Decorating Envy

My name is She of the Sea, and I have decorating envy.

This is a problem that attacks me every once in a while.  Yesterday, I was at the house of a civilian friend.  They have lived in this house for more than 5 years and intend to be there for a long time.  And it is decorated beautifully.  Not fancy schmancy decorated, but it is obvious that effort has been put into making this a warm and comfortable home.  All the rooms are painted a color that makes sense.  All the windows have proper window treatments.  There is no extraneous furniture, or empty spaces calling out for something to fill them.  It is a home of someone who doesn't move all the time.

I know there are military spouses who pull into a new home, paint, sew and do their magic instantaneously.  I'm not one of them.  We've been here for 18 months and I still have those disposable paper blinds on most of my windows.  (Courtesy of the previous occupants, even.)  And with orders expected soon, I'm poorly motivated to start sewing now.  There are rooms that need painting.  There is senseless furniture stuck in odd places.

I long to live in a home that looks nice.  I'm sure I could do it, but it seems a poor use of both time and money to knock myself out making this house just so when next year is going to bring another house, and a few years later, who knows?  I don't know if it is realism or a defeatist attitude, but I know I'm not alone.

(And if any of you are studying interior design and/or curtain making, I live in Maryland.  And I cook.)

Comments

[Angela]

Candles, family photos, and throw blankets/pillows..those are my fixes for making a house look more homey for the few months I'm in one.

[To the Nth]

I'm not an instant decorator, either, and I feel a little guilty about it (as I wrote in an entry earlier in the year: http://tothenth.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/decor-in-the-theme-of-guilt/ ). We've also been in our house for a year and a half (by far the longest we've lived anywhere since getting married) and I still have tea towels taped up in our bedroom windows instead of curtains. We're supposed to find out whether we're staying here or moving elsewhere for my husband's fleet squadron in March, so I don't think I'll be able to muster up any kind of motivation to change things until we have orders in hand.

[Sarah]

I am not a decorator either. My mom's house looks like it could be in a Country Living, and mine just looks plain. I sometimes feel like I should paint and put more effort in from the beginning, but we've never lived anywhere longer than 3 years (and sometimes as short as 5 months), so the motivation to do this is nil.

[Duke DREAM Campaign]

Go to dreamcampaign.duhs.duke.edu/military to see what Duke University Medical Center is doing to support the military!

[kirsten]

you don't want to know how long we've lived here (let's just say DH is about to have his second deployment/3rd assignment of 12 months or more since we moved here) and yet my house is unpainted too.

We were only going to live here 3 yrs tops when we moved in, so it didn't make sense to paint. Then I was solo, and it was too much hassle with kids, then we were busy doing all the family things we wanted to do while he was gone, then he was gone again, then we were planning on moving . . . and now we're still here and the walls are still white. I do have blinds and/or curtains on every window (some thanks to the landlord) and the same Wall-es that I put up when we moved in and I thought 3 yrs was a lifetime away.

Yet my civilian friends talk about remodeling this or that and I think 'who cares, it's only a house'.

[Jeri]

I too have suffered from this frustration. Over the years we have lived in several white cracker boxes on base.
I have studied loads of mags to fix such a problem.
First, you have to have a plan and some direction. It's hard to start when you have no idea where you are going.

Since most housing is white and you aren't allowed to paint, you need some color to make it seem like your home whether it's in Montana or Florida. I try to keep my color palette consistent so I never end up with stuff I won't use because it does go with anything else. I try to buy everything in that palette also so it can be moved from room if needed.

Next is furniture. I always buy my wooden furniture in the same color family if possible. It lends continuity.
The upholstered peices should be in long wearing dark to medium shades in neutrals or your palette colors. It's really easy to change up a room if all the furniture is neutral because you add the color with the accents like curtains, candles, throws, pictures and dust catchers. All of these should be your favorite colors so you won't ever get bored with them.
I also buy our rugs in these colors.

I recently bought 3 end tables with backs you can diplay. They are in the living room now, but in the next house they might go in a bedroom. Since the backs are as pretty as the fronts it won't matter.
I also tend to buy those things in multiples so I can use them for different sized spaces.They would have worked just as nicely together lined in a row and give the appearance of a long dresser when they are just three smaller pieces. Size is important. You can't get a queen size bed upstairs in Europe sometimes. An 8 foot canopy bed may not fit in a six and half foot tall room. All important and possibly expensive mistakes. Size does matter. (I have a huge shrunk in storage.)

