WRITING SAMPLES: SCRIPT WRITING BY SHEILA GAIL LANDGRAF

HEALTH AND NUTRITION
5 MINUTES WITH GOD

DRAMA

Theme:  Does God desire for us to be healthy and physically fit?

Description:  When we open the scriptures to read God’s Holy Word and we come to 1 Corinthians 6:19,  we are asked a question; and then given a very interesting fact;    “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of The Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own.” 

If we belong to God and our bodies are not our own (but they are houses for God’s Holy Spirit) how then should we be treating our physical bodies?  Our story today will deal with part of the answer to this question which is often asked by those seeking to further understand God’s will for their daily lives. 

Purpose:

(1)  To emphasize that God has given us good instructions in the bible for living a healthy life.

(2)  To encourage people to realize and respect the fact that God’s people’s bodies have become His modern-day temple.

(3)  To help others to see the practical benefits of following God’s dietary laws.

CHRIST TO THE WORLD MINISTRIES

Writer: Sheila Gail Landgraf                             Christ to the World Ministries

Editor:  Dr. Art Criscoe                                      Copyright © 2015

DIRECTORIAL INFORMATION

CAST OF CHARACTERS: (note voice quality required)

·        Each voice should be recognizably different than any other character.

          HOST:                                    Voice of a mature man.

          MOTHER:                     Voice of a thirty two year old woman.

          WILLIAM:                             Voice of a ten year old boy

         

Notes to translators:

·        Use names that are culturally appropriate.

·        When Scripture is used, the print is in italics, and it is the NIV (1984). Scripture references are given to aid the translators and should not be read as part of the script.

Director’s notes to readers:

·        These are audio dramas. The actions and emotions are in the words. Remember that the listener will only hear these words once. Speak distinctly with appropriate emotion. Carefully observe all punctuation (i.e., pause at commas, stop at periods, intensify at exclamation points, and give special emphasis to words in bold type.)

5 MINUTES WITH GOD

HEALTH AND FITNESS

(Music: Theme Music gradually fades to underscoring as host begins to speak.)

HOST: Welcome to 5 Minutes with God, brought to you by Christ to the World Ministries.

Long before Jesus came to walk this earth within a physical body just like ours; God was already teaching His people about the very best ways to live.  On one of the annual festival days that has now come to be called Pentecost; God descended upon the mountain and spoke with Moses face-to-face about things relating to this very subject.

Moses and God spoke for many days up on the mountain.  After God gave Moses the Ten Commandments; He also gave Moses further instructions to use for educating the people in the very best ways to live.  Part of those instructions became known as the dietary laws.  They are written down in the book of the Holy Scriptures we call Leviticus.  God’s people passed these instructions down from generation to generation and everyone who kept them faithfully honored God. 

It seems that these same dietary laws are also very important today; at least to the typical modern housewife and mother we meet in today’s story.  She has been faithfully honoring God by teaching all of God’s stories to her son.  Hopefully, he will grow up to pass them on to his children.  So let’s start this story out right:

Once upon a time there lived a ten year old boy named William who detested eating carrots; or any other vegetable for that matter.

MOTHER:  William you can’t leave the table until you finish eating your vegetables!  

WILLIAM:  Awwww Mom!  I hate vegetables, especially carrots!  There is just nothing good about carrots, and I don’t see why I have to always be eating them.

MOTHER:  Carrots help your eyes to see.  Well, that is funny!  Obviously you are not seeing EVERYTHING there is to see here.  I suppose you have never heard about what happened to Daniel?  If you had; you would not be making such a silly statement.

WILLIAM:  Daniel?  Who is Daniel?

MOTHER:  Daniel was a young man living in Jerusalem who got captured by The King of Babylon.  He was forced to grow up inside a prison far from his home and separated from his parents. He was one of many of God’s people brought over from Jerusalem and held captive in that far away land.

WILLIAM:  Oh, that must have been terrible for him!

MOTHER:  Well, it didn’t STAY terrible.  God was looking after Daniel.  The king decided to make use of the young captives for service in his royal courts. He appointed one of his top officials to pick out the best, most intelligent and most handsome young Hebrew captives and groom them for service in the palace.  Those who got picked were able to leave the prison, go to school under some of the top educators in the land.  They were also taught to speak the language of Babylon.  When they were well trained and ready, the King intended to pick the best-of-the-best for service in his royal palace. 

Life in the palace would have been highly preferred over life in prison.  Those men chosen would even get to eat from the King’s table every day.  They would have all that they wanted, and have it any time that they desired to eat.  The palace was always full of trays and trays of tasty goodies to nibble on in between meals; and three times a day a major feast was served with rich foods and lots of wine and many sugary flavored specially concocted drinks.  There were lots and lots of sweet decadent desserts at the end of every course. 

