I am not known for my shopping prowess.
My mother-in-law considers me picky.
She isn’t wrong.
I suppose I am selective.
I like to surround myself with things I love, and sometimes it takes a while to find those things.
I would rather go without something than purchase an item that doesn’t feel right.
It has to feel right.
However.
Hubby has put me in charge with decorating The Happy House.
For many women, this would be a dream come true.
For me, decorating a 2nd home is a bit of a chore.
Because we need so many things.
And I want them to feel right.
After many long days searching for the right rug, I started playing around on the Internet.
I found a site called Company C.
And then I saw Yukata.
He was just what I was looking for.
I could tell.
I drove a long way to be sure.
I tried to play it cool, but you know how it is with love.
You can’t fake it.
I fell in love with a 6 x 6 inch square of wool.
Like head over heels.
But it was such a production.
Yukata was not ready.
I would have to be patient.
I made arrangements to receive Yukata 6 weeks later.
This is how men waiting for Internet wives must feel, I decided.
Because my desire was real; my longing excruciating.
The day Yukata was scheduled to arrive, I put on my lip-gloss.
{Okay, it was Chapstick with sunscreen, but still.}
I sat in the driveway for hours, waiting.
Finally, I heard a low rumble and saw the brown UPS truck heading in my direction.
I met the driver at the curb. He hoisted Yukata over his shoulder and followed me to my front door.
Once inside, I noticed the plastic had been slit at the top.
Oh no. I panicked. What if he is damaged? What if he has to go back? I’ve waited so long.
The deliveryman sliced open the plastic.
I thought he might shiver on the cold floor.
But Yukata laid still — waiting for my fingertips.
From the floor, Yukata revealed his beauty.
And it was good.
What’s your mojo when it comes to decorating your home? Is it easy for you? Tough? How do you know you are making the right purchase? Have you ever made a costly decorating mistake?
tweet me @rasjacobson
I did not receive any compensation from Company C for this post. And that is a darn shame. But I’d love another Company C rug. Or a pillow. Or some fabric. Frankly, everything they sell is gorgeous.
I love Yukata. S/he is brilliant, positively brilliant. And very happy. Brought a smile to my face as soon as I scrolled down to it!! My decorating style?? The color of the rug is not worth divorce court. Honest…
Nearly everything in The Happy House is courtesy of Hone Trends. Or Marshall’s. Or IKEA. This seemed like the anchor for the house. The space we will most hang out. I wanted it to be joyful. It was worth it. 😉 I suppose that is why I worked all those years, too: to be able to buy what I love (which isn’t often)!
I don’t have much decorating style, I’ll be honest. But your Yukata is good, yes. And I love how the pillows make that turquoise pop up off the floor. Very nice 🙂
Pillows from Target. Pretty good, right? 😉
Beautiful! Decorating would be a cinch for me if money wasn’t an issue! Right now I go for the indestructible types of things because of all the kids.
Hi Annie! I’m kind of known for hanging around thrift shops, so this was an unusual purchase for me. But I’m glad I went for it. It’s the only carpet in the place (to date), and it is a soft place to rest out feet. That table came from a thrift shop. I’m thinking it might need some spray paint or something. We’ll see.
Funny enough, I made a very spontaneous decorating purchase last night! There was this piece of wall art in Pier One that was just TOO PERFECT. I decided to buy it and beg Doc for forgiveness later. It was so worth it. 🙂 I feel joy every time I look at it.
Sounds like true love.
It was good for both of us.
And now you will walk all over him….
Love, love, love it! There’s a Company C outlet not far from me!! Road trip to NH? Actually, the rug I wrote about when I first started blogging (with your help!) the one I found at the dump, was Company C!! http://www.kaseymathews.com/wishes-fulfilled/ Yukata is much, much more gorgeous and would never be at the dump!!!! XO
You found a Company C rug in the trash?! I forgot about that! Yeah, I don’t have that kind of luck. But I was happy to pay for this one, and I’m sure we’ll have him (it) for many years to come. Or until a major hurricane or flood. Just saying. 😉
Renee, I love the rug! That was certainly worth the wait! I’m the same way so I appreciate your patience. I’m envisioning something red on the table to tie in with the rug!? I’m not good at keeping up with you but I enjoy reading when I do. Last one was about a lot for a house in Fla. Is it really done already? Good for you! Xoxo Amy
Sent from my iPhone
Aimer! That last post was a sign (literally) that the lot we’d built on was good luck. But the house has been ready since summer. I’ve just been slow to furnish it because, well… As I said, I need to love the things I put into my home. Hubby made sure we had beds. And towels.
