Friday, May 8, 2015

THE HOUSE DOCTOR PART FOUR PREPARING FOR A LIVELY SUMMER

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)


I did so LOVE the spring look that had evolved at our home by the closing of spring this year, and even felt a little sad and challenged about packing it all up.  I had become used to it and it made me happy every time I walked through.

It felt like Spring had reached a point of perfection; but nothing gold can stay forever, and I’m sure by Fall, Summer will have reached a point of perfection too…..so here goes, on with the transition!

Out with the red, white and blue - what a contrast!  Quite a change!



Both looks could be quite cheerful and comfortable, but I was going for more of summer and less of spring!  This:

Became this:


And several other changes began to take place:


I usually wait until after Derby Day and Mother’s Day to begin to transition our house from the lovely, more formal, fresh and bright spring greens and soft and pretty pastels into the more casual and comfortable deeper, darker greens of summer and deep reds of Pentecost.  I chose to start a little early this year.  

Now with the fast approaching days of summer we go from elegant, spacious and slightly formal to cottage-cozy, laid back and comfortable casual.  I always want a more relaxed, laid back feeling in the house which will hopefully match our life styles during the summer months.

 
It is a season that easily blends it’s qualities.  These same colors used for Pentecost work well when we arrive at the time for the patriotic reds, whites and blues of Memorial Day.   The patriotic things feel so festive, yet un-formal.  They continue the Pentecost message with the way they speak of freedom and growth of a Godly nation.  

They also lend themselves with the blends of more shades of the blues and some mixed beiges to the beach feeling I like to mix into it all.  





These beach decorations and colors then go so well with more red, white and blue when we once again show our patriotism on Independence Day.



When you set your home with this atmosphere, you get the feeling of a constant on-going picnic.  It is the time of the year to concentrate much more on the yard and the outside living areas of the home.  We stay beach-worthy inside and outside right through the end of August when things will once again take another transition and total change of colors in honor of fall in September. 




This year I’m starting early, right BEFORE Mother’s Day.  I’m going to let May, June, July and August just blend with slight changes.  I have pulled out the basics and I’m setting my goals for some new improvements and fresh ideas this summer. I have a list of the things I would like to aim to accomplish in my home before the end of August.  I'll share a few of them with you here.  Pray that I get at least HALF of them done!

I want to plant a thriving spice garden in my kitchen window.  When this gets done I'll use these spices to make fresh new summer recipes.


I need to make the entrance to the house fit the season that we are going through.

I would love to re-purpose several pieces of old un-useful-for-the-moment furniture.  I want to paint some smaller pieces with a patriotic flair (only to be used in the appropriate seasons.)

I am hoping to be able to revive some of my outdoor areas – they need a lot of tender loving care this summer.   They have been long neglected while we worked on some inside remodeling.   Places like the back yard deck, the grilling area at the downstairs back of the house and the screened porch just off our master bedroom.
It would be fun to incorporate more plants, those of the “eating” kind and those of the “just pretty” kind into planters and containers all over the yard and decks of the house.

I am STILL cleaning out the storage building and garage - an on-going project that will continue through the summer.  The garage may have more priority - since it is cooler in the summer months.


I’ve always dreamed of having a little secret garden to the back of my house that wraps all the way around one side of my house.  I want to lay out the master plan for that this summer and plant a few of the basics and create a few beginning gardening projects in that direction.  This will be a whimsical garden, one with little spots of imaginative creations and restful places of peaceful meditation, with pretty plantings that add large splashes of color here and there, maybe even with a walking trail, be it ever so small and humble.  I will use some of my seasonal re-purposed furniture that I will not need to use any more to make outdoor sitting spaces for this area.

 
I want to establish our first annual Family Pentecost BBQ Picnic to be held in our own back yard and I will work on little things that aim for making this more festive and fun for all.  This year it will only be immediate family, but this may evolve over the years into a casual reunion with other extended family and friends.  I’ve noticed a lot of the younger cousins don’t really seem to know each other very well.  We need to initiate an opportunity there…..Planning the fun events that you want to take part in your home is what the constant remodeling and redecorating is all about, right?  It is all about the people; not the things.  I want the people to know each other better!  The things and all the effort you are extending toward the care of your home are for the people you love.  Let them enjoy as often as you can.  There are a million little ways to do this.  My Pentecost Family Picnic is just one example.  What would you like to be sharing with your family this summer? Make some special memories!

Last but not least, is my forever dream-plan of putting an entertainment center with sliding barn-style doors at the end of our living room.  It would be a miracle to get this done by fall, but I can always hope.  I’ve seen just exactly what I want (well, I would tweek it a bit and make it fit my purposes) in a local store display.  Remember my thoughts are to have the barn doors slide on and off and be the display for my different large pieces of art to be changed with each season?  I am going to make it a priority to take pictures of the “almost perfect” one I saw so that my husband and my son-in-laws can help me build it at the end of our living room.  If we do it ourselves, we can do this for a small amount of pocket change.  The one I saw in the store though amounted to several thousands of dollars.  Of course, I'm opting for saving the money and having a new family project to share!   I would change the store's original design a bit to suit my own purposes, change the door to one large one instead of two smaller ones, and change the colors used for painting the wood.  This is on my “if possible” list.  Maybe I will just start accumulating the materials – we will see how this one goes.

So what is my budget for all of this?  I don’t have one.  I really don’t have a penny to spend on home improvements this summer, so everything you see from me will be very thrifty and economical.  Just more of an excuse to use the old imagination, right?  Keep reading the blog each week to see all that can be accomplished with sheer will power and a little elbow grease!

Sounds like we all are going to have a very busy summer!  I’ll share my pics and tell you all about it as we go along, hopefully it will spark some ideas for your home too.  Have you made your own list yet?  What things would you like to work toward this summer?  Life is a process and if you don’t think it through and make a list, well you may not ever get started.  If you have anything you would love to share with others about your summer décor and home improvement ideas, please let me know.  I would be happy to feature your home on this blog in “The House Doctor” section too.  I'm always looking for willing participants not too embarrassed to put their ideas out there for everyone to share.  The more we share our ideas the richer our lives will be.

 Just don’t forget to stop and enjoy your summer progress along the way.  Take long times to rest and bask in your progress and also remember to share the beautiful results of your ideas with all of your family, friends and neighbors.  A “house” is an investment.  A “home” is a lifestyle!






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