I love these southern doors. They whisper to me of grace and charm. Sweet tea under a gazebo. Crinolines and petticoats. Rocking chairs and porch swings.
I want to bring some of that feeling to our new house. I know it is a rental and our ability to make changes will be limited. How can I make small (inexpensive) changes that will make our new place have the feeling that I want it to have? Also, knowing that we will probably only be there for a year, how can I make changes that I can take with me when we move on? My mind keeps whirring about. I wish I had taken photos of the new space so that I could be planning better but I won't see it again for another 2 weeks.
My good egg and I have been enjoying planning her new space in the new house. She is wanting a room that feels like she "has walked into a black and white movie". Yesterday we went bargain hunting at our local thrift shops. Score! We got a duvet cover and pillow case for $10!!!! We are still on the hunt for the perfect bedside tables. She wants vintage so we are going to keep looking at the thrift shops until we find just the right thing. Then we will paint it. These are the kinds of inspiration that we are working from:
all images courtesy of http://www.housetohome.co.uk/
We already have permission to tear up the god awful ugly green carpeting in her room. There is hardwood underneath that looks to be in pretty good shape. We have been repainting all of her current furniture with a glossy black. Yesterday we went to Anthropologie to find new knobs for her vanity. They had some very pretty clear glass ones on sale and they are going to look fabulous!
There is hardwood elsewhere in the house as well that we are going to expose by tearing out decades old carpet. We will most likely be painting all the walls white. I like how our artwork pops against white. And, goodness knows, we have a lot of art. Mostly pieces by Sheila Norgate and Maarten Perera with some of my own thrown in.
The landlords have basically given us carte blanche so long as we keep everything clean and presentable. Since the house will either be sold in a year (and I would guess it will be torn down if that happens) or we will continue renting it, we are allowed to do whatever we like. The only catch is that the landlords aren't going to pay for the paint etc to fix it up since they don't know what will happen and don't want to put money into a house that might be torn down 12 months from now. It makes sense to me. And I like that we have more freedom than we have ever had before in a rental. We can really put our stamp on it. My goal is to make it our own while spending the least amount of money possible. Redo on a budget!
You're lucky that your landlords are generous enough to allow you to decorate your space as you wish. Well, decorating is one of the exciting things about moving in. I also love visiting thrift shops. They are usually treasure troves of great vintage finds.
Posted by: Shaunda Devins | January 23, 2012 at 07:14 AM