Saturday, January 17, 2009

I'll keep you my dirty little secret

Having paper blinds is one of my dirty little secrets. I have a very good reason for this home decor faux pas. When Peter and I purchased our condo I didn't plan on living here for more than two years. I saw it as something temporary and not my home. Here I am almost four years later, staring at my $5 paper blinds, and it still doesn't feel like home. I have paper blinds on almost every window. I must admit that I really have zero interest in decorating-but paper blinds. C'MON!


Now people are saying it will be 10 years before we can sell without taking a loss. WHAT? How am I supposed to live somewhere for ten more years that isn't my home. REPEAT I am not supposed to be here. This isn't where I am supposed to live. But the reality is that I am here at least for a good while. The second reality is that I definitely do not have the money to purchase treatments for all of our windows. And I can't sew a stitch so making curtains seems to be out of the question too. So it would seem I might be eligible for the Guinness books of World records for worst window treatments EVER!


Did I also forget to mention that Pete and I never painted our bedroom, or hung anything on the walls and we currently have as light bulb and not a light fixture hanging in the middle of our ceiling. It is really pathetic. We haven't painted the bedroom and now it is time to repaint most of the other rooms. Where did the time go?We always talk about making changes an improvements but we never seem to have the time or the $$$ especially since I am now a SAHM.


So now I need to figure out how to make this place feel like home for practically no money! Any suggestions?


Oh well...at least it seems I have about ten years to figure it out.

I would have taken a picture but it is not something I want to capture forever!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

u could at least hang pics of E up?! that cries out home more than anything...

Christy said...

We bought our house three years ago, and we paid a TON it. Houses in New Jersey are EXPENSIVE! Although the houses around us are still selling for a decent amount, I am worried that we won't be able to get what we paid for it - which sucks ass.

In our living room and dining room, we bought roman shades from Target. They were pretty cheap and look okay. I bought the curtains for the bedrooms on clearance from Bed Bath and Beyond. Just keep an eye out for bargains!

PletcherFamily said...

I agree - keep an eye out for bargains. Hey, we have lived in our house for a year, and poor Cainan has a bedsheet with thumb tacks covering his windows because we haven't been able to decide on window treatments for his room. How sad is that???

Anonymous said...

I actually like your blinds lol. I don't think they even look like paper unless you point it out. I third the bargain thing. Don't rule out stores like Big Lots you'd be surprised what you can find there!

Marcy said...

One word: IKEA! Cute, cheap stuff. We've furnished and decorated most of our home with Ikea stuff.

Beth said...

I can tell you what I did for an apartment I once lived in when I had very little money with my first-year teacher's salary. I went to Walmart. They have a table of discounted fabric. Much of it is $1 or $2 a yard. Find a color/pattern you like and buy a bunch of it. Then go to the blinds/curtains section and buy tension rods or curtain rods for your windows if you don't already have them. Cut the fabric to the generously so you can drape it over the rods to look like curtains. I uaed to get lots of compliments. No one ever knew they weren't really curtains. The trick is to layer a couple different fabrics and be sure to strategically tuck the unsewn hems so you can't see them. Or just get the fabric spray glue to glue the hem so it looks like you spent all day sewing. Good luck!

Future Mom (Heather) said...

I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL! When we moved in, we were thinking "starter place" and planning on staying for less than 5years & moving on to something bigger/better. Well in less than 3months, it will be our 5 year mark & we are not even close to getting out. (Unless you count looking at houses online and emailing them to the hubby every other day.) We are trying to put a positive spin on the housing market crapiness by thinking that even if the house you are selling is worth less than you had planned, that means that the house you are buying will also cost you less. That keeps me happy.

My blinds secret is home depot white faux wooden blinds. They were pretty cheap and look a whole lot better than any other kind of blinds. We have one on every window and even talk about buying the same ones for the new place when we move.

Also I think your place looks fine, you have a great looking downstairs which you don't have to do anything to. What makes you think you have to paint everything over again?

EP said...

I'm a big fan of hanging photos up to make a room feel like home. It worked for my apartment, and I know it'll work for you.

Also, with the painting and window treatments and stuff, do it one step at a time. My mother is always slowly improving her home. She just takes it piece by piece and does a little at a time.

Rose said...

At least we'll be stuck here together! Mark happens to have his own "dirty little secret"...he can sew. He actually made a Roman shade for his skylight when he lived with the rents. Maybe he can go "queer-eye" again and make you some window treatments!