WILLIAM:  Alright!  Now that is what should be happening to me!  I would never eat vegetables again!  Every meal would be chocolate cake and ice cream. 

MOTHER:  Well, not Daniel!  He had been raised on God’s dietary laws for young Hebrews.  He did not wish to eat in that way!

WILLIAM:  Mom, I’ve never heard of God’s dietary laws.  I didn’t know God gave laws about what we should eat and drink.  Did God choose ice cream and cake too?

MOTHER: (Laughing)  No!  He chose all the things that I’m always teaching you to eat; like broccoli, celery, spinach, asparagus, beans, avocados, all kinds of lettuce and cabbage, almost everything green and then some squash, onions, garlic, tomatoes and many spices and lots and lots of carrots!  He recommends that we drink mostly clean pure water and lots of it.   There was no mention of chocolate cake and ice cream in the Hebrew’s diet plan, nor were there any cokes or soft-drinks allowed, especially not diet cokes, nor any of the other sweet sugary drinks you sometimes ask for.

WILLIAM:  Mom, I think you are just making this up to get me to eat my carrots…..aren’t you?

MOTHER:  Absolutely not William!  I would not do that.  What I am telling you about Daniel and the way God requested that the Hebrew people eat is absolutely true.  I promise.  It all really happened a long, long time ago.  Now, eat some of those carrots!

WILLIAM:  Okay, but I’ll bet Daniel didn’t eat carrots!

MOTHER:  Well if you listen to the rest of the story you will find out that Daniel requested just fruit, vegetables (which would include carrots) and water for his diet.  He did not want to eat all the other junk that was being served at the King’s table which the others were quickly gobbling down. 

WILLIAM:  Really?  How dumb!  Daniel must have been crazy.

MOTHER:  Actually, Daniel was very, very smart, William.  You could say he was one of the smartest men that ever lived.  When the King’s official picked Daniel and several of his closest Hebrew buddies to go to school and learn how to run the palace; the thing that the official noticed about Daniel that stood out above the others was how very smart he was, and how eager to learn he was.  The official just could not understand why he kept insisting on eating only fruits and vegetables and drinking only water; but everything else about Daniel seemed to be exceptional. The King’s Official favored Daniel because he liked him so much; and he found himself listening to what Daniel had to say.  After awhile the official tried to reason with Daniel. 

The King’s Official told Daniel, if he did not learn to eat the food from the pagan king’s table, he would never grow to be strong and healthy like the other men who had been chosen.  Daniel strongly disagreed with him, but instead of arguing with the king’s official, Daniel decided to persuade him another way.  Daniel convinced him to run a test.

WILLIAM:  A test?

MOTHER:  Yes.  Daniel asked the official to allow him and some of his friends to eat only fruit and vegetables and drink only water for the next ten days.  Then he asked the official to compare their health to the health of the others who were eating and drinking as the King and his court. 

WILLIAM:  Wow, I guess Daniel WAS pretty smart.  He figured out how to get his way when it didn’t seem to be possible; but I still don’t understand why he insisted on eating only fruits and vegetables and drinking only water.  Did God really tell the people to eat this way?

MOTHER:  William, God really gave His people dietary laws.  God wasn’t just trying to rule over them with a bunch of unnecessary rules; He was just loving them, the same as any good Father would do, by teaching them the best ways to live.  You know; all of the ten commandments actually do affect your health in some direct or indirect way; and there were many other instructions that God gave to Moses on that mountain which pertain to how we should be eating for good health. 

Someone; probably Daniel’s dear old Mother, had taught and trained Daniel well!  By keeping God’s dietary rules, Daniel was also honoring that commandment to honor his father and mother.  He was remembering the things that they had taught him about living God’s way, even though they were not physically there to remind him and to reinforce that he follow God’s ways.  Keeping all of these things in mind, Daniel was very wise to resist the temptations to eat the pagan king’s delicacies. 

WILLIAM: Mom, I want to know how the end of the story turned out.  What finally happened with Daniel?

MOTHER:  Well, the king’s official agreed to let Daniel and his friends perform the test.  All of the other men were fed from the King’s table and Daniel and his friends were given only fresh vegetables and fruit with pure clean water.  That was all they ate or drank for 10 days.  For Daniel and his friends it was just a healthy and normal way to live, but for us living in the modern world today, eating that way would amount to a complete body detox.  That is because in our modern day diets we eat so many things that are unhealthy and loaded with chemicals and sugar and unnatural food products.  Nothing is served simply the way God made it.  So, when we eat the way that Daniel and his friends did; our bodies get cleansed of all these unnatural toxins and our cells get renewed and become healthier, especially if we follow this plan for up to 10 days at a time.  William, you probably won’t hear about any of this on the local news or even read about it if you look up “diets” on the internet.  It isn’t any more popular today than it was in the days of Daniel.  Still, this is a plan that comes directly from God, one that His faithful people had learned to use to their benefit for good nutrition and health for a long time. 

