Our homes…. Interior and Exterior Remodeling Or Decorating

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2021 11:45:42 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Dec 10, 2021 11:34:20 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I barely know how to post my own pictures lol. Can you follow the video resolution posted? It made it really easy for me.

I wanna see!

That means I have to think!
OK, we're going out of town so give me a couple of days. I have a great Christmas tree picture for your festive enjoyment

Not really lol. I had the video on my phone, and followed the steps on my IPad. Not much thinking, just do everything that happens on the video.

[stillmovingforward]

Most of my decorating involves making others get stuff out of my house.
I'm somewhat minimal in my furnishings and VERY minimal in any decorations. As in, if it has no useful purpose, it needs to leave. So blankets are allowed, artfully draped and kept tidy, we have one full length mirror in the main room by the door. Dried flowers, artful displays, vases, etc. have to go. Or someone else has to keep them clean. And since no one else does, we don't have any 🤗
I have better things to do these days than clean my house.

[stillmovingforward]

I passed 50 a few years ago 😄 I am not working harder than I absolutly have to on anything that doesn't bring me joy and pleasure.

[azucena]

Dec 10, 2021 11:44:03 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Dec 10, 2021 8:18:16 GMT -5 azucena said:

Pink - be careful with poinsettias as I think they are poisonous to cats/dogs.  If you're not feeling the Christmas vibe, maybe consider more of a wintery theme so you can leave it up longer.  Evergreen, some birch logs, some icy blue items.

We get out poster tack and put Christmas cards we've received on the edge of our mantle.  It's nice to see them while we have dinner.

I decided a long time ago that I prefer minimalist holiday decorations and lean towards more seasonal if I'm going to put up anything.  Just don't have time in this life stage to put up a bunch of stuff and then take it down in a month.  But, that's me.

I like the wintry theme idea. I’ll probably go for that next year. Icy blue will fit my color scheme too. Thanks for that idea!

I’m going to have to put a tree up though, since I told my Grandbabies they can have Christmas here. I’ll probably just use Mister’s. There’s no point in spending the money on a live tree if I’m not really in the spirit.

I’m with you on not constantly changing things every month.

Thanks for the heads up on poinsettias and the dogs. If I ever get any, I’ll be sure to only put them where the dogs can’t get to them, because I do believe Newbie nibbles on plants, I just haven’t caught her in the act yet. A couple days ago Mister said he was almost sure he saw her nibbling on the rose bush on the deck. Surely that wasn’t fun. But this is the same dog that tries to pick wasps up with her mouth.

Look at me pretending to know decorating stuff and pulling it off LOL.

I'd be worried that the plant leaves would drop and still get eaten.

[Deleted]

Yes, you are indeed pulling it off.

Didn't think about the leaves falling. Scratch the poinsettias.

Of all the dogs I’ve had, this is the first one to bother plants.

[raeoflyte]

Poinsettias aren't likely to cause a huge problem with dogs or cats. Practically all plants are toxic, but if you dig into it, most of them are toxic in an upset stomach way vs. Long term or life ending consequences. (But lily's can be that serious for cats!)

www.akc.org/expert-advice/vets-corner/poinsettias-poisonous-dogs/

www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/poinsettia/

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 10, 2021 12:45:22 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Poinsettias aren't likely to cause a huge problem with dogs or cats. Practically all plants are toxic, but if you dig into it, most of them are toxic in an upset stomach way vs. Long term or life ending consequences. (But lily's can be that serious for cats!)

www.akc.org/expert-advice/vets-corner/poinsettias-poisonous-dogs/

www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/poinsettia/

Found this out when my first cat chomped on a poinsettia.  He died in 1996.  He was quite young when that happened.  I called poison control and got told exactly this.  He had no ill effects from it.

Lilies caused a friend's cat to be hospitalized for several days.  There are no lilies in my house.

[resolution]

I did some really minimal decorations. In the exterior I just tied some red bows around the porch posts, strung some lights along the porch rail and put our old christmas tree in the balcony. Inside I put up our tree and stockings by the fireplace. Our cat loves the tree skirt so it never stays around the tree for very long.

[raeoflyte]

Dec 10, 2021 18:41:14 GMT -5 resolution said:

I did some really minimal decorations. In the exterior I just tied some red bows around the porch posts, strung some lights along the porch rail and put our old christmas tree in the balcony. Inside I put up our tree and stockings by the fireplace. Our cat loves the tree skirt so it never stays around the tree for very long.

Your home is beautiful!

[raeoflyte]

We got the tree decorated last night. The cats were done with their cardboard castle so that got moved out finally and I'm loving the living room.

Handyman is coming to look at the bathroom floor that was damaged from the sink leak tomorrow so I'm going to work on painting the bathroom today. I need to put up wainscoting on half the wall too but haven't ever been able to decide what to do. The tub, toilet, and sink are gray. So should I paint the walls gray and do white wainscoting, or paint the walls white and do a distressed white washed wood, or paint white and use airstones for that section of walls. I've been putting this off for 6 years unable to make a decision and now I have the weekend to finalize.

[CCL]

If you are going for a more traditional look, go with white wainscoting and gray walls. The distressed with white walls would be more of a farmhouse feel, if that's what you are leaning toward. I have no idea what airstones are.

Back when my house was overrun with boys, they used to splash/drip water on the wall in the bathroom. I put up some trim and painted the lower portion of the wall with a semi-gloss white paint. It looked better and was much easier to keep clean.

