Grateful Living: Reflections on HOME

This is my post to share a touching story and lovely quotes about the most important place in a person's life--their home...

Best Snowflakes on the Block
It is Christmastime on our street. The homes are decorated with tinsel and many-colored lights. Some windows frame beautifully decorated trees, and well-shaped wreaths hang on the doors. At one home, however, a little confusion of homemade snowflakes congregates in the picture window. They are hung in childhood fashion (not in the adult perfection of other windows nearby) and whisper a special secret about the occupants of that home.

I want to share a secret with you. The secret is that children are more important than picture windows; that fingerprints and boot-drips and carpet stains aren't nearly as important as a child's self-esteem. Those little white snowflakes tell me something more. They tell me that smashed bouquets of dandelions adorn that kitchen table in the springtime and are loved as if they were the most beautiful of imported orchids. They tell me that a pet potato bug in a box can live there unmolested, that helping with a bug collection is just as important as doing the wash, that viewing the first violets of spring with a child's hand in yours is better than a shiny floor, that listening to a child's fears is more important than television, that children's art is more beautiful than the greatest of the old masters.
Oh, they do tell a special story, those snowflakes.
(Sherlene Parker, Ensign Dec. 1976)

A small house well-filled is better than an empty palace. ~Thomas Haliburton

Houses that express comfort and well-being can go a long way toward making us feel at home in the world. ~JoAnn Barwick

Everything in the White House must have a reason for being there.  ~Jacqueline Kennedy

Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free...Amish song

'Mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
~Pa, Little House in the Big Woods

God bless this house And all that's in it

A garden of flowers Some books for the hours

Sweet dreams Good Health

and Love, glorious love. ~unknown

“...I remember thinking how often we look, but never see...we listen, but never hear...we exist, but never feel. We take our relationships for granted. A house is only a place. It has no life of its own. It needs human voices, activity and laughter to come alive.” 
― Erma Bombeck, A Marriage Made in Heaven: Or Too Tired for an Affair

Updated Armoire in Vintage Green

Finally!  With the help of my husband, I finished this DIY armoire.  I painted the whole thing a vintage green with oil-based paint because the wood was not in very good shape.  There was a very heavy mirror in the door that I took out because I wanted to do something a little French country by adding toile and chicken wire in the door.  I will reuse the mirror by having it professionally framed and hanging it horizontally on a wall. On the back of the mirror (which is original to the armoire), was the date November 16, 1928.

My husband made new feet because the ones that were on it did not look original to the piece and did not really match.  My inspiration comes from

Flea Market Finds Before & After: Home Decorating with Makeover Miracles.

source

With all my DIY projects, I am kind of trying things out on a smaller scale that I might want to do for a bigger project later.  For instance, these knobs very cheaply purchased from Target, are what I would like to buy for my kitchen cabinets when I someday update them.  I would buy a more expensive and durable brand than these because they have already had to be repaired with strong glue.

Also, I love the mini green-tinted glass tiles for a kitchen back splash.  I would really like to use them on an even bigger scale in the bathroom (subway tile-size).  My husband put this tile on the lower top of the dresser.  I wanted this part of the dresser to be more durable.  I learned quite a bit about glass tile by doing a small-scale project with them.  Over-all, I am pretty satisfied with how the dresser turned out and I think this update will last for a long time and helped to protect such an old piece of furniture that probably was not very expensive to begin with.  I find this vintage armoire to be a charming addition to my home.

My big passion these days is to study every blog post I can find to prepare me for tackling my old kitchen cabinets.  I am absolutely terrified of painting them because I want them to be free of streaks and drips.  I have found some really great ideas with this problem and how to antique the cabinets as well.  Here is my Pinterest board for all the cool ideas I have found for my cabinet re-do project.  Please send me any of your favorite Pins as well and let me know if you have a similar board so I can follow it!

Follow Heather Allen's board Home: Cabinets Redo on Pinterest.

Decorating with Vintage Linens

The bathroom needed a quick curtain when I finally retired some defective plantation blinds.  I loved the idea of using vintage doilies, cut work, etc. to decorate simple curtains and took a piece out of my stash for this quick fix.  

I really like cafe curtains.  They provide ample privacy, plus they’re easy to open and let in plenty of light and air when desired.  I was inspired from a photo where doilies had been randomly sewn onto similar curtains.  My bathroom also has an open space in the sink cabinet where the laundry basket is kept behind two matching vintage pillowcases.  