WILLIAM:  So; I guess the test worked in Daniel’s favor?

MOTHER:  Oh, yes William!  Any time you do what God has recommended instead of following the crowd, it usually works in your favor!  Remember that!  At the end of the testing, the official of the king was shocked to learn that Daniel and his friends were a whole lot healthier and stronger than all of the other men who had been eating from the pagan king’s table. 

By eating from GOD’S TABLE of natural foods, Daniel and his friends had managed to keep their bodies healthier.  They had many more nutrients in their systems that were busy replenishing their cells every day.  By not snacking on the sugary sweets they had kept harmful chemicals out of their bodies, and they had remained disease free.  By limiting their food intake to three meals a day of only fruits, vegetables and pure water, they had improved the health of their bones and muscles much more than the men who had been eating the other food.  Those men had become chubby and lazy while Daniel and his friends had maintained high energy levels and stronger muscles with greater strength and they had a better mental attitude to boot. 

It was finally decided that Daniel and his friends could continue their food preferences throughout the rest of the program.  When it was all over; Daniel and his friends excelled far above all the other men.  The time came for the King to inspect all the men and chose who would get the top positions in the royal palace. Daniel and his three friends were picked first and given the top positions!  You know William; I tend to think it was ALL because their parents had listened to God and taught them how to eat for good health!  Now; eat your carrots!

WILLIAM:  (Laughing)  Okay Mom, okay.  I think I want a little more spinach too.  I’m going to give this “Daniel thing” a try!  I’ll make my own test.

MOTHER:  Would you mind if we prayed about that right now?

WILLIAM:  I think that might be the best way to start this test!

MOTHER:  Dear God, please guide William as he learns your best ways to live.  Teach him, as you taught Daniel; just what it takes to live a good, long, wise and godly life.  I thank You God for the blessing of my precious son!  Amen.

HOST:  William’s Mom smiled and dipped more spinach onto his plate.  It was the last time she ever had to remind him to eat his carrots.   William read that story about Daniel as well as the many other stories about Daniel that were written down in his bible.  He also read about God’s dietary laws for the Hebrew people and eventually he incorporated them into his own daily life. William grew into a fine young man and went on to serve, not in a palace, but in an important high government office.   Like Daniel, he developed great and wonderful friends from all parts of the world.  He loved each of them, listened to their stories and shared their ideas.  He was picked to be one of the land’s highest officials because of his great wisdom.  William lived a very long and healthy life because he continued to maintain good health by paying attention to God’s dietary laws.  

THE HOUSE DOCTOR - MAKING THE INSIDE FOYER SAY WELCOME

(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

THE FOYER ENTRY

If you are going to have a home that is friendly and hospitable, you need a welcoming foyer on the inside as well as a welcoming look on the outside.  

We are pondering how to change this small front porch area
to something more interesting and inviting.  I decorate it for the seasons,
but we are pondering some architectural changes - something for
another article yet another day.  Today I simply want to bring
you across this threshold and have you step inside through the entrance.

Maybe you do not have a formal entry.  Perhaps your front door just opens into your living room or another room of your house.  No worries, just focus on where the line of the eye falls when you first step into the doorway.  The theory works the same.  We want to say welcome to whoever crosses the threshold.

Way back when we first moved into our house I started to get a feel for how I wanted to decorate our foyer. 

 As I have mentioned many times when I've shared my own remodeling stories; we bought our home because it had six bedrooms, one for each child, one for us, and one for a guest room.  It was rare to find a house in our budget range that had six bedrooms; so when we did - we decided to live with anything that didn't please us and aimed to change it later.  

Later finally came.....It definitely needed something!  


Here is a "before" photo that I took on one of our first Christmas Holidays in our house.  Please excuse the sleeping beauties; just notice how uninteresting and blank the foyer area appears:

ORIGINAL FOYER BEFORE CHANGES

In transitioning our home I wanted our foyer to say:  “Come on in, you are welcome here!”  I also wanted it to reflect (like my blog) the way  I live with a seasonal flair.   That being the case; you will note that my foyer now changes with every season of the year.  Maybe yours does too, or maybe you choose to let your house only change with the different seasons of your life; whatever makes you feel complete and at home inside your house works best.  I just happen to enjoy the seasonal flair.  However you decide to present your home, just remember that the foyer will be your guest's first impression.  It needs to speak.

A CHRISTMAS FOYER AFTER THE REMODEL

In the words of Kristin Armstrong; "When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me.  Hopefulness?  Gratitude?  Openness?  Whatever it is, it's welcome."  