It is beautiful… and happy 🙂
Oh, I love what you picked out, girlie! It looks so warm and cozy! I absolutely love decorating and creating my own style with random things that I find at the craft store. I swear I was an Interior Decorator in a past life. 😉 Can’t wait to see how you decorate the rest of The Happy House!
Pssst! Melissa, I’m a big thrift shop shopper, so you will probably dig all the projecting I’ve been doing. Can you say “spray paint”? 😉 I would never claim to be any kind of an Interior Designer, but I have been having a good time finding little treasures. More on that soon.
Gorgeous! And yes it definitely has to feel right!
Thanks Kassandra! Not everyone agrees that things have to feel right. Lots of people just think things have to look right. I can’t go for that. For me form and content have to be united.
Beautiful Yukata, well worth the wait and the being picky for. Very happy anchor.
Like you I am a picky shopper. Things must fit and I must love them. I rarely add new ‘things’ to my home. Most of what is here has been ‘here’ for many years and has been collected over many years and on many continents. Most is very old or inherited, intersected by things like a comfortable office chair. Now and then I will add a ‘need’, but even these are wrenching choices that require sometimes weeks of searching.
I have one new ‘love’ I am contemplating. Shockingly it is at World Market. I haven’t decided yet, but I think it will join my collection.
Val! I am just like you! I collect and then I fall so in love with what I have, I feel no need to replace or update. I used to tease my parents for never updating their decor.
And yet.
Here I am.
In my own house, and I can’t even tell you the last new thing I bought for this place. Maybe a potholder. 😉 And I like it that way. This second house thing is throwing me for a loop. Decorating quickly is not my thing. What is this new thing you are ‘contemplating’? Do tell!
I want this very badly (maybe) for my library. It blends beautifully with much of the furniture I brought back from Asia:
http://www.worldmarket.com/product/indonesian-daybed-frame.do?&from=fn
I would have a cream raw silk cover made for a twin mattress. This is the same material I have on the cushion for a similar style love seat I bought in Malaysia years ago. Raw Silk is machine washable and durable as can be.
Then I would cover it with lots of throw pillows in a mix of bright colors taken from Sari’s and muted colors taken from nature. Finally I would drape a couple of my old Sari’s across the back on the wall, likely my purple ones since I think I am painting my library in muted silver/gray.
I love that! I’ve seen it before! Day beds are so wonderful. And versatile. Good places to curl up with a laptop. Or a book. Are you going to do it?
Probably, I have to finish clearing out some stuff and putting the floors in. Another couple of months to go. Floors, paint, new window covers. I haven’t decided on a couple of things yet. But, yes it is about 90% sure thing at this point.
Great carpet. Yes, I’m with you on the charity shop front (oops, sorry, must remember to call them ‘thrift shops’ in an American context). Many years ago, when we had no money at all, we had to have furniture all the same. We got 2 solid, simple, cherry wood chests that we thought were gorgeous, for less than £10 each in a ramshackle junkshop. They’ve served us well, and we’ve always considered them stylish additions to our home. It turns out they’re early 19th century and pretty valuable. Not that that matters. We ain’t selling. Anyone who sees them thinks they’ve been carefully handed down through the generations. Instant heirlooms.
Hi Margaret! Isn’t it wonderful when you find something fabulous and learn that is actually has real market value. I LOVE when that happens. I’ve found some wonderful pieces of Fiesta Ware at garage sales, and I just cherish them. The table on that rug was a steal from a consignment shop. I don’t think it belongs in that room, but it works there. For now. Until I find a table I really LURVE! 😉
“This is how men waiting for Internet wives must feel”… Haha. Only if that rug is Russian, dear. LOVE your new decor! I’m still in that beige place where I haven’t decided to put anything on our walls. I’m going for modern/ simplistic, but Tom says it looks like a Meth house.