The lace at the bottom was handmade.  None of my collected pieces of vintage linens are in perfect condition though I have made an effort to keep them carefully laundered.  I feel that the faint stains, worn areas, and other imperfections give the pieces charm—a story.  It is hard to believe there was a time when women would have the knowledge, time, and inclination to make beautiful, comforting, and useful decorations for their home.  I am glad to find any way I can to incorporate such history into my own home.


I am looking for more ways to use my stash of hand-made finery.  Share your ideas of how to use vintage pieces like the ones I have shown.

Nesting... Book Review: Wabi Sabi Style

Book Review, part 2:  Nesting, It’s A Chick Thing, by Ame Mahler Beanland and Emily Miles Terry.

“It’s All Good” describes the wabi sabi style in a nut shell.  Wabi Sabi, is kind of like Feng Shui, only different.  It is an Eastern design principle developed by Zen monks and is centuries old.  It is based on a tea practice and embraces the beauty of imperfection and irregularity.  

I bought this book!

If you love and value old things that have stood the test of time and like to use these in decorating the home, your style could be wabi sabi.  “The real power of wabi sabi is tapped when you extend its forgiving concepts to your life, your relationships and your self,” (Feathering Your Nest pp. 60-61). 

Wabi Sabi reminds me of shabby chic because it is important to avoid clutter and to take care of imperfect things, such as cleaning and oiling old wood floors rather than refinishing them to perfection.  There is nothing more beautiful than preserving the patina of aged wood.  Nesting... suggests decorating with multifunctional and/or meaningful, attractive items.  They can be interesting artistically, like unusual lamps or frames.  Collections of family photos and heirlooms can lend a spiritual feel to a room.  And of course with all Eastern principles, bringing nature inside is characteristic of wabi sabi.  Nesting... provides other sources about wabi sabi design.  If you are like me, the simple aspects of this style of decorating are very attractive and it is nice to know that for once I am fashionable!

What do you think?  Is Wabi Sabi style the new Feng Shui?  Let me know!

Small Home Decorating Tips

Here are a few tips I have gleaned while trying to scale down to a small home (1400 sq. ft.).

Furniture

The more floor seen—the larger the room will feel—so have furniture that shows the floor.  Incorporate narrower furniture.  It can be a long couch (10 feet!), but if it’s narrow, it will take less space.  Flat screen TV’s have made all the difference in our home!  It’s the same principle.  Choose less bulky furnitshings.

Clean and Uncluttered

Show as much window as possible and clean them regularly.  Hang drapes higher and the room will seem taller.  Every time you bring new stuff home whether it’s books, collectibles or any kind of decorations—take something out of the home.  Cluttering the house, coffee table and shelves with stuff can make a home feel smaller. 

Style

I lean towards vintage furniture especially from the forties and fifties that was designed for smaller homes.  When refurbishing, I prefer slipcovers or reupholstering that will show the legs which are often interesting anyways (and shows more of the floor). 

Purge

Finally, don't be afraid to consign or donate extra stuff that just doesn't fit.  After going through this a few times, I'm less likely to make purchases without fully considering their impact on my space.

Do you think more people are scaling down to smaller spaces to live in lately?  This seems to be a new trend these days.  What do you think?

Picture Groupings

RIGHT

WRONG

There are some homes you walk into and you instantly know so much about the folks that live there because the walls tell the story.  "A blank wall becomes something special when it says something about your family, hobbies, or travel experiences.  Favorite pictures and mementos can be used to make a decorative wall display.  Consider these pointers:  

To avoid accumulating nail holes you may later regret, first work out an attractive arrangement on the floor or within erasable chalklines on your about-to-be adorned wall.  

Consider your grouping a single unit, preferably in a geometric shape--rectangle, circle, or triangle.  Pleasing proportions can be achieved.  

Please that critical eye by hanging pictures so that they form at least one horizontal or one vertical line (with the obvious exception of a round grouping).  Otherwise, the unrelated hang-ups seem to wander all over the wall.  

RIGHT

WRONG

"Arrangements should hang together.  Too much space between pictures disrupts the graphic effect.  

Everything that goes into a grouping, and almost anything attractive can, need not be equally spaced.  The intervening spaces should be small.

However, groupings should not be so small that they are dwarfed by other furnishings, or so massive that they are overpowering.  Keep the heavier and larger items toward the center of the grouping, and balance the sides with smaller items.