Welcome is still the focus here as we cross the threshold from the outside to the inside.  

Welcome and wonder......what is in store for someone coming home from a hard day?  What is in store for someone  coming to visit for the first time?  What is the mood in this home that makes me want to come inside and join in with the fun?

A SUMMER FOYER AFTER THE REMODEL

The foyer entrance makes that statement, so we must be careful how we let it speak.

A foyer that displays no particular season, just the flavor of the owner, the paintings that show the changing season, the titles of the books, the modern expression of the bookends, the bright cheerful little plaque that says "love." 

It  simply adds extra interest when you give your home an expression of your own personality as soon as someone crosses the threshold;  so think of the things that make your life full and interesting and try to incorporate that feeling in the foyer.  For me, it is the changing seasons of life.   This little spark of personality, added to a bright, cheerful, clean, uncluttered welcome will make the guest feel wanted.   It will help them to know and understand you better.   It will also encourage them  to be more curious about what lies beyond your front door.   An interesting touch that works well in some homes is to mix the old with the new.  A little unexpected event as you come inside the door.  A tiny little surprise to catch your interest.

There are so many simple, either inexpensive or free, little things anyone can do to make their entry interesting and welcoming.  Do you have a favorite arrangement of flowers?  Do you have a quirky little umbrella stand?  Do you have a favorite piece of artwork?  You simply must make use of your imagination and creative abilities.  A front door, foyer and entrance hall should say to any guest crossing the threshold; "There is more here than meets the eye, come further in and get to know our home."

One way to begin the creative process is to analyze your space as you enter the doorway.   What does your eye see first upon entering?  

In our case, we originally had an eyesore in our living room.  There was an ugly outdated square window cut in the wall between the kitchen and the living room.  You could stand at the sink in the kitchen and look out to the living room while you washed dishes.  That was the ONLY good thing about that window!  It was downright ugly.  I hated it.  Your eye fell directly on that space as you entered our front door!  It was ugly, unimaginative and boring.   

I definitely wanted to change this awful window wall, and eventually we did.  It took a lot of effort to change it because it involved also  remodeling the kitchen on the other side of that wall in the living room.  It was worth the effort.   I think we achieved the desired effect by removing the old outdated window wall.  The photo below shows the OTHER SIDE of the square window, from the kitchen point of view.  The window wall was a good excuse for totally remodeling the kitchen, which also needed an overhaul.   

At any rate, my eye coming inside the foyer from the front door was falling on that window from the LIVING ROOM side of the wall and my first thought was always the same; UGH!

OLD  KITCHEN SPACE BEFORE WINDOW WALL CHANGES

The window above the sink was the MAIN problem, and I'm sure you can spot a few more!  I stuck a plant in the window until we could get to the  remodeling.  This wall looked even worse from the other side  as you were entering through the foyer.  I tried to never take pictures of it, so I don't have many to show here.

NEW KITCHEN SPACE WITH NO WINDOW WALL AND MIRRORS.

We used mirrors as back-splashes and completely covered the kitchen side of the space above the sink where the cut out window was with mirrors.  It gave the room a much larger feeling, and made everything look so much more modern. The other side was covered with sheet rock and painted to match the surrounding walls of the living room.  I'll cover the remodeling of this kitchen later, it will be a fun article.  For now, I wanted you to know we covered up the square hole in the wall that you could see from the foyer AND the kitchen.  It made a huge difference!

This photo shows the kitchen doorway that you see from entering the foyer.  It shows a little bit of the remodeled stairway from the foyer.  It is only fair to include Jason in this picture of the remodeled kitchen, since he did help my husband lift those heavy cabinets on the top while they were being installed!  I'll include a whole article later on how we remodeled the kitchen, but the point right now is to notice how different the house became simply because we covered up that 1970's out-dated square cut out window in the wall between the kitchen and the living room.

LIVING AREA TO RIGHT OF FOYER BEFORE CHANGES.  YOU CAN BARELY SEE THE
LEAVES OF THE PLANT I STUCK IN THE CUT OUT WINDOW ON THE SLANTED WALL.

LIVING AREA TO RIGHT OF FOYER AFTER CHANGES

OUR DAUGHTER ERIN VISITING IN THE FALL

So, I started my ideas for the entryway with how I felt when I entered my front door.  I felt bad about that window and we changed it!  Look for obvious eyesores that distract from the beauty of your home and find a way to change them.  Don't let the ugly things grab the attention of the one entering before they notice all of the other beauty that surrounds it.

At our house;  I was looking straight ahead into a foyer hallway that led into a kitchen area.  This kitchen entrance had a blank wall on the right and your eye followed it into a living room area that continued to a dining area.  To my left there was a smaller blank wall just inside  the doorway with a stairwell just past the entrance that led one downstairs and a hallway around the stairwell leading to upstairs bedrooms.  

