Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Decorating Dilemmas Party...Round 4!

Welcome to the November Decorating Dilemmas Party! (If you're stopping by for Day #3 of 27 Days of Thankful, just click that link.)

Please read the rules for this party before linking your blog post up (rules at bottom of post). Thanks!

No one is a perfect homemaker.

I just know there are some of you reading this who have something in or around your homes that you've thought about fixing up or changing or trashing, but you just aren't sure how to begin.

I started this party over the summer to give bloggers a chance to visit each other and offer helpful suggestions on the various dilemmas we all face. Sometimes, just taking a picture of the offending area or item is enough to get my brain working. It is refreshing to hear what other people have to say when their opinions are voiced kindly.

So here's my problem for the month:
A wall.

A whole, entire wall in the Living room, otherwise known as "the place where T spends all his free time."

In a perfect dream world, that awful television would be transformed into a sleek, wall-mounted TV in the center of that wall, and a nice storage piece (with appropriate accessories atop) would reside beneath it.

But I live in reality, which states that a new fancy TV is not in the budget, and the TV we have is so enormously hideously large that it can only fit in that corner. I'm not sure what that dark DVD cabinet is doing there, except that perhaps it seemed like a good spot to put the telephone.

As much as I hate the TV and the little DVD cabinet, it's not what I want to focus on tonight. I'd love some help with that wall.

Who wouldn't want a precious baby like this to smile at them while they watch Fox News?
T has never once said anything, but I suspect that he'd prefer something different, as this is the room he spends every spare moment in when he's not working. And I'm okay with that. This room needs a change, and I'd like to start with that wall and then move on to pillows.

The center print on that wall is a scene from a fox hunt, and while T has done some hunting in his day, I've never seen him in jodhpurs or carrying a riding crop.

Any ideas?

Should I spray paint all the gold frames? What color? With the exception of the khaki walls and the white trim, the pieces in this room are dark:

See? Again with the gold!

I draw the line at animal heads and/or soccer posters on the wall, but I'd like to get some ideas to dress that wall up. I'd be okay with taking all the photos down, or even blowing up a family photo to put in that large wood frame in the center.

I just really can't go girly in here because poor T lives with three girls now and even the dog was is a girl. Thank you for your suggestions!

Now, it's your turn to share:

Remember, there is a Giveaway contest for participants! I'll leave the party open until 10 pm (ET) on Wednesday night. I'll announce the winner on Friday.

You could win this:

(I thought it looked like fun with Thanksgiving, especially the article mentioned on the front about the "Dos and Don'ts of Entertaining.")

Here are a few rules (I hate to be a stickler, but I've had some bloggers link up that didn't follow through the past few times):

1. When you enter your link, please enter the permalink to your specific party post, not your blog's homepage.
(You can do this by opening your blog, clicking on the title of the post that you want to link to, and then highlighting it to copy and paste here in MckLinky. If readers can't find the correct post on your blog, then you won't receive any feedback.)

2. Please give us a brief description of your post after your blog name.
For example, mine would read: Amanda @ Serenity Now (Wacked Out Wall)

3. *Please leave me a comment with a link to your post.*
This way, if McLinky hates me, dumps me, and ignores me, we can still all visit each other through the comments! Also, I like comments.

4. It would be great if you'd include a little link to this post when you join the party.
Just add it in somewhere within your blog's party post before you link up. That way your readers can join in the fun if they want to. Please double check to be sure that your links work after you sign up. If I don't see a link to THIS post (again, not my blog's home page, please link tothis specific post), I'll have to delete your link.

5. It won't be a party if we don't mingle!
Try to visit some of the other blogs, and remember to play nice. (If you notice you haven't received any comments, take a few minutes to comment on the other partygoers' posts, and be sure to tell them you are visiting from my party so they know to return the favor. That makes a successful blog party. Otherwise, I'm just hosting a big list of people's links, and that's no fun for anyone.)

Come as you are and don't worry about completing your project. Let's be real! We love to share our successes, so why should we balk at admitting we might have an area (or twelve!) that we need some help with!

