with that little project and instead start washing the curtains in the family room.

The clock is ticking with about 7 weeks left before baby #5 arrives and we are preparing to make the house not only a place of love for our dear new child, but a pleasant environment where new memories will be made and cherished. At the very least, a place where the baby can rub his head on the carpet and enjoy its softness.