I'm going to show that old photo again of the "before."  Note the ugly stair rail, the stairs that just look like a drop-off hole in the floor with a rail around them, the old worn out parquet flooring on the foyer floor just inside the door, and the beige carpet everywhere else.  Note the dingy yellow walls, the "blah" decor, the dark curtains and the floral furniture.  Notice how the doorway was stained to be so dark, along with the stair railings.  There is just NOTHING interesting about this entrance.  We began to slowly make changes.  We started with a fresh clean coat of white paint everywhere.  It opened up the rooms and made it much more cheerful.  The foyer side of the door was painted white, and that made a HUGE difference.  We took down the draperies, and we ripped up the old flooring.  

LOOKING STRAIGHT AHEAD IN FOYER AFTER CHANGES
NO PARTICULAR SEASON

New artwork and a sail boat for a summer foyer.

;;

Granddaughter playing on new floors.

I change this tiny area to the left of the entry door every season.  The new white paint makes almost any color I want to use work.  This was Valentine's Day and we were having a baby shower, hence, the Winnie the Phoo painting.

I kept thinking of where my eye fell when I walked inside.  On the right I could see a sunken living room with cathedral ceilings leading into  a dining area.  

THAT VIEW REMODELED AND DECORATED FOR THANKSGIVING.  THE ARTWORK ON THE BACK WALL WAS A CHANGE BECAUSE IT BECAME A NEW FOCAL POINT.  WE NEEDED TO MAKE IT LARGE, SO WE ACTUALLY COMBINED FOUR SIMILAR PAINTINGS INTO ONE MODERN ARRANGEMENT.  WE WENT FROM  AN OLD OUTDATED LOOK TO A MORE MODERN LOOK AND MIXED IN A FEW CLASSIC PIECES OF ART AND FURNITURE.  I'LL TELL YOU MORE ABOUT REMODELING THE LIVING ROOM IN ANOTHER ARTICLE.  JUST WANTED YOU TO SEE PART OF THE VIEW FROM THE DOORWAY OF MY FOYER.  

IN THIS VIEW DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS, NOTE THE PAINTINGS HANGING IN THE FOYER AND OVER THE STAIRWAY THAT WE ADDED FOR INTEREST.

IN THIS  VIEW DECORATED  FOR SUMMER,  NOTE THE CHANGE OF DECOR IN THE FOYER FOR THE SEASON.  THIS ALSO SHOWS HOW WE REMODELED THE STAIRS MORE AND THE CHANGE TO HARDWOOD FLOORS.  SEE HOW THINGS WERE LIGHTENED UP WITH THE WHITE DOOR, THE NEW PAINT AND THE LIGHTER, ALMOST NEUTRAL CURTAINS AND OF COURSE, THE WHITE SOFAS.

Originally all of the walls in the main part of the house were painted an out-dated dingy yellow color that did nothing to catch the rays of light coming into the room from the two long windows that flanked the moss rock fireplace.  My first thought after replacing the window wall was to eliminate the feeling of darkness and lighten up the room.   One day we even want to replace the mossrock fireplace with something lighter and more modern.   If you are do-it-yourselfers like us; it is good to tackle the things you can accomplish now and make a list of things to budget and plan for later.  That way, even after you become comfortable with living with your first and immediate changes, you won't forget the whole picture.  Taking your time about tackling the big projects is a good thing.  The longer you think about how you want them to work in your home, the better they become when you finally get around to crossing them off your list.  

There was an ugly outdated wagon-wheel chandelier hanging in the living room from the crossbeam.  I do not have a photo, but it was ancient!   It had to go!  It did not fit the lifestyle we were cultivating here.  We replaced it with a more modern ceiling fan.   One day we hope to replace the fan with a large new chrome light fixture in a modern style that matches the light fixture we added to the dining room area.  That is still on the bucket list, but making the transition to the affordable and more modern ceiling fan met our current needs and fit our budget too.   It was one simple inexpensive way to transition to the style we were trying to achieve.  That one little thing went a long way toward making the change of the mood in the room.

Originally, nothing spoke of peace and tranquility as you entered the front door.  We achieved a change by lightening things up and making them more modern.  Now things look light and airy and friendly when you walk inside.      

Nothing said welcome in.  We changed that fact by adding cheerful decor and using a better blend with the lighting, more modern decor and some new furniture.  

Nothing looked loved or cared for.  We changed that by painting, remodeling the stairwell, putting down the hardwood floors and changing some of the furniture, artwork and accessories.  

Originally, except for a few photos of the kids on the hall wall, there were no details that reflected the personalities of the homeowners.   None at all; just boring yellow paint and beige carpets.  Ugh!  Now our guests will notice we like art, enjoy the seasons and want to entertain people in our home.  The little things speak out for us now, where there was no conversation going on at first.  