Have fun, everyone!







post signature

21 comments:

  1. Hey there Amanda!

    Joining in on the party. Here's my link: http://quietfootsteps.blogspot.com/2009/11/foyer-window-treatment-dilemma.html

    I'm gonna think about your wall tonight as I'm totally sleep deprived after an early morning start today--not because of the baby, but because of my barking dog who woke up the baby much too early. :)

    Thanks for hosting again!

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  2. Thank you so much for the reminder comment!!! Here's my link to my After post: http://diaryofacraftaholic.blogspot.com/2009/10/crib-spring-makeover-and-staircase.html

    Thanks for hosting this fun party! It motivated me to get something done with my blank canvas. When I have more time, I'll give some thought to your wall. we're off to bed!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  3. Hey Amanda! I'm here with bells on!

    My link:

    http://nancywiebel.blogspot.com/2009/11/decorating-dilemma-party-round-4.html

    I would spray paint the frames black and replace the large picture with a shelf/shelves. The pictures are great and you could arrange them around shelves or a hanging cupboard of some sort.

    You could also spray paint them white which would match the trim. Also, it would be something lighter in the room since other pieces are dark.

    Good luck! I hope you continue the parties because I'll need help deciding what to hang where once we're done painting the living and dining rooms!

    Nancy

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  4. I don't have a dilemma to post this time around, but I'll try to offer some help.

    My suggestion would be maybe a large canvas in the center, you could either paint one yourself (I'm thinking a neutral, abstract design, maybe just a color wash) or use fabric to cover the canvas. Maybe topped with an iron scroll or something architectural. I like the family photos, although I would change the color of the frames to brown or black. Hope you get some more good ideas!
    ~Christy

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  5. I'm with Christy. I think you need something big, tall, and something on the floor. Something that balances the TV. Somthing(s) that nets out to be bigger than the TV. I think our designer friend would be raiding the house looking for bookshelves, armoirs, chests, big pictures, big mirrors. Then we'd try them out for a while.

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  6. I bet as soon as we clean our houses of all the gold...It will be the next BIG thing...hehe~

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  7. I like the idea of keeping multiple pictures on that wall but maybe print them a few of them in a sepia tone to bring out the color from the wall & use nice nice heavy frames to go around them. Although the one big family photo would look nice too, maybe with some wall sconces or small shelves with smaller layered frames near it. I think sepia tones with a few colored prints would be nice though.

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  8. I like the idea of a large family photo in the center. I've seen a review of a company that paints canvas portraits from photos; IIRC, the cost wasn't exorbitant. Costco Photo prints canvas enlargements, too. Then I'd keep the smaller portraits on either side.

    I've seen walls decorated with an arrangement of small frames, and it looks beautiful. I'm not confident that I could arrange them to look right, but YOU could!

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  9. Ok, I'm back. I like the idea of turning all the frames to gold to go with the detail in your sofa. I think it would be fun to make a collage of memoribilia of your family would be lovely. Photos and odds and ends that mean something to your family. And get several wood letters in the first letter of your last name and mod podge paper or paint them. You may want to pick your fabrics for your pillows first so that you don't get your wall done and then realize the fabric you love is a completetely different color scheme. You could also frame the fabric scraps from your pillows to add color.
    Anyways, those are just a couple ideas. Good luck! Can't wait to see your After!!

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  10. I'm a black-a-holic I paint all my frames black but recently I did some white ones and I really like it. Which ever way you go I would make all the frames a uniform color. You could slide that fox hunt print out and replace it with a pretty fabric and maybe put a monogram in the middle? That would lighten things up a bit. We have the same tv issue in our gameroom. It's a monster. If you're open to painting the furniture I bet that little table would look great heirloom white then distressed. Good luck! Thanks for hosting this party again it is helping me tremendously!!!

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  11. I'm joining your party for the first time :)
    I'm by no means a decorator...but, what if you set the TV on a sturdy buffet/table in the middle of the wall and accessorized "around" it. Lamps flanking either side, and incorporating your family shots in table frames and on the wall. Maybe add some filler greenery. Since the TV is the central focus of the room, play off of that.
    Either way, I'm sure you'll figure it out! Can't wait to see!