Tori, your house and the Happy House have that Meth Den Chic thing goin’ on. Nothin’ on my walls there either. Not yet. Art is level 5 when it comes to decor. It is nowhere near a necessity. We had to get kitchen utensils and beds first. And, of course, I needed Yakuta.
Gorgeous. LOVE it.
Maybe you can come down and see me sometime! *wink*
I’m a disaster when it comes to decorating but I know what I like. Right now my house is a mess but I know what I’s like it to be, but I don’t have the money to do it. I’d like to do the curtains myself, to dye them and stamp them with stamps I’ve made that match my futon-sofa. Actually I’d like to replace the futon but it’s so comfortable now, like an old friend. I guess I’m happy with my erst-while decorating, if I could actually see it.
Normally, I hate decorating. I often worry about making expensive mistakes. Which I have done before. Your ideas for your curtains sound so cool. I so need to figure out window treatments for down there or everything is going to fry in the sun. If you ever do those curtains will you blog about it and let me know? I’d love to see how they come out!
Wow ~ that is fabulous! Congratulations!
That rug screams “Florida summer home.” It’s great.
I don’t have a decorating Martha Stewart bone in my entire body. I am hopeless. I neither have the ability to decorate/coordinate, nor the inclination. I need professional help when I do decide to try to match things in my home. Otherwise, it just looks like a big hodge podge mess.
Misty: I am no kind of decorator. I rely on friends who keep sending me texts of cool stuff from Home Trends and Marshall’s. I just knew this rug would work. The only other splurge for this joint will be window treatments. I have NO idea how to measure for those gigantic windows and I’d like to avoid those dreadful vertical blinds.
Nice rug. I’m into the whole industrial thing that’s popular right now. So in my re-decorating of my rehabbed home, I tried to incorporate as much as possible. Neutral tones, metal, and reclaimed mill flooring top the list. The Boss is VERY country, I’m VERY Post-Modern Industrial. We go together like oil and water. I’ve made some compromises, she’s given up. We’re happy with how things have turned out.
You sound like Hubby. If he had his druthers, the whole place would be ultra-modern. We’d be sitting in a room that George Jetson would love, complete with tray tables. I have a theory about decorating: If you pick what you love, if will someone all just work together. Like I said, it’s just a theory. 😉
Beautiful rug. Can Baka come and visit? His favorite place in my parents’ house is on their imported Turkish carpet. He loves to sit there and chew his bone. He won’t even step on the door mat I bought at Target.
You and Baka can totally come. We’d love to see you! Although, I imagine I’d be vacuuming for days afterwards, which is not a problem because I did buy a vacuum which is very sucky. Which ias what you want in a vacuum cleaner. 😉
Don’t know about decorating. Just glad I’m finally getting email notices from your blog after three months of trying.
I was missing you! Glad you have you back where you belong! Did my friend Margo pay you a visit? I tried to introduce her to some wonderful faith bloggers (of which you are one). If you see her, say hello. She’s been blogging without any community for a long time now. 😉
Don’t recall a Margo. Can you DM me her Twittername?
Love! We’re twinning again on decorating style. You described me to a T! I have to love something and I’d rather live without than just buy stuff to have it. Hubs and I are different that way, but he helps me pull the trigger once I do find things I love. The room is gorgeous and the rug is perfect! Love it! Hope it was fun pulling it together. Hugs!
Hi Mary! When you say “pulling it all together,” that would imply that I am done, right?I am soooo not done. I bought a rug. That is all. I have miles to go before I sleep. But we have towels. And pillows. And plates. And cutlery. And a couch and a loveseat. And a rug. And, of course, Hubby made sure we have a television.
And yet we have no cable. And no WiFi. WHich is fine for a long weekend, but I was getting twitchy after about 4 days. 😉 Next trip, window treatments. I’m going to require help for that.
Chapstick with sunblock rules.
P.S. Would you please come decorate my house?
Um, you will want to stay tuned for Decorating The Happy House: Part II. Which will be in about 3 months. Which is the next time I get to go down there. Seriously. It’s slow-going. I think I accomplish one thing each time I’m down there. By the time we’re ready to retire, the bedrooms might have headboards. Maybe.
Meanwhile, how are you? How is your house? Are you recovering from the fire. When I see you respond to my words, I feel petty and materialistic. I know you will say I shouldn’t, but I do.
So glad you passed on the Buffalo Bills motif.