Always integrate groupings for balance by keeping the weight of your composition well distributed.  

RIGHT

WRONG

"Remember that elaborate frames, dark mats, and oil paintings tend to weigh more heavily on the eye than water colors, etchings, and drawings.

Combine large and small squares, rectangles, and circles; but mingle the various shapes and sizes throughout the composition to maximize visual interest.

RIGHT

WRONG

"Variation adds  interest to almost everything.  Mix and match dissimilar items, balancing them with a pleasing distribution of color 'weight' and subject matter.  Try distributing dark and light rather than massing of darks on one side and lights on the other.
Permanent accessories can be important to any arrangement.  If lamps, vases, or plants enter into your picture, include them in the plan for your picture wall."

RIGHT

WRONG

(Source:  Creative Homemaking for Happy Living, Relief Society Homemaking Booklet, 1984)

See also Grateful Living:  The !#*! Mobile Home Walls

Blog Index, page 3

Grateful Living
Home Decor
Picture Groupings
Living Small
Small Room Decorating Tips
Nesting...Book Review: Wabi Sabi Style
Decorating with Vintage Linens
Updated Armoire in Vintage Green
Homemakers: The Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Repurposed Armoire
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Hospitality
Company's Coming: organization, part 1

Christmas Party Games, Christmas Traditions part 4

Cookie Swaps, Ornament Swaps..., Christmas Traditions part 4

Holiday Books and DVDs List, Christmas Traditions part 4
Senior Tea
Luau Party
Relief Society Birthday Party

Mothers and Homemaking
Homemaking Journals
Homemaker's Quotes
Learning Homemaking Skills
Setting Organizational Goals: organization part 2
I Love Erma Bombeck!
Get Off the Dual-Earner Treadmill
10 Things I Learned from My Mom
My Glamorous New Career
What Do Homemakers Really Do?
Builders of Homes
Resurgence of Homemaking
Dian Thomas Rules!
Tips for Toddlers
"En Bonn Ménagère..."
Time Out for Homemakers
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
Love Affair with Pantries
How to Teach Children Responsible Behavior
Homemakers: The Homebuilders of the World
Cleaning
  Consistently Clean
  Winter Days:  Cleaning Schedules
  Cleaning:  Team-building Time for Families
  Cleaning Clothes
  Cleaning that Prevents Allergies
  Nifty Recycling Bins
  Deep Cleaning Kitchens and Bathrooms
  Eliminating Closet Clutter
  Laundry Rules!
Homeschool

  Mothers as Homeschool Teachers

  Mothers as Homeschool Teachers, cont.

  Chick Lit
  Creative Homeschooling
This is a quick list of all the posts I have done that might be remotely interesting to anyone who teaches (school, homeschool, church...):
Healthy Sack Lunches for Kids
November Traditions
Healthy Choices for Picky Eaters
Christmas Library Story Time
Christmas Crafts
Christmas Legend and Lore
Mothers as (Homeschool) Teachers
Chick Lit
Creative Homeschooling
Art Badge Camp
Teaching Children to Cook
Sample Primary Newsletters (Parent Communication)
Chick Lit for July
Native American Culture Activities for Children
CopyCat Magazine Little House Unit
Achievement Days Country Fair
Achievement Days Book Review: Sarah, Plain and Tall
Children's Pioneer Day Event
Pioneer Chick Lit
Corn Husk Dolls
Activities for Girls
Girl Scout Favorite Things
How to Love Scouts
October Traditions:  Chick Lit, Songs and Activities
Greatest Gifts to Give a Grandchild
Fall Fun
Free Learning Websites
Spiritual
  Where Necessary, Tweak the Ideal
Health -
  Curing Scalp Acne

Measuring Up
In the Eye of the Beholder
The Real McCoy: Authentic People
Measuring Up: Integrity Quotes
Measuring Up: Improvement Quotes
Measuring Up: Time and Preparation
Measuring Up: Testimony Quotes
Measuring Up: Service and Empathy Quotes
Measuring Up: Sabbath Quotes
Joyful Quotes
Homemaker's Quotes

My homemaker's journal includes all things related to homemaking: all of the things special to me, traditions I have instilled, secrets, tips and more...My homemaking experiences include homeschooling my children for ten years, volunteering as a Girl Scout Leader for my girls' troop from Daisies to Juniors and volunteering with Boy Scouts, (when my son was 8-12 yrs.) Recently, I have completed a cookbook for my church.

Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat

Count your night by stars, not blackness, Count your time by good deeds done. ~Ethel C. Smith

This is the last of my Grateful Living Series--are you grateful?  About 20 years ago I read in my women's church manual about enjoying what you have.  An example was given of an older woman who had a very modest apartment without very many material possessions.  But what she had, she took good care of.  Her apartment was kept neat and clean.  There were little touches such as houseplants and photographs and other simple things attractively displayed.  The little apartment was inviting, warm and comfortable to guests.  Being newly married myself, without hardly a stitch of furniture, the lesson really struck home.  I have followed its guidance in every home I've lived in.

vintage pillowcases hide the laundry

It never occurred to me at nineteen that  in my forties I would choose to live in a mobile home!  I totally sympathize with Janet Palmer who said, "Turning forty was the biggest let-down of my life.  I thought I'd be happy and in control by then."  However, I know I wouldn't trade my life with anyone else.  Having an oasis from disappointments or stress or just plain exhaustion has come in the form of my bathroom or as I like to call it, my "Spa Retreat."  I even play soft, soothing music with calming background sounds from nature--just like at a real spa.

My husband replaced the tile and lights, and installed baseboards and the curtain rods, but basically everything else was done by me during a particularly stressful period.  The job was therapeutic. We had just added a third bedroom and large bathroom to our mobile home and I thought we'd never get it done.  Little did my family know that they would no longer be welcome again in the old bathroom--My Bathroom.  You do what you have to to get by sometimes, and having my own bathroom--the only room in the house that no one could mess up was critical to my psyche!

Dealing with the massive mirrors over the tub was the biggest obstacle.  They came with dark curtains, but I saw a picture in a magazine of a softer, brighter window treatment and knew that would be simple and inexpensive and a huge improvement.  I painted the cheap vanity cabinet with the same kind of paint I used on the baseboards and crown molding (cabinet and trim paint).  My husband sanded the knobs to find a really nice "nickel" color underneath the gold so we kept it like that.  The only gold is the bathtub faucet because the one that came factory installed fell apart and this very expensive model was practically given away at the hardware store.  Everything else in the bathroom is nickle, but I've made peace with the gold faucet.

Pegs hold towels, robes...

I tried flat paint on the walls and ended up repainting with gloss.  Satin would probably do just as well, but I was very careful to finish out the mobile home walls so that there were very few flaws to see.  I painted the ceiling with Kilz first and then ceiling paint.  My best advice for renovating a mobile home is to make sure you're fairly comfortable with what you are doing.  Save up for jobs that you don't feel competent, (especially wiring!).  Study before you take on drywall, painting, even hanging anything on the wall.  As the old saying goes--Measure twice, Cut once!

Keep an idea book of what you like for at least a year before you delve into renovating a room.  When you start to see a lot of ideas that go together in your book, you will begin to know better what you want.  Some people are super gifted with this--not me.  I'm talking to the rest of us who don't have a clue!  The main thing is being happy with the results of all your hard work.  My goal was that when I was inside my home, it was a home not a mobile home.  I can look around and there is nothing left of the "factory installed" and my home is warm, comfortable, and inviting (at least to me!).


Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls!

This I learned from the shadow of a tree, That to and fro did sway against a wall:  Our shadow selves, our influence, may fall Where ourselves can never be. ~Anna G. Hamilton

Above is how I arranged my collection of cross-stitch samplers.  I got the idea from a past issue of Southern Living Magazine.  A tip I learned from Martha Stewart is to trace the frames onto wrapping paper and cut out.  Using removable tacky putty (whatever it's called), you can try all kinds of arrangements for picture placement.  I actually keep pictures from magazines of picture arrangements that I like in my Idea Book.  It really comes in handy.  Also, Martha taught me to use little Velcro circles to put at each bottom corner of a picture and then press in place to the wall.  Then the picture doesn't move out of place.  Which is great if you live in a mobile home with paper thin walls.  See my post on Picture Groupings.

I wanted to do something my very Southern grandma did in her hall and have my own "hall of fame."  As children, my sister and cousins and I loved to look at old family photos, baby pictures, and pedigree charts that literally lined my grandma's enormous and long hallway.  Somehow, I had to find a way to make my now less wavy hallway wall more interesting to walk through (and wavy wall even less noticeable).  Here's how I got the hall wall's flaws to be less noticeable.

