by Roxanne -

Romantic Living Room Inspiration

This is in fact my 100th post on this blog. Amazing!

So I will use it somewhat frivolously posting romantic living room inspiration pictures.

Photo Pottery Barn

Photo Coastal Living
Photo Angie Hranowsky for Coastal Living
Photo Pottery Barn

Photo Pottery Barn
Photo Angie Hranowsky
Photo HIllaryThomasDesigns
Photo Apartment Therapy, Writer's Romantic Supper

These rooms have a few problems. What they are missing is a lived-in look. Except for the last one which is a bit too cluttered, mainly due to the textured rug and wallpaper. Unfortunately, these pictures tell me little about who might live in these rooms. For the most part, they are too sterile. Not very complex. But they are a start. Another problem is that the furniture is single purpose. Single-use items are not at all useful in our small townhouse.

Who lives in these rooms? Check out Catalog Living and read about Gary and Elaine who live there ;-D

Here’s what I like about these rooms – they have lots of light and a casual summer feel – appealing when living in Minnesota. Also I see textures and layers including off-white cotton throws, sheer linen window coverings, pillows, layered rugs including oriental rugs. These rooms are small, like mine. Medium, rustic wood tones and wicker provide some depth and texture along candles and of course, books.

Most of these elements I already have. Re-arranged, can I use what I have to incorporate these elements into my own home – but with a little more personality (i.e “pop”), depth and function? Plus, whatever I do, it will have to flow with the rest of the space and with other items I have. We’ll see.

You may also like Isn’t It Romantic?, Romantic Kitchen Inspiration, Romantic Bedroom Before & After, Romantic Dining Area Before & After.

by Roxanne -

Other Ways to Simplify

Photo Scienceblogs.com

More Lenten considerations . . .

What other ways could I simplify?

I am considering returning to a shorter (still attractive) hairstyle that will travel well and eliminate a hairdryer, hair spray, mousse, etc. Less time, less energy and less expensive.

What about make-up? So far, make-up every day of my adult life, I think. But in the summer, with sun and more color, healthy diet, more yoga and exercise — maybe I could use less, or no make-up??? Something to consider.

Pass along some of my books and CDs to others? This time last year I donated over 300 books and CDs – but I know I could revisit my bookshelves and find more. It’s always a challenge to hold things “lightly” – we merely steward them for others.

Work towards “zero waste” when entertaining or at gatherings.

Continue to try and use less chemicals, cleaners, water-based laundry soap and other products. Watch for products with minimal packaging.

Check front hall and linen closets for unused items? Reduce to one car? Walk more, drive less? Use the Light Rail more often?

What about how I use my resources? I spend, invest and donate. Each of these should support my values of justice for people and the environment. Basically, pretty simple.

These will be my tasks this spring and summer.

For those of you who may be moving or downsizing soon, take a close look at Miss Minimalist’s “400 Square Feet is the New Black.” Not for everyone, but everyone can find a useful idea here.

The room below will give you a sense for what 400 sq. ft. feels like.

You may also like Lent-Into the Desert, Simplifying Our Kitchen, Simplify, Simplify, The Richness of Simplicity and Adult Tree House.

by Roxanne -

Guest House To Go

Photo New York Times

Two more examples of small space living to check out today.

Think adding a guest house is expensive? Think again and this is NOT April Fools, but it is April fun!

See what Derek Diedricksen did that was creative and innovative and only $200. Derek was featured in the Sunday New York Times (Feb. 27, 2011). He used recycled materials and old junk to create playful tiny houses. He has four of them so far.

You can look at all of them in a slideshow here and read all about it in the article here.

Another interesting article on thoughtful, reflective, yet still beautiful small space living can be seen at “Diana’s Innermost House” here. This tiny house was built for the expressed purpose as Diana says, “. . . to make possible a simple life of reflection and conversation.”

You may also like Small Space Living-Boat Style and Adult Tree House.

Next, fun things for spring from the past . . . stop back and take a look.

by Roxanne -

Small Space Living – Boat Style

Photo Apt. Therapy

A previous post considered what it would be like to live in a tree house. But many of us dream of living on a boat. Here’s a 42 ft. boat that may fit your dream. Living on a boat would make the entire globe “local.” Like a turtle, your home goes with you, wherever you are.

Actually, because our true home is within us – our home actually does go with us wherever we are!

While most of us may not be able to actually live on a boat like this – we can look for the great ideas of boat-life living that make good use of small spaces.

Clean lines, comfortable fabrics, sky lights, dual purpose furnishings and multi-level storage are the order of the day here. Although, it seems to me that the cabinet knobs would be intrusive or poking. However, I don’t live on a boat, so maybe the knobs work better. Of course, the amount of stuff is kept to a bare minimum. How much stuff do we really need?

Have you ever lived out of a backpack or small pilot bag for an extended period of time? I have. You realize how little you really need to live comfortably day to day. Author Rita Golden Gelman lived out of a backpack for fifteen years and wrote about her experience in her fascinating book, Tales of a Female Nomad. Experiences and relationships filled her life rather than stuff and shopping.

Engage your creativity. What will move us out into the world? Living on a boat is fun to imagine, think about, dream about. Ahoy!

Next post: a fun but quirky example of small space living, micro houses!

Photo Apt. Therapy

You may also like Adult Tree House and Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.

by Roxanne -

Romantic Bathroom Before & After

Photo Mistral Soap

You may already know that my word for the year is romance. I’ve been watching for romance in my life, in the lives of others and in the world in general. Life or reality seeks to connect with us. There is a depth to reality that wants to reveal itself to us. Life continually tries to romance us. We can do the same. When we bring more romance into the world we bring depth to our lives, joy to others and more enjoyment to our own existence.

There are many ways to bring romance to life. But one of the easiest is to simply add a little romance to your surroundings. I have already done this in our bedroom and dining area. Now why not a room we use everyday – the bathroom? It makes life a tiny bit more luxurious. This is our ONLY bathroom, so any changes have a big impact. Just like the re-dos of the other rooms, I decided to use mainly what we already had elsewhere in our townhouse. This is not about replacing the perfectly good cabinet, sink top, lights, tile flooring or tub surround, even though I might want to. 😉

This room hadn’t seen any decorating attention for at least seven years. A more luxurious look was in order. I opted for a higher contrast ivory/cocoa/tangerine color combination. Our bathroom is adjacent to the bedroom so I wanted to use colors that wouldn’t conflict with the bedroom. These same colors are already present in the bedroom, but with less intensity. Another plus was that my existing bath towels (ivory and various turqoise shades) which are nice & soft and in good condition would still look good with the new color scheme. Afterall, I didn’t want to purchase all new towels.

As you know, luxury is a matter of choices – not of money. The glass vase with tropical flowers and a small print were moved from elsewhere in the house. French soaps and incense were placed in a bowl. The only new items were the satin finish paint ($16.99 on sale at Sears), the ivory jacquard shower curtain ($10 TJ Max) and the ivory cotton loop rug ($9 IKEA).

Post Script 3-22-11: Over the years, I’ve always used Sears Easy Living paint in every home I’ve had. It covers almost always in one coat. It’s durable, scrubable, inexpensive and doesn’t fade. They custom mix to match anything AND hurray – it’s also very low VOC at 32g/liter, well below Consumer Report’s limit of 50 for a low VOC designation.

Here’s the ho hum before –

Here’s the more romantic and inviting after –

Photo R. Meshar

What do you think? Candles, French soap and a long, hot soak – here we come.

You may also like Romantic Bedroom Before & After and Romantic Dining Area Before & After.

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