It was considered briefly. Hahahahaha. Seriously, can you imagine?
Every time I think of something I want for re-doing/improving a room, it opens up 6 more things I want. Instead of a new coat of paint or a new table, now the wall needs to be re-stuccoed. And a new overhead lamp. And new flooring. And…
That happens around here. I swear Hubby can HEAR the home improvement projects. Once, I needed to hand a picture on the wall. BANG BANG BANG. Oops. Too low. A stuck in another nail. BANG BANG BANG. Ooops. Too high. Third hole was a charm. Hubby came home, admired my handiwork, then removed the picture to see how I’d done. He saw all those holes. And HE HAD TO FILL THEM WITH SPACKLE AND REPAINT THE AREA BEFORE REHANGING THE PICTURE. I’m sorry for screaming, but seriously? Maybe that’s why I might not love decorating very much. Hubby cares a lot about the decor. Like maybe too much.
I feel like I owe you a co-pay or something.
OMG. I am totally coveting Yukata. The accent pillows are also perfect. Nice work. You should do a spread for BH&G (or maybe Playboy, laying on the rug?). I made a bold choice, in a post yet to come, about an orange wall. And I can’t afford curtains right now so you see it when you drive up to the house at night (or when you drive anywhere NEAR the house at night) and it fills me with glee and joy every. single. time. I loves it. I am pretty sure Yukata would work well with my orange wall.
JM: Your orange walls would LOVE Yukata. So very much. And I’m all about making bold choices, so I’m glad you love your orange room. I also have an orange room without curtains. In fact as I write to you now, the neighbors are probably looking in at me tapping away.
Okay, I’m freaking myself out.
That rug/carpet is amazing! People are always astonished to hear (and sometimes see) that I have absolutely no decorating sense. Interior decor skills or talent or creativity – zilch. None. Zero. So when we moved to this house we were happy to leave most of it as it was – we actually liked the previous owners’ taste – and that was kind of a revelation to me as I couldn’t have imagined decorating like this! So I kind of know what I like and don’t like when I see it, but don’t know what I might like before I see it… if you know what I mean!
Whaaaat? Your home came all decorated? Is that how they do it in England? If so, I need to hop over there immediately. I don’t think it is all that unusual for visual artists to not love to decorate. You put all your efforts onto a canvas or some other medium. I’ll bet your studio is fabulous though. You DO have a studio, don’t you? Or are you still sitting all fakakta on the floor?! 😉 I hope not! I’m glad you like the rug. I had a feeling you would.
Ah… my studio… hmmm… how can I put this… It’s a mess. One day I will take a photo and… or maybe not! 😉
People often redecorate their home before they put it on the market to sell. Or just ‘refresh’ its decor which is probably what the previous owners did here. We got really lucky as they (or rather the guy) ahd actually built and designed this house and garden. So it was and still is beautiful.
Oh! I would love to see your studio. I’ll be a lot of other people would, too. I always like to see the space where people create. It is always just right. Can you picture me in my orange room with the red chairs and the big bookcases? 😉
Yes, I can! 🙂
However, my ‘studio’ isn’t actually a studio. It’s a messy room with a desk and computer, a table with an A3 printer, a trolley next to that with a scanner, and various bits of mismatched furniture and other stuff. And mess. Loads of mess. You know how parents always tell their children to tidy up, thinking that when they grow up it will happen naturally? Well, with me, it didn’t!
Holy crap. That rug! It’s just beautiful. It is A DARN shame you didn’t get compensated. Loving your style, chick!
It is a bummer, isn’t it? Seriously. I wish Company C knew how much I adored them. Nice to meet you!
Beautiful. I love the photo too. It looks like something right out of Better Homes and Gardens!
Yukata is making ME happy as well – that’s one talented rug! Love the decor on the happy house.
I LOVE IT!!! It’s a happy room for the happy house for sure.
THAT is gorgeous! My decorating style? WIth our lifestyle, the only thing that remains a constant is photos. Images of our family, our travels, my exploration. We pick up funky stuff from around the world, but all of that equates to pounds in our next shipping container, so it means MY Happy House in Florida is where I’m slowly starting to collect our “forever” stuff.
This made me laugh! And oddly enough, I just drafted a post about furniture selection myself – and the challenges i have with it. More parallels, I’m guessing!