Anyway, the other night I asked Kyle what is holding us back from keeping our house neater and generally making it feel more lived in. We came up with a few answers: rugs, art, curtains, and motivation. Since he's now working again - even if unofficially - we are feeling a little more optimistic (check, motivation!), and decided we can allow ourselves to spend a little bit toward the other three solutions.
We ordered a cream-colored shag rug from JC Penney and got a great deal - under $180 including shipping for an 8x10! I think it will be a nice contrast against the pine floors upstairs, and will be oh so nice to step onto when getting out of bed on chilly mornings!
I also found these prints at allposters.com for the wall in the living room behind the couch. I love arts & crafts style art and furnishings, and these fit that as well as the botanical theme I am going for in that room. At just $16.99 each and 20% off, they were a great deal too! Now I just have to dig up that Michael's coupon for 50% off framing and we'll be in business.
Finally, we hired a lady to make some ceiling-mounted roman shades for our bay window. These will solve all the problems that window has posed, provide privacy yet still allow light, and hopefully, look beautiful! Also, Margie is going to make drapes for the normal window in the room in the same fabric to save us a few bucks. And, I may get a sewing lesson as a bonus! Here is the fabric I chose - it goes on sale this Friday at JoAnn - wish me luck that it isn't discontinued like the last one!