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  12. Here is my link: http://guncollectorswife.blogspot.com/2009/11/decorating-dilemmas-party.html

    Yea! I finally get to participate!

    I love your idea of blowing up a big family picture and arranging the girls pictures on either side of it. You should definitely paint the gold frames, white and black would both look good (personally I'm a fan of black frames, they are everywhere in my house, but that's just me). I also think you need something under the frames to "anchor them" to the space. You could have a medium-sized chest of drawers of like a sofa table. This would give you a place to put your DVS's and your phone too! (this months "Do it Yourself" magazine, has some great ideas about how to re-do sofa/console tables) Hope this helps!

    Kate

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  13. Stopping by but *darn it* if I can't think of what dilemma to post today! I have many, trust me! But I will party hop and check out/comment on everyone's b/c I love me some SERENITY NOW!

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  14. When we redid our basement, we tried to make it "guy-friendly" without making it look to "man-cave-ish," if you know what I'm trying to say...one thing we did was blow up some cool family photographs, (even one of my great grandmother and grandfather! so vintage!) and framed them in black and white. The black and white photos really look neat. And maybe some shelves would be good in that area?

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  15. maybe instead of the photos and smaller frames, you could find a bigger art piece or 2 or 3 co-ordinating pieces? Or if this is your main family photo area, then take out the art piece and just bring in more photos. Find a nice small book shelf to store the DVDs and / or other books etc. Or a dresser / cabinet with a little hidden storage?

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  16. I'm back!

    My first thought was putting a nice long but narrow table, think one of those sofa tables that goes behind the couch, on that wall. That would help ground the area so that whatever you hang doesn't look like its floating. Add a couple of fun accessories and a lamp or two...

    Then definitely paint the frames black.

    I like the idea of sepia toned family pictures.

    Hmm...just a thought that I just had, perhaps larger frames but put matting in to add a little more visual interest to the picture.

    You could also do this burlap covered canvas project I recently saw featured on Shanty 2 Chic. Link is below.

    http://shanty2chic.blogspot.com/2009/10/ashleys-burlap-wall-monogram.html

    I think that all I've got! Hope it helps at least a little!

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  17. Perhaps a console/sofa table against that long wall? One with legs and open space beneath, so it wouldn't compete with the TV. Then you could accessorize the top of the table with framed photos, candles, or whatever. To replace the hunting scene, I've seen where people buy a large canvas, then let the kids paint it (with your choice of paints) for a kind of modern art piece.

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  18. Hey Amanda,
    I'm sad I couldn't join this time around. I do have a couple thoughts on your wall though!

    I think the pictures are great (I love using pictures to decorate) but they seem small for the space and I think that is partly because there is so much blank wall below them. It's hard to tell how much floor space would be available for furniture right there. If it is a walkway, maybe you could put a narrow table on the wall below the pictures (or whatever you end up hanging on the wall) with some fun (but not too girly!) accessories. If there is more room, a chair would look nice and would help the DVD cupboard look less lonely.

    As for the frames, I would either paint all of them a fun accent color to give a little pop to the wall or paint the gold ones heirloom white and leave the middle one black.

    ~Heather

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  19. I think that you should move the hunt scene to another location in your home (or you could loan it to me :) ) and that that big wall to the left of your tv should be a huge collage of family pictures. You could frame old pictures from your side of the family and from T's side of the family and mix in pictures of your family. Black frames that coordinate would look great on that wall. Didn't you frame some things once with dollar store frames that turned out awesome?

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  20. A closed McLinky ? Garsh darn it ! I wanted to be in your club. Now I feel so alone.

    When's the next party? I've got plenty of dilemmas. Like my family room. Olive green couches. Blah brown everywhere. Something must be done !!!!!

    Kate

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  21. Hey Amanda - I'm really sorry I didn't tell my readers about your blog party earlier this week, but I did post a link to it today. I intended to post about it before the party started, but we've had an insane week here (my sister and brother-in-law and their two little girls moved in with us!). Hopefully some of my readers will go ahead and link to it anyways. I'll try to link to it again next time!

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