The House of FU(n)

I think it's safe to disclose that after 5+ years of marriage, Jeb and I are finally leaving what we thought in 2003 were our "temporary" digs and buying a modest house. I've been keeping it under wraps a bit, out of fear that something would go awry with the deal, but everything looks like it's good to go now. We're very excited and if all goes well, we'll close Wednesday morning!

Maybe you can imagine what a blessing and a curse this is for a designer. I have quite the mental maelstrom goin' on, having decorated and redecorated the entire place at least...oh, roughly...1,683 times in the past three weeks. If you could unzip my head, this is the what you'd see inside:



Since this is my stock in trade, I'm not just decorating my house...I'm creating the new corporate headquarters of Room Fu, so to speak. People have preconceived ideas of what a designer's house looks like, and if a client does happen to see the place, they'll undoubtedly measure my talent and abilities according to what they see. Plus, since the house is definitely on the low-budget scale, I'd like to use it to demonstrate how you really can create a space with a lot of style on a tight budget.

Excitement abounds, but my fingernails have been whittled down to the nubs, my insomnia is way out of control and I've learned a lot about myself and my family that would otherwise have maybe gone unnoticed.

For instance, I've discovered we're cotton people.

We're not silk drape people, we're not Hollywood Regency people, we're cotton people. That's not to say that I don't lurv silk drapes and Hollywood Regency but suddenly all of the frills I normally incorporate into my professional design work (when appropriate) seem too fancy for my family and our future neighborhood. This has helped get me through a few bouts of analysis paralysis when I've stumbled upon something that is pretty or a great bargain. "Would cotton people have this in their house," I wonder? If not, I move on.

Because I'm trying to economize, I'm experiencing the greatest grief where my daughter's room is concerned. The restraint it requires when perusing the PB Teen catalog these days is just more than I can bear at times. I keep uttering the phrase, "PHOEBE MUST HAVE..." like some kind of decorator neanderthal. We can't afford to blow out a fantasy bedroom right off the bat with all of the other initial expenses a new home brings, so I keep reminding myself that she gets excited when she spies Sweet & Low packets ("PINK!")--painting the walls a shell pink is more than enough to thrill her beyond belief. But Mama wants to create a design bombshell for her baby girl and I'm already having to bridge the gap between what my three-year old wants (Disney Princesses) and what I want (mod, hip, sophisticated...but still cotton). Being hyper-budget-conscious on top of that is a real struggle for sure.

I'll include updates along the way here, so you can see the transformation our new place into The House of FU(n).

One last thing...while I adore the exterior paint color, I cannot abide that powder blue front door. It looks like the ruffly-shirt tuxes that were popular for Prom Night my freshman year of high school (1979-1980). Just wanted you to know I'm well aware that it looks like crap...and I'm on a mission to change that fo' sho'.