Windows are one of my favorite ways to add color to a room. Our present house has very small and few windows.
The master bedroom has a window on one wall really close to the end. I hung curtains the width of the whole wall to disguise the wonky placement and add some beautiful color and softnes to by boudoir. My husband loves it and my neighbor was stunned and is doing hers next week.

My best advice is dream big on paper, and then see where you can compromise. Think of the obsticles to your plan and see what you could do to overcome or even make it the focal point of the room. I try to pretend I'm doing someone else house like I'm the decorator but with a modest budget.

Iv'e heard of color palettes for military houses in red white and blue. Can be very cute. I personally like fall colors because there are so many-terra cotta, green, browns, plum, and golds.
These colors envelope a room in warmth and homeiness. You might prefer the colors of the sea-blue,aqua, and of course sand. I love these too beause they are peaceful and make your space actually look bigger which is always a plus. The sand in this palette keeps the space from being too cold as well.

Decorating is supossed to be fun and it makes the space Yours. No matter where you are, you need to mental lift a beautiful functional space can give you. It keeps me from feeling blue and wanting to escape. Never under estimate the power of your surroundings. It will make your family time seem so much more peaceful and enjoyable.

[Jessie]

I'm not an interior decorator, but I LOVE HGTV-especially Decorating Sense, Design on a Dime and Freestyle (all the low budget shows)!

I love to play with my home (no matter where it is) and put my mark on it. Right now GI Joe and I are in a place where we can't paint the walls (and he doesn't really care). Like Jeri said there are many other ways to add color.

I have neutral furniture and I add color by using accessories. I love the contemporary look, but right now my place is Hand-Me-Down Chic!

Decorating should be fun, and there is no need to paint, sense most of us here don't last in our places real long and some landlords req that you re-paint it white before you move.

SotS I would say put the furniture where ya want it and make sure you have things on the walls that reflect you and your family and it will feel homey and nice then. It is the little things, the personal touches that I think make a house a home.

[Tootie]

I get decorator envy, too. Our homes are always bare-boned decorated. And like you, I know we'll be moving soon enough, so I'm not making the effort to decorate it anymore. Maybe one day my house will be decorated to the nines. Until then, I'll pretend that the minimal look is just my style ;)

[Marine Wife]

It isn't just the decorating (of which I suck at), but the furniture, too. It took more than 10 years of marriage and 2 kids before I started to feel like our home didn't look like we'd just gotten out of college with all the uncoordinated hand-me-down and make-do furniture. We've still got a long way to go, but I figure that's what retirement is for.

[tankerswife]

I'm one of those instant decorators. I think it stems from all the white institutional walls of base housing, with a 4 yr respite when we lived off base in Germany. Wow, our German-Italian landlords were NOT afraid of color.

Of course, now that we've been here for 5 yrs (longest I've ever lived anywhere in my life), and I finally have my house the way I want it, we're moving next month. I'm sure you all agree, moving is preferable to having DH home for good. So now, I have to deal with saying good bye to it all, not to mention, I have to pack up all this crap!?!

[airforcewife]

Oh, She of the Sea... You've seen my house!

Minimalist is a real improvement over "Middle Eastern Applebees." Much more grown up.

But I do have to admit, the Saddam poster in the dining room causes some most excellent double takes when people first come in my house. :)

[GBear]

I'm so into this! My folks were military too. So, I blame my lack of decorating skill on my parents! I've perpetuated it by marrying military. But I think, deep down inside, I just don't care that much. It's a house, four walls and heat (which is SO important when you have assignments north of the Mason-Dixon line!). It's the people and having my things about me which makes me happy. I learned while stationed in Hurricane alley, that the things are disposable too!

I keep telling myself that when we retire and 'settle' that I'll be better. I seriously doubt it though. I hate sewing, I don't care about 'upgrades' unless they make my family happier and closer and I can't do color after growing up military. The guilt would kill me!

Sigh....I'm resigned to not ever being featured in Country Living.