A Dilemma

[Grauntie Mag]

My lounge. That’s my dilemma. Here I sit once again, all prepared for Marvelous Mark the decorator who is once again digging me out of a hole. The first colour was not right, not my fault. Second colour still not right but didn't dare say as OH chose and insisted it was ok. I have now confessed how I HATE the curtains I chose (expensive), and the wall colour. Honestly, it looked like an old people’s home, all it was lacking was some wipe clean chairs 🙄. I obviously couldn’t see the bigger picture for some reason. In an effort to brighten things up I bought a Persian rug. The change was magical but the curtains had to go. I was expecting to get it in the neck from all directions but everyone has been so nice. Decorator giving up part f his Sunday, ( I have thanked his lovely wife), the curtain shop proprietors who have given us a very unexpected deal on what ever we choose, and himself who has been remarkably pleasant about it all. It has just about restored my faith in human nature. Fingers crossed,

[Oma]

Grauntie you would not settle with it the way it is so far better to get it sorted now ,

When we painted our diner /kitchen a few years ago I just couldn't get the shade right , I have always had white but I decided I wanted a pale lemon , we painted it 4 times and it still wasn't right , at the finish we had to buy the palest we could get and mix it with white ,
I was even getting up during the night to look at it ,
Its back to white now ,
Maybe hubby has been ok about it as in secret he didn't like the curtains and colour either
Could you maybe sell the curtains to reap a few pound back ? then it wont seems so expensive

[Daisy]

GM, if I remember rightly when you were moving you had a million and one decisions to make, so don't be hard on yourself. Colours look different when you put them on the wall - not like they did in those little colour sample square, or even those little tester pots. I'm glad it's all working out ok, though. Will you post a picture when it's finished?

Mark is well named - giving up part of his Sunday.

Oma - I once tried to get a pale lemon colour for a room (can't remember which house, let alone which room!) and gave up - nothing looked right.

[ZIZI]

Oh dear GM. We are refurbishing our lounge but luckily, and I am touching wood as I type this (that is difficult I can tell you) we agree quite well in what should happen. We hve always had this knack of seeing the same thing and knowing it will fit. No major disasters have befallen us except where we both wanted something that is unaffordable. I have been worried that when the chairs all come (2 x bucket striped and 2 x next regency sort with footstools) the sittin room will look like a doctors waiting room but we will just have to work around it. We will see. Good luck with yours

[Oma]

Zizi it will depend on the placing of the chairs and I'm sure you wont be placing them in a line

[Nanto2girls]

Glad you are getting it sorted GM. If you had left it as it was, it would have niggled away at you.

[ZIZI]

Oma I might do that just for a laugh to see what he does one day when he is on shift and I am here on my own........

[Daisy]

Zizi - your doctor's waiting room must be much better furnished than ours!

It's good you both agree - OH and I have totally different tastes - I like modern and minimalist, OH likes antiques and clutter.

[ZIZI]

I have a Victorian two tier table which husband has always hated and which I refuse to consign to the junk shop. It isn’t in the greatest of conditions but it belonged to my great grandmother. We have had a conversation today and agreed that we will try to fit it in the sitting room along with my grandpas Windsor Chair which was originally One of a pair. I know he isn’t keen but if it doesn’t work I will find somewhere else to put them. The ta le has mostly been standing neglected in the hall with a plant on it and the chair is in our bedroom with cushions and hats on it. The chair comes out at Christmas usually but I would like both pieces to be part of my new sitting room.

Oma I remember the lemon dilemma. I cannot believe that after all of that you went back to white!

GM I mentioned to husband that once I had cleaned the carpet (dark cream/beige) which has been thoroughly walked on by workmen I would like to buy a good rug but he is not keen for the very reasons you are speaking of. This is partly because I did the same as you when we had our house, everything looked wonderful once we had decorated and then I spent a huge amount of money on a lovely rug and the whole look was trashed. The cats liked the rug a lot (we had five cats in those days) and liked it so much that, even though it was expensive, we put it in the furthermost shed in the back garden which was their nest if they couldn’t get in to the house at night. Spoiled cats or use what?

Ultimately we are sitting here in a little camp site and have decided that we will sit back and wait until everything is here and decide what next to do. We have two 120 year old chapel chairs which we will paint to match the room as well. I love those chairs, we have the chapel table in the garage and I wanted to bring it home but husband felt it would be too big, it wont but I am not going to argue with him about it, well not now anyway....

[Grauntie Mag]

Oma, it has been keeping me awake and I have been in here in the night trying to work out a compromise. I don't think we will get much for the curtains if anything but I will be glad not to look at them. The next decision is whether to have blinds or curtains again. 😬 Daisy I will post a pic if it looks ok.
Nan2 you are absolutely right.
Zizi, your furniture sounds intriguing. Shame about the rug though! OH was all for dumping the rug in favour of the curtains when it is the very thing that gives the room some life! Oh well, roll on tomorrow.

[ZIZI]

GM rug was about 23 years ago so doesn’t matter anymore. Husband likes everything matching and I like a mixture. Truth is that one way or another I generally get what I want even if I have to wait a while and sneak things in (spoilt brat or what?)

[Plantaholic]

I am very pleased with my sitting room now curtains are up, I have very pale yellow walls which looks good with my dark oak furniture.

[Nana]

Grauntie I can sympathise with your dilemma. Since we got a new settee & matching chair OH bought me a deep red leather relaxer chair. The room doesn't gel at all now. I need to do something, even if it's just to re-arrange the furniture. You've done the right thing , (IMHO) as you wouldn't settle with it, especially as you spend time in their daily. Hope you will be happy with the look you choose next time.

[Mimi]

Granuntie when we moved here we had 5 rooms and a hall to decorate and the two bedrooms and bathroom were just ‘ slap anything on the walls ‘ in an effort to make it brighter.
For 4 years I hated our bedroom, it would grind me down even though we had spent a lot of money on it.
Eventually I got around to sorting it out. I have gone from horrible wishy washy blue walls with brown ( yes brown) curtains to cream walls with one wall in a sage green colour. Lamp shade on the bedside table match the ceiling one, pale green curtains drape the wooden blinds at the two windows, curtains are tied back with small green and cream beads . There is a canvas print of a tree on the wall, it gives the impression that you are standing below it, looking upwards.
Blended with the pine furniture is a wicker basket with a leafy plant in it.

You have to get the room right or it will niggle you , it will irritate you. Sometimes we have to dismiss the cost (if able) and the effort and just to to hell with it , I am not putting up with it . Don’t wait as long as I did.

[Gemini]

Grauntie, I hope you are happy with your room in the end so you can enjoy it.
It's not a good feeling when you feel you have made the wrong decision. If you felt it looked like an old people's home, changing things was certainly the right choice

Our spare room walls are baby blue, not at all the shade of blue we chose. It bugs us both As it is spare room, we have never bothered to repaint - and 2 baby boys have joined the family since!
If DD3 talks about starting a family, I am painting the walls baby pink