ONE FALL DECORATING SCHEME WE HAVE USED.  

WE THOUGHT THE WINE GLASSES READY FOR USE ADDED TO THE WELCOME IN ATMOSPHERE.  WE USED THIS DECORATING SCHEME ONE THANKSGIVING.

Another thing to consider in remodeling a foyer is to look around for any obvious physical and safety problems.  

It is funny how the solution to your decorating problems sometimes turn out to be your best accomplishments.  These unique things often tend to  provide interesting focal points.  One practical change that turned out great in our foyer was the way we created a visual barrier between the foyer floor and the sunken great room/living room.  People were always stepping inside the front door and  not noticing that the floor to the living room was sunken one step down after you entered the foyer.  It was very typical for one to fall as they approached the living room/great room area.  This really bothered us!  We had to have a way to make people notice there was a step down into the sunken living area.  Those falls were getting embarrassing both for us and our guests!

The solution was quite simple actually.  I merely painted an old chest antique white and put it behind the sofa that had its back to the foyer.  The visual effect of seeing where the chest was on the floor  as you entered the foyer helped people to understand immediately that the floor of the great room living space was sunken.  No more guests falling down as they entered the living room!  That always helped our visitors to feel more at ease.  I was very happy about this simple, inexpensive little change.  Plus; the chest could be decorated and changed in a million little ways every season.  What fun!  It became a focal piece between the living room and the foyer.  I wrote about painting this old chest in another article and describe how I painted the chest antique white and the hardware for it was spray painted black.  The contrast added interest and it looked wonderful!  Now my daughters argue over who gets it after we pass on.  That will forever remain a mystery.  

PAINTED CHEST BEHIND SOFA WAS A BEAUTIFUL SOLUTION TO A SAFETY ISSUE.

ANOTHER FURNITURE ARRANGEMENT FOR CHRISTMAS TIME - WE HAVE SOME CHAIRS WE OFTEN  CHANGE WITH THE SEASONS.  KEEPS US FROM GETTING TIRED OF THE FURNITURE AND KEEPS GUEST WONDERING WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO NEXT, BECAUSE OUR HOUSE NEVER LOOKS THE SAME TO THEM, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE USING THE SAME STUFF OVER AND OVER TO DECORATE WITH, JUST ROTATING IT WITH THE CHANGING SEASONS.  THAT YEAR I USED ANGELS INSIDE THE FOYER WALL INSTEAD OF ASLAND (MY FAVORITE).

VIEW OF CHEST/SOFA TABLE DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS.  FROM FOYER VIEW.

A LITTLE INTEREST JUST INSIDE THE FOYER DOOR LOOKS NICE, ESPECIALLY ON HOLIDAYS.  THIS PHOTO SHOWS THE STEP DOWN BETWEEN THE FOYER AND THE SUNKEN LIVING ROOM.

So where the eye fell on entering the foyer became more beautiful with a new wall space, and where the floor levels changed became safer and more welcoming by rearranging the furniture. 

MY GRANDSON IN FRONT OF OUR NEWLY PAINTED WHITE DOOR.  OF COURSE, HE WOULD MAKE ANYTHING LOOK NICE!
  

 Now in order to improve the foyer area more we needed to work on what happened in the space to the left of a person entering the house.  I wanted this  space to say "Welcome to our home" in some unique way.  I found an old, much used, but just the right size secretary at a moving sale.  We put it on the wall just inside the door to the left.  It has been very handy there and holds all the little odds and ends that everyone is always piling around, so it solved a clutter problem.  Now it is full of tacks, a hammer, a screwdriver, some pencils, pens, paper and crayons, nails, etc.  We don't have to go searching all over the house for tape or such things.  The little secretary neatly hides it all for us.    I decorate it  seasonally with something bright and eye-catching.  I have a different painting for each season that I hang above the secretary which sets the mood for the rest of my seasonal decorating.  I think these pieces work together to say "welcome" right away and they tend to create a more festive atmosphere.  No more blank yellow wall on the left of the door!  Mission accomplished in that area.  

SUMMER LOOK FOR FOYER SECRETARY.

DECOR WE USED  IN THE FOYER ON TOP OF THE SECRETARY  ONE ADVENT SEASON.

SECRETARY AT ENTRANCE ONE YEAR AT CHRISTMAS TIME.

HOW THE FOYER LOOKED BEFORE WE BEGAN TO REMODEL (EXCUSE THE SLEEPING BEAUTIES!)

Originally upon opening the front door everywhere I looked, my eyes fell on empty boring walls that needed painting and old worn out floors and ceilings.   When my eyes followed all the way through the view past the living room to the dining room everything looked out-dated and dull and dark.  When my eyes focused straight ahead from the front door they landed on an outdated kitchen that also looked too dark and needed light.  

