Decorating Plans, Part One

This time it's not my house....although I'm always 'tweaking' things around here, moving things from place to place, or finding something to add or subtract. I have a new project going on.

For some time now, Mom's been wishing she could make her house look different...more cozy. She's not awfully good at telling anyone what she likes, and often says that she can see it in her mind, but doesn't know how to make someone understand what it is she imagines. For the longest time she was on a search in consignment shops and thrift shops (our favorite haunts) for a new dining set. Nothing pleased her, and I finally determined that it was just useless to keep going out looking for one and coming home with nothing. I thought that if it was meant to be, we'd just 'run into one' when we were least looking. I was right.

One day I was out running my errands, and without any thought, I stopped at my favorite shop. There it was! Just what I thought Mom wanted in the way of a new table and chairs. I called her and told her all about it, and she decided to take a chance and let me bring it home, knowing that she couldn't return it. She was so pleased when she saw it and kept saying, "That's just what I've been looking for!" At last! That challenge met a victorious end!

Then, a good many months ago, she began to talk of redoing her living room. Uh oh! What would I be looking for this time? I like to help her, but it's hard if I don't know what she wants or how she wants to do something. I offered her some of my books, in the hope that I could at least figure out what style she was hoping for. She said she thought 'cottagey' would be perfect, which it would, for her small little white home with the green shutters. So, I showed her my books on Cottage decorating. No, she doesn't like the 'splashy flowered furniture' (Cabbage Roses) or soft colors because they are hard to keep clean. She's 'not wild about' stripes either and she doesn't want wicker. Ok... now what would I do with this? I guessed it wasn't Cottagey she wanted after all. So....I waited. I knew that sooner or later we'd 'get there'.