I'm not sure if this is a common occurrence or cheap building gone amuck, but our hall had become a real
sight!  For some reason the outside wall is all wavy.  My husband's standard response is "What do you expect from a mobile home?"  My reply is always, "Remember that wavy wall in our family room in the house we built for $250,000?  Bad construction happens folks!  I am a great lover of old homes that were built to last but no matter how well-built a house is, there is bound to be something that goes terribly wrong.  You can't just blame everything on bad construction and hope your wife backs off!

So we thought about using spackling to even the wall out, but that would really take someone talented with spackle or someone who has a lot of patience--neither of which was us.  We thought about replacing the wall board (it's literally a cardboard substance!) with bead board.  However, my husband had just put baseboards and crown molding up and we didn't want to mess with that.  I thought about painting the wall in vertical stripes as an optical illusion.  But the hall is such a narrow space that I thought stripes might overwhelm it even if I used narrow stripes in soft colors.

Finally, I was in Lowe's and became attracted to the paintable wallpaper products and noticed some that looked like bead board. That's what I decided on.  My husband, younger daughter and son put the wallpaper up.  My husband is a little OCD and soon learned that you didn't have to place the wallpaper to the wall with great force.  My son's method of simply placing the paper to the wall gently actually held the best.  Here again, my husband complained that nothing was straight in the mobile home and therefore it was impossible to place the wallpaper up straight.  I quietly reminded him that we have never lived in any HOUSE where any of the construction seemed straight.  That's where the kids came in.  They actually seemed to have fun with the project and turned my husband's mood around.  Also lots of yummy snacks keep spirits high.  I kept the paint color the same in the hall as throughout the house.  I use flat paint because wavy walls and other unsightly flaws show up less.


Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Front Porches

When you live in the country (in a mobile home), you have to give serious consideration to a porch.  In our case, we have a closed-in front porch and a "back deck."  Since the front door is the easiest to enter from our attached carport, we needed some way to take shoes off before entering the house.  This is because there is a lot of dirt in the country.  We have a gravel drive which is very dusty when it hasn't rained in a while.  Our cars need constant spraying down due to the amount of travel they go through, (we're 30 minutes from the nearest Walmart).  Also, front porches are really important in the South for welcoming people.  When you live in a mobile home where you walk through the door and HELLO there's your living room, kitchen, dining room, etc., it's kinda nice to greet people on the porch and chat awhile while the family straightens up.  My goal was to make my front porch so cozy (as well as a way to trap dirt) that we might just visit there instead.  The decor has to be simple but homey so that it doesn't become one more place that requires constant attention.  It has to be okay if there are leaves and grass on the floor.  They are easily swept away and pretty much expected on a porch. I added what I call Parlor Touches like the knick knacks, pillows, houseplants.  A double rocking chair with cushions and corner bench with storage are easy to wipe clean.  The porch ceiling is painted a coastal green and the nooks are filled with little treasures.  (Ceiling painted Valspar Signature Colors - Southern Breeze SR901)

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Class Up The M.H. Fireplace

Some women go through life turning on lamps in the evening.  Others are themselves a light. ~Helen Parks

One of the first renovating projects I did (after replacing the carpet!) in our mobile home was to antique the fireplace.  The original was pretty cheap looking wood and cheap looking tile.  My husband replaced the tile with marble leftover from the house we built.  He also painted the fireplace insert with a brown, "hammered-look" spray paint designed for metal that can be exposed to heat (I think Rust-oleum brand).  I replaced the blah handles with adorable twig-shaped ones.  I used the below product that I found at Walmart at the time.  It was very simple.  Because the adjacent wall has my cross-stitch collection displayed on it and there's a TV above the mantle, I chose to decorate the mantle sparsely.  I have my grandma's figurines from her dining room that my sister and I used to play with (and quite possibly broke!).  

I'm pretty siked about another Rust-oleum product on the market that will class up my kitchen cabinets.  I chose a light color for the fireplace to make the tiny living room appear larger.  I would do the same with the kitchen cabinets as well:  http://cabinets.rustoleumtransformations.com/

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living Series: Repurposed Armoire

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. ~Kiki Knickerbocker

Living in a mobile home, I had to think about whether I could use another piece of furniture (painted girly pink) that my sister was wanting me to take.  She was about to give it to someone else when I realized that it was just what I needed in my master bath as a linen closet.  I had my husband move the tiny pantry-sized factory-installed cabinet to the kitchen where I could place cans of food in it, and made space for this very pink armoire.