When my eyes went to left just inside the door I noticed a broken down ugly stairway with worn out carpeting and no personality that gave a glimpse of an equally boring den below.

It was probably about seven years ago that we started all of these on-going changes.  We did not hire out the work; but did every inch of it ourselves in our spare time.  The ONE little thing we hired out was the installation of the granite counter tops in the kitchen.  We even installed the cabinets ourselves.   

We took  a few "before" pictures and studied them carefully.  We formed our vision for the future and made a plan.  Step by step the house slowly began to evolve from the entrance/foyer onward.  Once we thought it all through we began to see some sweet and pleasant changes.  These were things that the whole family loved and also things that were not very expensive, that we could handle doing by ourselves.  We were not trying to keep up with the Jones' or out-do all the home improvement programs on the internet; we were simply trying to make what we owned be the best it could be without going head-over-heels into debt.  We actually enjoyed working on these things and this bacame a hobby that we indulged in over the years instead of a hurry-up-and-finish stressor.  

If you are going to take this approach, I'll warn you it isn't for everyone.  You must be the kind of person who isn't ashamed to have company in the middle of a remodel, and one who knows how to go on with life as usual without missing a beat even if things aren't exactly perfect all the time.  Occasionally things are going to get VERY dusty.  You just learn to live with it and clean up after.   Living in a house where you are remodeling as you go will truly teach you some basic values about human relationships.  Those who still love to come over for a visit in the midst of this mess are those you want to keep around forever.  If they admire you for making lemonade out of lemons, they are friends who will be better than gold as you age.  I love sharing the progress of my life, no matter what state or stage it is in; so none of this bothered me too much.  If you are a total perfectionist; better to hire a contractor and pay for a quick, easy full-package deal!  

I also want to stress that fact that I have been blessed to be married to a man who can do anything with his tools.  He has met every remodeling challenge and his construction skills have been amazing.  He also knows a lot about the electrical and mechanical working of a house.  On my own, none of this could have been accomplished.  We have made a great remodeling team; with his mind and my energy it has all been slowly but surely coming together; and we have the aching backs and bones to prove it!

With that said; the simple little changes we made took a LOT of time and elbow grease.  It took a lot of patience as we lived with things out of order for several days, sometimes even for years, while we built a new stairwell, added hardwood floors, redesigned a kitchen and updated and changed the slanted living room wall.  We removed popcorn ceilings too when we painted.  That was a LOT of work!  We changed some furniture and obtained some carefully chosen artwork.  

Crossing over from carpet to hardwood floors really made a difference.  The old carpet came up and the hardwood went down.  We measured, bought hardwood and hauled it home, rented a hammer gun and a nail gun (I'm against gun control, especially if you are remodeling) and started pulling up the old carpets.  We nailed down loose and creaky sub-flooring.  No more creaking!  

We covered the floor surfaces with builders felt.   We laid and nailed each board using the proper equipment one at a time.  I brought the boards into the room and my husband nailed them down.  We worked like an assembly line.  Then we made a lot of dust sanding everything.   At least we had the forethought to cover the furniture, and/or remove it from the areas we were sanding.  We rented a sander from the hardwood store.  We stained the floors after sanding and cleaning and covered them with a polyurethane finish.  We planned a few days somewhere else while the floor stain and finish dried.  It looked awesome!  Such a change!  It really cheered us up and we were able to do it all ourselves without paying anyone!

Now standing in my doorway my eyes fell on hardwood floors instead of stained carpets.  The clean, modern, stylish new floors led into a newly renovated kitchen (another article for another day.)  

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THE ONCE DREARY HALLWAY NOW LOOKED MODERN AND ELEGANT.  

The next thing we tackled was the ugly staircase in the foyer hallway .  We took out the plain old  carpeted staircase and  completely replaced it with sturdier and firmer boards.  When the skeleton was built we added the newly stained treads (to match the hardwood floors) and the white rails around them with a stained railing topping them off.  We trimmed out the stairwell area with sheet rock and molding and painted it all a crisp, clean white.  We added the newel posts and the railing around the opening from the upstairs to the downstairs den.  The newel posts were previously stained to match the stain on the hardwood floors.)   We placed spindles we painted white evenly under the new stained hand-rails.  This was a drastic change and it looked great!  Everything suddenly seemed so fresh and new.  The old rustic stairwell now seemed more modern and looked much more elegant.  The details that had been boring before took on a new personality and a perfectly charming look.  The new stairwell added a lot of character to the look of the foyer.  

Eventually we painted and trimmed all the walls around the staircase white. 

Now things were certainly looking a lot better when we first stepped inside the front door! 

