Oscar Night Dresses For Doors & Perfect Lighting

(No I didn't watch, I just looked up some galleries of what the women were wearing.)

I have an obsession with fabric. I become more obsessed when I see things like curtains so cheap and Tuesday Morning is my downfall:


An odd application to be sure and I am lucky that previous tenants here had painted all the doors and trim white because other apartments here (that I have seen) have the original stain (medium oak brown similar to the kitchen cabinets) but I am still hating the louvered door to the laundry room.

I shortened the valance that came with the 99¢ curtains by about 6 inches and I like it now. I don't see curtains used in this manner very often but it softens up the space tremendously.

Also, though I do have the overhead light on in the kitchen for this picture, I grabbed one of my canister uplights and placed it on the microwave temporarily so I can leave it on at night and reduce the need to turn the overhead light off and on.

I plan on getting the innerds for the other lamp I bought last August (the one on the left via the link) and putting that in there, painted black with either antique gold or bronze Rub N Buff. I already have a lamp shade I can use with it. I am totally loving the idea of putting a small lamp in a kitchen using only a 15 watt CFL bulb. Saves on energy and my eyes because that kitchen lighting is so institutional.

Anyhow, between projects that I show, I often go through a process before I decide what to do. The most recent project in the works is the awkward patio door in the living room:



Those are three curtain panels (identical fabric to the one in the kitchen), hung up on little rods that hang close to the wall because of that monster of a headrail for the vertical blinds.

Well, when the vanes (the vertical blind panels) are fully pulled back, you can see all kinds of nasty with the curtain tabs and the cheesy rods. So here I am in the process of deciding what type of valance to create. This is going to be a project that may not get done until next month but with the help of some fabric (black napkins from Target to cover pillows and the tan valances from Tues Morn I got several months back as a backdrop for the shelves to the right of my computer) I can start a process to see what my minds eye is thinking.

Thoughts:

Use the tan valances and put a black ribbon along the bottom. Tehe, I have electrical tape on it right now for the "feel".

Look for some basic black fabric.

Definately go from the 12" down to 9" in length. I can't raise anything because of the apartment's vertical blind hardware so doing much of anything else is out of the question. Move the blind rail back over to the left again so as to eliminate the overhang on the right side.

Note to anyone who decides to do something like take vertical blinds down from your rental, don't take the vanes out with the stem. You will find little plastic pieces called worm gears strewn about. Whoops.

Luckily I am very mechanically inclined but holy crap replacing each stem, vane along with the worm gears is going to be a tedious task. It's already an awkward project because the vertical blinds are meant for a 9' patio door and that door is 7' and some change. In all the years I sold windows and doors, being around the industry it's just a stupid, stupid door. They should have just put 6' doors in and called it a day. Anyhow, those vertical blinds are too wide for the stupid door making for a decor challenge.

The curtains truly soften the space and are much better than the 90s forest green panels I've been sporting. I've had them hung up for a while because I wasn't sure I was liking it because of the odd way it's set up to begin with. I had contemplated taking them back for a couple of reasons including financial but, I am going to attempt to stop smoking on the 15th or so. I don't have a choice unless I take those curtains back so...I am weighing my options here and I think having a cozy home is far better than (pardon me here) shitty lungs. I've done it before, let's hope I can do it again and I can look at my silly valance-in-progress to remind me why I am stopping.

I have other financial obligations I need to take care of too so the smoking's gotta go. I still need projects to do to keep me out of trouble but I do have friends that have helped me in the past that need to get repaid. The honeymoon is over with redecorating so the smoking needs to go and I can still repay debt yet keep myself from going insane. Besides, house stuff is much more fun than what I had been doing with my money in the past, drinking.

Okay then. Hope everyone has had a fine weekend.