The Rural Voice, 1998-02, Page 38Home Decorating
Imagination stretches a budget
By Patti Robertson
During the past year I had the great
pleasure of assisting a wonderful lady
of graceful age, wisdom and charm.
Her most spacious home was in the
final stages of a complete design and
decorating overhaul in preparation for
a large family reunion.
I was making certain that
everything was to her liking and
complete as she had envisioned the
final product, when my client coyly
remarked that there was yet one more
bedroom, she'd love to re -do ... as
she explained "I thought I'd just leave
it as is. It is rarely used now, but after
seeing everything else pulled together
and up to date, I'd like to get your
input."
With this we crossed the courtyard
and climbed the stairs above the large
garage to discover one of the
quaintest areas I've encountered in
some time ... angled, sloped ceilings,
a hardwood floor, dormer windows,
etc. "So," my client says, "what can
you do for $500?"
Five hundred eh? I needed time to
think! I understood perfectly that
we'd already invested a tremendous
amount of time and money. However,
being one to rise to a design
challenge, I was game to meet the
goal!
I started by taking stock of the
pieces that would be workable. We
had a great double bedroom suite
from the '40s which had been painted
a pleasant colonial blue, the dormer
windows were dressed in ample
pinch -pleated shorty drapes, there was
a "gun stock chair" in colonial blue
with a funky '60s hand -painted daisy
design. This completed our inventory
of "this stuff will work" pieces.
My first instinct was to enliven the
space by using a combo of soft,
cream -yellow tints. (This would work
wonderfully with our blues and allow
us to capitalize
on the navy,
blue and yellow
colour scheme
so in vogue at
present.) With
this in mind I set
out on a
shopping
excursion to find
a bed -dressing
to fit the
scheme. I lucked
out at WalMart,
where I
purchased a
"Bed in a Bag"
ensemble on
sale for $72. The ensemble included a
generous comforter, pillow shams,
and dust ruffle, which featured a deep
royal navy toned background
featuring a sunflower print in varying
tints of our selected wall colours.
Next I had the painter mask off the
walls, so that the ceiling and down
onto the walls to a depth of eight
inches was painted the deeper yellow
tone. Then the remaining walls and
trim were painted the lighter, co-
ordinated tint of our creamy yellow.
(The paint cost $90, the painter
charged $150.)
The budget was tightening up. 1
really needed to become inventive to
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34 THE RURAL VOICE
pull the job off!
A shopping trip to Zellers assisted
with my plans for accessories. I
managed to find some extremely
inexpensive framed poster art to
match our scheme and theme. I
selected two 8 x 10 pieces by Van
Gogh (First Steps and Chaumes De
Coxdeville). These cost $4.99 each.
The piece de resistance was Van
Gogh's "The Chair" 1888; in a 20 x
24 size for $9.99. Next I purchased a
round hide -a -table to work as a
bedside stand and a circular navy skirt
to dress it. The table was $13.99 and
the skirt was $21.99. A new cream
yellow lamp shade for the hobnail
glass boudoir lamp was purchased for
$9.99.
I headed back to my clients' to
rearrange and accessorize. I stenciled
a soft easy grouping of sunflowers
into each corner of the room. Next,
working freehand, I joined the floral
clusters with easy, meandering vines
and leaves (a very light hand was
administered with a sparseness of
colouration ... easy does it!).
I hung the prints, positioned the
bedside table and lamp. All was
coming together nicely, but the
dormer windows were a little lack-
lustre. A quick trip to White Rose and
I was armed with two bunches of silk
sunflowers and some eucalyptus at
$8.99 each. These I fashioned with
wire into swags which I fastened to
the center of each drapery rod,
allowing the navy drapery panels to
fall into graceful pleats on either side .
.. Voila!
Total bill at this point was $432.51,
taxes where applicable are included.
This of course does not take into
consideration gas, or the various odds
and ends which I provided to my
more than generous client as a "Thank
You" treat. The point is, we can create
an interesting, stylish space on a tight
budget with knowledgeable thrifty
shopping, leg work, a thought-out
theme and determination!
The bedroom, on completion, was
a delight to behold for both my client
and myself, and will be a cheerful and
fun room to spend a holiday in!0
Patti Robertson operates Classic
Interiors in Wingham.
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