The armoire stayed on the front porch for quite a few days.  Every family member would go out there and sand on it a little.  It wasn't until my eldest daughter spent about three days sanding that I was finally inspired to really go to work.

I pulled off the bottom door that hinged open and painted that space as well.  I found two lined, white baskets at Lowe's that fit perfectly in this opening.  My husband placed two more shelves in the side of the armoire normally used for hanging clothing.  We used regular shelf board from Lowe's.  You iron-on strips to the exposed sides of the shelf to give it a finished look (it's really cool).  We replaced the door handles with something that looked vintage and actually fit the piece better than the original.  I was going for a spa look in my bathroom so white furnishings with the metal door handles added a minimalist, clean feel.


I was inspired by these two pictures from Before and After (ISBN 1574862960).  The first picture convinced me to paint the armoire and the second one showed me what I could do with the empty space once I took off the hinged door on the bottom of the armoire.  I'm only sorry that I didn't take a "before" shot. 

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk

The Spirit of the Hive (Beehive girls' theme):  Have Faith.  Seek Knowledge.  Safeguard Health.  Honor Womanhood.  Understand Beauty.  Value Work.  Love Truth.  Taste the Sweetness of Service.  Feel Joy.

My oldest daughter and I worked on this trunk that my mom had been given by an elderly neighbor who had recently passed away.  It was in pretty bad shape.  I wasn't sure if there was anything that could be done.  But it was built of solid construction and had a lot of character.  Then I saw the trunk pictured below in Flea Market Finds, Before and After, Leisure Arts (ISBN 1574862960).  Since it was a trunk, we decided to go with a travel theme.  As can be seen, the cushion on top of the trunk has gotten a lot of use.  I really like this blog that inspires me to repurpose older furniture:  http://fineandhandy.blogspot.com/.

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: The Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Armoire
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection of Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Scaling Down to a Mobile Home

Jacqueline Kennedy once said, "Every thing in the White House must have a reason for being there."  This is even more true for a small house!  Want to know one of my decorating inspirations?  Old episodes of The Rockford Files!  (Gotta love Jim Rockford!)  One thing I noticed about his crummy little mobile home (NOT trailer!) on the beach was that as soon as Rockford went inside and shut the door, the place was quite charming.  For a tough guy, there were a lot of homey (yet masculine) touches.  I thought, "I could do that!  I don't have to stick with this generic factory-built decor."  Decorating a mobile home can be a lot of fun--especially if you have ever had a doll house for your Barbies like I did.  It takes so much less money and time than bigger houses.

When you have limited floor space you have to think small.  Most of my larger furniture has been exchanged (literally I swapped furniture with various people), for smaller pieces.  My furniture has to be practical and comfortable.  Furnishings are kept to a minimum.  I've even decided to swap out a full-sized piano for a keyboard style they use in music schools (update: daughters have prohibited this!).  The big screen T.V. has been exchanged for a flat screen that fits on the wall above the fireplace.  The workout equipment has been swapped for a family gym membership near my son's school that's $55/month.  Father and son go together each morning on their way to work and school and their bathroom at home stays much, much cleaner.  Plus, working out no longer interferes with family time.

I have a comfortable love seat that sits off the ground, which helps to expose more floor area.  Matching the couch color with the wall color so that it's not such a contrast really helps to make the room seem larger.  It's a smaller piece of furniture with narrower arm-rests.  I also have two comfortable dark leather chairs that are really too big and dark for the space and I would like to replace them with light leather recliners that are smaller (I've seen these at Macy's but they are expensive!!!)  I have to keep the furniture against walls in order to have as much floor area exposed so the place stays light and airy and not so crampt and I like to do yoga and Leslie Sansome workouts on the area carpet in the middle of the room.

As I've mentioned, mobile homes look best if the furniture is small-scale and the home and furnishings have small-print textures and patterns in wallpapers, fabrics, tiles, etc.  We used honey-colored wood-look linoleum flooring throughout.  I can't tell you how many times folks thought it was real wood flooring.  We had wood flooring throughout the 2,200 square-foot house we built and then sold, (bathrooms and hall were tile), and I was always so exhausted from having to take care of the floors.

