House Envy

February 5, 2010 · 25 comments

I have it BAAAAAAAD!

House Envy — (definition according to moi)

Extreme envy of other people’s houses, bedrooms, toile patterns, bathrooms, claw-foot tubs, kitchens, farm sinks, and general color schemes. Also includes envy of outdoor spaces including (but not limited to) landscaping, vegetable gardens, raised beds, flowering trees, and porches. Also includes envy of decorative items such as McCoy pottery, Homer Laughlin platters, white ironstone pitchers, red transferware, Staffordshire dogs, antique furniture and frames, and mercury glass.

Yeah– that’s the disease I have. And, it ain’t pretty.

If you stopped by my house today, you would have NO clue as to my design style or the decorating visions I have dancing in my head. No, instead you would see mismatched curtains (hung incorrectly despite my nagging to Hubby about the problem), mismatched china, empty frames, some country accents, some Asian accents, some art deco items. . . the list goes on. There isn’t a clear direction for ANY part of our home — which is why I’m always embarrassed when people come for a visit. Instead of enjoying their company, I spend my minutes and hours worrying they’ll notice all of the flaws and “ugliness” that I see.

(Example 1: My living room. Blah di blah blah blah)

Need visual examples of what I’m craving and wanting for my home?

Take a look at this kitchen, found at A Country Farmhouse.

Uh huh — that’s her REAL, working kitchen. Not the carefully staged fabrication of a magazine. Her. Real. Kitchen.

I want it all, but especially that GORGEOUS farm sink and her open shelving. LOVE it!

As far as color goes — I’m all over the map. I love, LOVE the look of white on white and neutrals in a room. Something along the lines of this . . .

(I believe this picture is from House Beautiful . . . not sure. I found it on a blog. A blog written in Swedish. At least, I think it was Swedish. It looked like Swedish. Or, at least what I’ve always thought the Swedish language looks like. There is a Swedish language, right?)

LOOK at that floor! LOOK at all of the light. LOOK at the built-ins. LOOK how everything is seamless and calming. Ahhhhhhhhh.

But, I also love color. Celery Green. Robin’s Egg Blue. Sage Green. Periwinkle Blue. Poinsettia Red. Yeah, love color — just a little intimidated by it.

I’d love to have the confidence to pull either of these looks off (as shown in an article on The Inspired Room, one of my favorite “home blogs”):

(Coastal Living)

First of all, how CUTE is the mix of those dishes with the more traditional flowers and faucet? I love it — love that blend of spunky fun and classic lines.

(This Old House)

Second — check out those cabinets. I adore the look of painted cabinets — especially when mixed with white cabinets. Believe or not, I have the paint that I want to use for the lower cabinets in my kitchen. I’m just too chicken to actually commit to the project. Yes, I claim it — I’m chicken.

What other projects do I have planned but haven’t completed? Hmmm . . . . .

Well, there’s the gorgeous round, walnut table that I want to paint black. . . and the eight ugly (but stable) YELLOW dining chairs that also need to be painted. I want to paint them, but I don’t want to sand and prime (which is the reason THAT project hasn’t begun). Mmmmmm — I suppose I could just look for a fabulous table cloth. Of course, that doesn’t solve the problem of the yellow chairs. I’d show a picture of those, but they’re in the garage. The garage is Hubby’s domain and I can’t vouch for the state it is in.

And, there are the two vintage “His and Hers” chairs I inherited from my grandmother. One is country blue velvet and one is a green and gold velvet stripe. I have a gorgeous oatmeal chenille for the blue chair and an AWESOME green leaf pattern fabric for the green chair.

Yes — I have the fabrics. In a closet. Ready to be cut by little ol’ intimidated me.

Then there’s the woodwork in my living room. I’ve talked about this before here. It’s dark. Pretty, but dark. I want to repaint everything a creamy white. The men in my life are against this idea. And, because I’m (as we’ve already discussed) a chicken, I haven’t stood up to them. Sigh.

Don’t even get me started on my backyard. Or my bedroom. Or my living room.

My case of House Envy is just too much sometimes. Guess I should do something about it . . . instead of waiting time drooling over blog pictures (and spending time whining on my own blog).

So, who wants to baby-sit The Little Lady and Mr. Boy so I can get something done? You know . . . before I talk myself out of it.