[empress of self-improvement]

At some point I will be paying someone to take down the wall between my kitchen and living room. It's load-bearing so I need a beam put in. My question is, if I start chipping the plaster off but don't touch the studs, will that affect the structural integrity? I don't think so but interested in other opinions.

[happyhoix]

Dec 10, 2021 18:41:14 GMT -5 resolution said:

I did some really minimal decorations. In the exterior I just tied some red bows around the porch posts, strung some lights along the porch rail and put our old christmas tree in the balcony. Inside I put up our tree and stockings by the fireplace. Our cat loves the tree skirt so it never stays around the tree for very long.

Back when I was a teen we had a Siamese. Usually when we set up the Christmas tree we put a plywood panel on the floor next to it for a train set, and my sisters and I spent a good bit of time setting up a little Christmas village, and adding fake trees and little people and fake snow plus a mirror for a frozen lake. One Christmas my mom was on her knees on the opposite side of the tree, looking at packages, and the Siamese approached from the train side of the tree, looking at a path through the packages to her very favorite, the tree water. My mom suddenly moved, scared the cat who jumped backwards into the middle train display, landing on the church steeple, which caused her to leap straight up in the area, this time coming down on little people and cars. She yo yoed like that a few more times, leaping straight up in the air higher than I would have imagined possible, before she finally landed off the train display and was able to race away to safety.

She decimated a good third of that poor town. We referred to it as the Christmas Massacre.

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2021 18:41:14 GMT -5 resolution said:

I did some really minimal decorations. In the exterior I just tied some red bows around the porch posts, strung some lights along the porch rail and put our old christmas tree in the balcony. Inside I put up our tree and stockings by the fireplace. Our cat loves the tree skirt so it never stays around the tree for very long.

I know I asked to see holiday decorations, and yours are nice….. but it’s the picture of the little kitty peeping from under the skirt for me.

[empress of self-improvement]

I don't have a tree this year because of the fosters. Hera's a big enough pain in the ass to deal with with a tree but I don't want to even contemplate these 2 and a tree. Thanks but no thanks.

[finnime]

I had given or thrown away all the trees we'd had two years ago, then last year DH just put lights on the vine reindeer and set it up indoors, as we were gone as of Christmas Day for several days. This year DD35 asked what we were doing and I told her we wanted to keep things minimal since we plan on moving very soon. She suggested we buy a mini-tree and give it to her after Christmas, so that is what we'll do. She's without Christmas ornamentation since she moved after her divorce, so this is a win-win.

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 11, 2021 20:54:00 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I don't have a tree this year because of the fosters. Hera's a big enough pain in the ass to deal with with a tree but I don't want to even contemplate these 2 and a tree. Thanks but no thanks.

I once took down a Christmas tree in the middle of the night.  That is why I now go with small trees.

Besides the daily inspection of each decoration, they seem to be leaving the small trees alone.  I was worried about Santa's beard but he just gets a sniff of the beard.  

I have found one ornament on the floor.  I used unbreakable ornaments so I put it back on the tree and haven't found any since.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I'll start posting our inside Christmas decorations.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

For context, I have three rounds of accents:
—normal (February - August)
—autumn (September - November)
—winter (December & January)

Here are the throw pillows for autumn.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Here’s the entryway bench for autumn and two outdoor pictures just for fun.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Here’s the napping room

[Cookies Galore]

Dec 10, 2021 18:41:14 GMT -5 resolution said:

I did some really minimal decorations. In the exterior I just tied some red bows around the porch posts, strung some lights along the porch rail and put our old christmas tree in the balcony. Inside I put up our tree and stockings by the fireplace. Our cat loves the tree skirt so it never stays around the tree for very long.

Oh my god, your house! 😍 I love those windows! We have old, long windows, too. I really want to get new blinds but hahaha $$$. And that precious kitty baby!!

[Deleted]

Your pictures are lovely Knee Deep in Water Chloe. You have great taste!

[Cookies Galore]

I should probably tidy up a little so I can share some house pictures. Our current decor aesthetic is random cat traps (boxes) and clutter on the coffee and dining tables.

[CCL]

I'm currently working on a mudroom project. If I like the way it turns out, I may post pics.

[stillmovingforward]

I have those really old and tall windows in my house. Ikea makes blinds that fit and then I added light blocking shades from Amazon over them. It was surprisingly inexpensive and looks really good.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

This is the entryway bench as of now. Normally I have a white cloth arranged to look like snow, but I just haven’t gotten that far yet.
The snowmen are mine and the train and leg lamp are DH’s.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

This is our hallway bathroom.
I have six sets of fake flowers for those sconces.

[stillmovingforward]

We have a very old bungalow Victorian house. Today, we decided to remodel the back kitchen area into a complete kitchen and turn part of the kitchen into an eating area. I'll try the 'post pictures' and keep you updated. This should be fun........
DH says he should be able to use the existing cabinets. He's an excellent cabinet maker (who made our current ones) so I don't doubt it! We just have to go slow and careful as he was badly hurt 7 months ago and still isn't very well. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

One of the change outs I do are the valances with garland. Here’s part of my kitchen also. I was trying to show you the ⛄️ snowmen. (Ignore the pile of Christmas cards please.) the platter on the right side is a Christmas one that matches the fruit bowl on the left side. I have regular, autumn, and winter sets of those also. More snowmen on the dining room table (again, please ignore the Christmas cards drying!). Those became the table decorations. Because I have a great room, the tv area, the kitchen, and the dining room all have matching curtains/valances/garland through the year.