Our walls are the same throughout the mobile home which is good for small homes.  I chose butter cream for the paint color.  Just take a stick of butter to the store and match it to a paint sample and voila!  That's the color of my walls.  They are cheerful, yet warm and comforting.  I've gotten pretty depressed from moving from my house to a mobile home and having to scale down so much -- yet wall color really can help create a peaceful, happy feeling and keep me grounded.  (And listening to Dave Ramsey).  But light, cool colors are generally good for small spaces.

I don't use a lot of tables, coffee tables, etc.  I was given a small and charming matching buffet and china cabinet and I use the buffet in the living room to house the electronic stuff for the t.v. and also extra dishes, etc. that don't fit well in the kitchen/dining area.  The china cabinet is pretty and functional and all of my dishes are housed there.  (See my post about scaling down http://homemakers-journal.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-really-like-this-blog.html)  The only other table in the living room is a side table that has a glass top.  (Not a fan of glass tops, especially around children, but if you have to have tables, glass tops are better for small spaces).

Pages from my Idea Book

I have an Idea Book for Recipes and one for decorating and gardening.  Idea Books are a great way to keep track of what you like so that when you're ready to decorate (inside and out) you can just have at it and know that you'll probably love it.  Time to time, I will weed the Decorating Idea Book of ideas I'm no longer interested in, but I'll usually keep the pics that inspired something I have done.
(Some of the tips are inspired from the following source:  Sep/Oct '96 Country Woman, p. 45)

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Repurposed Armoire
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat

Homemaking Journals

“Homemaking journals were…passed down through family generations in the ‘olden days.’  It is a journal where you record in one place all things related to homemaking: all of the things special to you, traditions you have instilled, secrets, tips and more.”1

When my aunt retired, she and her husband began to serve a mission in Washington D.C.  Soon after their mission began, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Aunt Phala used this remaining time to finish family history, purchase quality photo albums for her many grandchildren, and she compiled her own Homemaking Journal.  She gave her children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, and nieces such as myself, a copy of this wonderful book.

Aunt Phala was one of the most creative and talented people I’ve ever known and a true asset to the LDS church.  She wrote many a road show skit and put on Girls Camps and many other major church events, including weddings and baby showers.  Everything was done with style and hospitality not common today.  My favorite recipes of Phala’s were recorded in her journal, including chicken and stuffing casserole, pearly shell chicken salad, and orange box-cake cookies.  She also included quotes, family stories, treasured and rare photos, original poetry and drawings, and advice/instruction on anything from cleaning to entertaining.

I have been fortunate to know many people throughout my life that have been an inspiration to me especially for homemaking and Phala’s journal has certainly inspired me.  Her suffering was long and painful, but she courageously completed goals most of the healthy would never attempt.  My own homemaking journal will be dedicated to Aunt Phala for inspiring me.

It occurred to me, as I have been compiling my homemaker’s journal, that I have become much more organized by doing so.  I am able to find what I need…when I actually need it!  I believe sitting down, (maybe for a few hours each Sunday), and working on this specialized journal can help us to organize ourselves.  Topic ideas for a homemaking journal listed by Dionna Sanchez include but are not limited to:

• “Recipes (especially beloved family recipes that have been in your family for years)
• Inspirational poems, quotes, Bible verses or excerpts that inspire you in your love for family, home, and homemaking?
• Tips, tricks, hints and ideas that aid you on a daily basis in helping your home to run smoothly
• Home schooling information—if relevant
• Health and first aid remedies and tricks
• Ideas and tips for Emergency Preparedness
• List of birthdates and anniversaries
• Holiday Traditions
• Kid stuff (activities, projects and kid recipes like “goop”)
• Gardening—planting information, seasonal planting favorites that you have used, tips, tricks, and more.
• Your daily routines—do you keep a to-do list?  Does it help you to stick by a certain schedule?
• Meal Planning—how do you keep organized in your kitchen?  What helps you keep meals rotating regularly?
• Budget outline
• Trusted phone numbers of doctors, dentists, builders, pastors, and more

Not only will you now be breathtakingly organized, you will have a precious gift to give or leave to your loved ones.

1)  Dionna Sanchez has written about Homemaking Journals for Emphasis on Moms, a monthly online newsletter http://www.emphasisonmoms.com/.

Living Small

Homemaking Journals

Grateful Living

Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows

Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk

Grateful Living: Repurposed Armoire

Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace

Grateful Living: Front Porches

Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls

Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: The Homebuilders of the World