I have officially declared Fridays to be my house day! Cleaning, and/or decorating. I quickly tired of vacuuming today (it's not finished) and decided to start getting into doing some stuff around the house. There is so much I want to do in this place, but I have not allocated any time for it. When the kids are not at home I'm focussing on folio/ illustration pieces, jewellery or private commissions. Then outside of that is looking after kids, cooking, cleaning and all the other junk that goes with life.
I realised I hadn't actually allocated any time at all for doing the millions of things I want to do in the house, like sew cushions & curtains, paint walls, wallpaper, stick pretty bits of paper onto things, make light shades, make frames, rearrange stuff, declutter, etc, etc. Delegating these tasks is not an option because A. I am fussy. B. I want unique items for my home which usually mean quirky, handmade and expensive. & C. I can't find the things I want!! (Up your game Australia, we are so freaking boring and safe here! You just have to go and have a look at Anthropologie's homewares to see what I'm talking about. FFS.)
So, today I decided to give the mural in the kids room another layer of paint. This is where I'm up to with this project.
And while I'm talking about colouring up the house, did you see the kids cubby that we finished not too long ago? We are super proud, and the kids love playing in it.
A thrifted light shade got a really quick makeover with bits of fabric and an upcycled necklace. I wasn't too concerned of the finish of this so basically I just got lazy and cut fabric to fit and glued them over the existing fabric. Sing song voice: Cheating!
We added a panel of wood offcuts to one of the outside walls that we all made as a family. Although this sounds lovely in theory, overly eager impatient children and outdoor wood glue don't really combine to produce a relaxing activity.
The painted panel was created by the girls with help from two of their friends.
I just love colour, texture, and pattern in my home. I just want to add a crazy amount of stuff to my house. Stuff minimalism! My recent source of inspiration and motivation to get going again with the home decorating is this book, Crafting A Colorful Home by Kristin Nicholas. You can read more about this book through that link, but I'll just quickly say that it's pretty good! I love reading about her homes story, and the thinking behind the projects she's completed in her own home. It is inspirational and has lovely photos for my eyes to gobble up. I borrowed this copy from our local library, which I usually try to do before purchasing a book to see if it's purchase worthy. Purchase worthy? Tick!
So thanks for a lovely book Kristin, and I'll keep tinkering away on my colourful home, as it's a never-finished project and also my biggest art project of all time.
(I wonder what my husband will think of the 5 different multicoloured carpet idea I have for the stairs..?)
Jules :)
