1970’s Brown / Mushroom Project

             It is cold here in Alabama. The furnace is running which I don’t like, but accept. Ever since I’ve been on my own I’ve scrimped and saved for this period of my life.  My goal was to be able to live out my retirement without obsessing over money. I can afford to pay the gas bill even if I keep the house at 65°!! It is so hard to let go of that frugal mindset.

The “mushroom project” is progressing. Ideas are coming together. I actually ordered new curtains through Amazon yesterday. It is so much easier to order and browse on line over going to stores which drive me buggy. I was able to use my credit card points along with free shipping so I’m ahead of the game.

I can’t remember the last time I actually shopped for curtains or drapes. I thought I was in a time warp back to the 1970’s and early 1980’s as all that seemed to be available were dark browns, reds, and earth tones. I get depressed looking at the ads from that time frame… they all seem so dark…not bright or cheerful at all. We had the energy crisis and out of control inflation back then so I guess those dark tones were just a reflection of the times.

How I relish the “innertubes” being able to just go to Google images and find a perfect advertisement example of the “brown 1970’s”.

I finally turned up a bright cheery yellow floral print which should contrast well with the green I plan on using for the walls.

The wall patching is just about finished up in the bathroom. That will be the first order to get me warmed up for the rest of the work to be done. I don’t want to spend much money doing all this. I should be able to do the furnishings by using what I already have.

The shutters really turned out well. The dark wood will make a nice contrast to much lighter curtains and wall. I installed a post into the bottom center of each assembly which goes into a corresponding hole in each sill. A simple hook from the  window frame center holds the shutters in place.

Where the old kitchen used to be in this living area had been converted over to my watch-making workshop. This will have to be reconfigured to include a sitting/table space. Believe it or not I have a pretty good idea how to pull this off fairly easily. I’m putting this picture in to have a record of the beginnings of this project.

I’ve got the perfect two chairs to use for this area. I just reglued the rungs to the wobbly one. These chairs were from my Aunt Fran’s dining room set. This picture is a compare and contrast with my Stickley dining room chair. There is such a difference in scale. The smaller scale of Aunt Fran’s chair is more in keeping of the furniture which was sold in the 1930’s for New York

apartments.

Once again I’m overwhelmed by the stories behind what goes into making my home. January 2014 it will be 20 years Aunt Fran has been gone. I’m certain she never in her wildest dreams ever imagined so much of her life would end up in Alabama and shared with people all over the world.