SO, THIS IS WHAT CROW TASTE'S LIKE...

I hope you all had a 
wonderful and sweet 
Valentine's Day.

I want to say thank you to
 Katie at Let's Add Sprinkles 
for featuring my little red stove 
last week and 
another big thanks to all
 who left such kind comments of anticipation
 about the up coming reveal
 of the sitting room.
  
I appreciate you all so much but,
 I regret to inform you, 
that all didn't play out 
as I had hoped and
 here are the reasons, 
without any sugar coating.

Fool me once...shame on you

Fool me twice...shame on me



We've all heard that old adage and 
a few of us have,
 most likely, experienced it.
  
At any rate,
 please let me keep believing
 that is the case. 

 Now, 
let's jump in with both feet! 

My imagination is huge.  
I often have an idea in my head and 
it seems 
oh, so right, 
but as it plays out in real time,
 sometimes not so much!

The scene above 
is a figment of my imagination. 
 It looked so pretty there, 
tucked away
 where it couldn't hurt anybody.

 My vision of a 
beautiful blue and white room 
with red accents and a little black
 to ground it all,
 along side a neutral background 
which is the carpet and the sofa.

  I closed my eyes and 
saw white sheets 
blowing on the line
 with windows open and
  lace curtains 
rustling in the breeze and 
the smell of 
spring in the air.

 (My imagination at work!)

 What could be prettier and 
not so different from 
the way that a 
country cottage 
should look.

Then the art came into play.

 I have had the above antique print forever. 
 It was once a gift 
to my grandfather
 from a wealthy woman that owned horses
 for whom he worked. 
 It was then handed down to my mom and 
later to me.
  I remember it hanging 
in my childhood home 
for many years.  
It has sentimental value and
 I really do love it. 
 It has hung on this same wall 
for quite some time 
after a stint in the library, and
 will continue to do so. 
 I knew I wanted something different 
over the sofa 
than what I had, 
so a journey on the internet 
took place for a pretty piece of art. 
 Everything I found 
was either not the right size 
or color or was too expensive. 
 My last ditch effort 
was to go to Hobby Lobby but
 before that I decided to 
check out some 
thrift stores...

 ...on my third try,
 I found two paintings 
that I loved and,
 as they were the right colors    
I decided to go for them.

 Long story short, 
when I got them home 
I really liked them with the horse print.
  They all have a brownish cast
 that worked well together.
  They were a little smaller than
 I wanted so turning them into
 part of a small gallery wall
 worked out fine. 
The rug was laid down 
and, whoa, 
 that's when my whole idea
 of a charming blue and white room 
went out the window. 
(I must admit, 
although I didn't say anything
 to the Captain,
 on the way home 
I already had my doubts).

What was I thinking? 
 (Feel free to roll eyes here)
 I really can't answer that question, 
so fast forward
 to another day, 
after a night 
of anguish...

...the rug moved 
into the parlor.

 It is a perfect match 
for the wallpaper and 
just the right size. 
I guess my subconscious 
had my back all along 
because I love it in there. 
 You would think 
that it had been planned.

 The sheets can still billow 
even if on a
different clothesline.

But, wait, 
I know you have spotted 
that ugly burgundy carpet 
- you are thinking that I still don't know what I'm doing - 
but that is what
 our next project will be. 
 There is the original fir flooring
 under that carpet and 
it will live again!

Now,
 back to the sitting room.

 I painted over the gray 
on the drawers of 
the chest and...

 ...it went from 

that to this,  

much brighter and lighter...

...now the sitting room 

is put back together and 

the Captain is happy 

that he got rid of that paint 

he didn't like, and 

we are both super happy 

with the blue walls 

(Skinny Jeans by Behr.)  

 It is a beautiful deep jewel tone 

that looks lighter in the photos 

than it actually is.  

It is a very soothing color and 

not at all 

dark or depressing.

If you look closely

 at the two prints 

you can see what looks like 

they are painted on a wood panel

 in the style of folk artist, Warren Kimble. 

They were marked at $10 each and

 we didn't realize 

there was a 50% off sale going on. 

We paid $10 for both

 which made them $5 each. 

They are not signed and 

are printed on a light weight canvas,

 stapled to a frame. 

I am assuming that 

they were mass produced on the canvas and 

just cut to the size of the frame. 

However, 

they are really neat little prints and 

I am very happy with them.

 I have always been drawn to anything featuring a little house. 

 I choose what books I want to read 

if they have a cottage on the cover.  

It sounds silly,

 but I have always been like this 

since I was a 

little girl playing house.

 My original thought for art

 on the walls of the room

 was a possible garden 

with bright flowers and 

a small cottage down a country lane. 

 That was what my vision was, and 

when I saw these two prints 

I focused on the houses.

  If I had seen them first, 

I would have gone

 in a whole different direction and

 would have chosen 

a different color of paint and 

a more casual carpet.

I am not totally unhappy

 with the room as it sits now.

  It is clean and neat and comfortable and

 we are both happy 

with the new paint 

so we will live with it for awhile 

( but just until we get

 the credit card paid off) 

then those new pictures 

might end up in 

the dining room, 

a great match BTW,  

(my subconscious working again)   

and the horse print 

back to the library and 

we will be off 

on another decorating adventure and 

the pursuit

 to perfection.

Do you often have

 to eat crow? 

 Please say 

I'm not the

 only one!

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles