Girls Write Out
Wednesday, August 08, 2007

I’m decorationally-challenged. Couldn’t tell laminate from hardwood if you paid me. Granite from formica? No idea. The difference between a Van Gogh and a paint-by-numbers by my granddaughter (hey, she’s good, okay?)—clueless. Hand me some carpet squares and I’ll use them for welcome mats.

I mean, come on. They want me to figure out what paint color to use in my living room by looking at a sample smaller than a credit card? Please.

The truth is I can go into Pottery Barn, Rustic Hutch, any of those beautiful home decorating stores, get inspired out the wazoo, buy a bunch of stuff and once I get it home--I have no idea what to do with it. I’ve perused Pottery Barn magazines, home decorating books, you name it, but to no avail. It’s just not in me.

Now for those of you who can transform a room with a throw pillow, I’m happy for you. Just don’t walk in a dark alley at night alone. I’ve been known to go crazy with paint cans.

I should live in a sod home. Dirt floors, no-nonsense walls, small rooms with logs, that suits me. Stuff a few cracks with chewing gum, and I’m good to go.

Our son and his wife are visiting this weekend. They just bought a new home and they also purchased some software that allows them to “decorate” their home on the computer to see exactly how something looks BEFORE they go to the expense of actually putting it in their home. It even shows up in 3-D. Amazing. Next thing you know, a life-size Martha Stewart will be sewing curtains in our living rooms.

I’m excited about looking at this program. If it’s as good as they say it is, I’m getting it. Though I doubt I’ll be able to decorate on a computer, either.

Maybe I should just give up and live in a cave.
Diann Hunt  
posted at 8:10 AM  
  Comments (13)
 
 
Delicious Delicious
13 Comments:
At 10:37 AM, Blogger Colleen Coble said...

Oh I have seen those programs! They look fun.

One think I do with paint is to take home a whole stack of the color chips I like and tape them together on the wall in a large enough area to tell if I'll like it.

But I'm decorate challenged too. LOL

 
At 10:59 AM, Blogger Jaime Wright said...

I've been going to paint my office for two years now ... the procrastination is terror that I will paint it some disgusting color. I painted my kitchen walls brown and people stare at them like the walls collided with a mud fight. I dunno. I thought it looked cool. Maybe I'll just stick with white! :)

 
At 11:01 AM, Blogger Colleen Coble said...

Oh I love brown walls! My daughter in law painted her kitchen a med brown taupy color and with the white trim, it looks awesome! I hadn't realized how great a color that really was until I saw it with my own eyes.

 
At 11:11 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

Sounds pretty, Jaime!

I have yellow, yes, YELLOW, walls in my living room. I used that wooly method and thought it would be a pale yellow, but I got carried away and filled in too many gaps. Now when I get up in the morning and walk in there, the room screams, GOOD MORNING!!! I just hate that before I've had my coffee.

 
At 12:28 PM, Blogger Southern-fried Fiction said...

I keep finding more similarities, Di. ;o) I'm exactly the same.

Oh I try ... hard. But I always have one too many flowers in the arrangement - hey if 4 look good, 5 should look better, right?

I told Terry we should go for the mountain vacation cabin look. You knwo the one ... worn out sofa, warm cozy fireplace. That'll work!

 
At 3:19 PM, Blogger Kathy Gillen said...

I don't know, missing out on all those paint mistakes seems too "Pottery Barn-ish". It took four different cans of yellow paint before I got my master bedroom right. I think I enjoy the perfect butter color all the more for my mistakes.

Kathy
www.lessonsfromthelaundry.com

 
At 3:44 PM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

LOL, Ane! That's so me! Hey,if this looks good, this will look better!! Too funny!

Good point, Kathy! That is how we stumble on the good colors, isn't it? We have a caramel-colored bedroom and love it!

 
At 4:30 PM, Blogger Jaime Wright said...

I'm looking for a color to compliment my chocolate brown kitchen walls. My living butts off the kitchen and both rooms are open so I can't have clashing colors. The rooms are smallish too, (we have more of a cottage!). Suggestions??? :) I was thinking yellow, but now you scared me Diann! :)

Colleen, your daughter-in-law has great taste! :) lol

 
At 4:31 PM, Blogger Jaime Wright said...

Let me amend my post above - this is how it SHOULD have read:

"my living ROOM butts off the kitchen ..."

Sounded a little freaky to me! :) LOL

 
At 5:35 PM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

ROTFLOL, Jaime!!

What if you went with a caramel in the living room? Our bedroom has caramel walls with gold, brown and cranberry accents. Very pretty. You could paint the trim white (that's what we did in the bedroom, love it!).

Then again, remember I'm decorationally-challenged.

 
At 8:25 PM, Blogger Andrea said...

We are putting the finishing touches on a bathroom. It went from a lavender wallpaper to coral sunset paint with orange sherbet trim. It is NOT as awful as it sounds. They are more peachy than orange. It is bright but not overwhelming. My husband and I have gone to that room several times to turn off a light only to discover it is just brighter in there now!

I am awful with colors as well. I can't picture in my head how things are going to look. Im a little afraid of color but decided Im tired of white! So I ventured into a brave new world!

 
At 10:26 PM, Blogger Kristin said...

I have yellow and red walls (cranberry colored). Clearly, I'm not your Pottery Barn girl. I think it's more Viva la Kristin!

 
At 4:16 PM, Blogger Crystal Laine said...

I've done this for lots of my friends--helped to do the walls. (ha) They always seem happy when we are done. I love choosing paint colors--if only we all lived closer.

One thing you need to do is decide what kind of feeling you want in a room. The other is a flash of your personality/taste/style. And finally, you need to know whether you want "warm" or "cool." (And what kind of light you get also affects this.)

If I had another profession to do and a life to live over, I'd definitely want to do this kind of work.

But my own home? The one I live in now? It's EXTREMELY masculine. I have a few of my own touches, but it's a man's world there. Sigh.

Love that show, "Get Color" where she puts out a tray of things in colors and helps people find their "color." Fun!

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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