To my left I now could see a welcoming painting and a cozy little secretary decorated for the current season.  

If I followed my eye further to the left I saw a pretty modern stairwell and nice new stair railings that matched the newly installed hardwood floors.  

Beyond that I saw a newly painted hallway with two strategically placed oil paintings.   All three paintings in the upstairs hallway are of trees.  We wanted people to get the feeling they were entering a forrest.  The white paint gave the once dark hallway a feeling of light and added a lot more cheerfulness.  The hardwood floors worked so much better in this hallway.  

PORTABLE BAR DECORATED FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Now when my eyes looked straight ahead from the foyer I saw a white framed doorway that opened into a modern kitchen with a solid wall to the right of it.  The ugly square window has now  been covered, and all anyone sees from the foyer is a normal slanted wall between the living area and the dining area.  Leading into this new wall  area was a space furnished with a portable bar.  It now shows off some carefully chosen classic artwork which is  framed in black to match the frames of the artwork in the rest of the upstairs living spaces.  
This new piece of art was plaaced over the bar area as another focal point when entering the foyer.

This portable bar was a good purchase because it gave us some space for storing dishes for the dining area.  We had no room for a china cabinet in that area, and the portable bar filled the bill for storage as well as being available to serve as a bar when needed.  

The portable bar always decorates nicely for Christmas too. 

PEOPLE LOVE OUR NEW STAIRS ENOUGH TO HANG OUT ON THEM..... THEY OFTEN GET CONFUSED FOR JUST ANOTHER PART OF THE FURNITURE!

TWO SLEEPY HEADS PLAYING ON THE NEW STAIRS.

Looking down from the foyer area in new stairwell.

If I now stepped inside my front doorway I would find if I looked directly to my right I could see a whole new living room with modern (no more popcorn) cathedral ceilings, a nice fan and hardwood floors. 

 I could easily tell that the foyer floor and the living room floor were different levels as my eye followed the sunken living room on into a step up again to an open dining area.  

The long wall of the living room and dining room now had appropriately sized and more modern styles of art work.  This new art had become one more focal point upon entering the foyer that had been improved.

The redesigned stairwell made a huge difference, both to the upstairs area of the house as well as the downstairs area.  (You would be amazed at the stories those stairs could tell if they could talk.)  What a busy pathway in the home they are!  The painting over the upstairs hallway just above the stair-railed enclosure added some new interest.  It cheerfully filled a once long blank space in the hall.

THESE DAYS I TYPICALLY CHANGE THE FOYER RUG EVERY SEASON.  THIS IS A RUG I USED

 ONE JULY 4TH.

Once these changes began to evolve and take shape, I started using the front door of the house again because it just made me feel good when I came inside the house after work!  It is amazing what a few simple changes can do for your attitude toward your home.   

Now a living area that was once dull and uninviting has turned into a warmer place full of light, peace, harmony and love.  We now have  a place that says:  "Please come further inside our door and get to know our family a little better!"

NEW HARDWOOD FLOORS SHOWN IN THIS PHOTO WHICH WAS TAKEN ONE SPRING BEFORE WE ADDED THE AREA RUG AND IN A TIME WHEN I WAS USING ANOTHER OLD CHEST THAT I SOMETIMES LIKE TO USE AS A COUCH TABLE.   (IT MAY GET A NEW COAT OF PAINT ONE DAY TOO.)  I KIND OF LIKE THE UNCLUTTERED LOOK OF THE NAKED FLOORS HERE, BUT I EVENTUALLY OPTED FOR THE AREA RUG.  NOW THAT WE HAVE WHITE WALLS AND HARDWOOD FLOORS, I LOVE A LITTLE SPLASH OF YELLOW, SUCH AS THE ROSES DISPLAYED  IN THIS ROOM.  

As you can see from the photo above, Olivia was a great help with our decorating decisions.  She is constantly re-arranging our work and changing things up a bit!

THIS SHOWS HOW WE USED A FAIRLY NEUTRAL YET COLORFUL AREA RUG TO ANCHOR THE LIVING ROOM.  IT ALSO HELPS PEOPLE TO SEE THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FLOORING FROM THE FOYER TO THE LIVING AREA.

Now I love stepping inside our foyer! 

I hope our guests feel the same way when they cross our threshold and enter our home.  

We want everyone to feel welcomed and at ease.  Hopefully these changes have gone a long way to accomplish this.

Even though we live in an older home without the elaborate fancy new architectutre and designs of some of our more affluent friends; we feel we have managed to create a livable and  cozy place in which we can entertain our friends and family as well as relax and enjoy any down time we manage to find in our busy careers.  We feel blessed and happy to see our home take on it's own unique charm, and style.  It has been worth the work - which by the way - is ever on-going.    

In the words of Dorothy; "There's no place like home!"