Fri 30 Jul 2004
Hall of shame or domestic goddess?
Posted by Sandi Atherton under Daily Life, France
1 Comment
In the name of keeping myself busy (OK, you got me. The Internet was down and I was VERY bored) I decided to get to work on our guest room. With Ken’s parents arriving the first part of October, something had to be done soon.
Here are the facts:
A: The guestroom will see only a very limited amount of visitors.
B: We have NO MONEY due to the fact that we have not been getting paid here. All our money was being paid in the states and our bank account here has dwindled to down right “po”!!
C: The room needed a bit more life in it than just an air mattress and a plastic table for a night stand.
D: I had a basement full of cardboard boxes that I had absolutely no idea how to get rid of.
Do you see where this is going yet?
Yep, you guessed it. I got down right creative. With a few supplies from Office Depot ( yeah, we have one of those here) and a week’s worth of energy I created a bedroom. I started with the bed and moved onto the nightstands. After completing those, I dug out my old fabric that covered our couch in Germany and cut out pillows, duvet covers, and curtains. I began HAND SEWING them together. Whatever made me think I could live 4 years without a sewing machine? After an entire afternoon, half of one duvet cover, and 3 bloody, numb fingers later, I gave up and ran to the neighbors begging for a sewing machine.
Imagine my joy when my neighbor across the street said she thought she had one in the basement but it had not been (and I quote) ” fired up in a century.” I thought she was joking and was excited to take the dusty wooden box she retrieved from the basement home. Now, imagine my shear excitement and fear when discovering she had meant what she said earlier. The machine was from the 1920′s and was a hand crank sewing machine. I was so excited to be using an antique and the musty smell of the old user’s guide was heaven to my nose. On the other hand, this had to be a family heirloom and what if I broke it? I thought of returning it and changed my mind when faced with the alternative of hand sewing again. (Took me all of 30 seconds to wage that battle of my senses)
I cleaned it up a bit, oiled various parts, and began cautiously sewing. The machine was a dream! It was in perfect working order.
I spent the next 2 days working on the machine and sewing everything I needed to complete my guestroom, I
returned the sewing rnachine in better shape than it was given to me so I felt good. I also learned that it was not a family treasure, but that it belonged to a friend who had left it there 12 years ago. I threw the idea out that I would love to buy it. We shall see what comes of that.
Back to my room. I know you are either sitting on the edge of your chair wondering what a person could possibly do with all this or just looking forward to a good laugh. I will not keep you in suspense much longer (assuming you are not one of those people who sneaks peaks at Christmas gifts and have not already scrolled down to see the pictures) but I wanted to give you the lowdown. This room was completed on 36 Euro plus change and I have a wide array of office supplies still left. I did not count the fabric into the budget
because its former life was our couch cover. I had to work around a lot of stains and holes to make this possible.
So, here are the results:
And just so you know, I do not make cheap, useless cardboard furniture! The night stand even holds up Sadie without buckling!
No room is complete without framed artwork on the walls! Thankfully, Carissa had just received a new box of crayons in the mail from Nana. (thanks mom!)
So, the plastic table has made it’s way up to our bedroom where I am sure it will live a long life in that spot. I have enough cardboard left to wall paper my bedroom or the guest bathroom if I get bored in the near future.
But somehow, I think having two cardboard bedrooms crosses the line of creative and just becomes tacky.
Then again, as sad as it is, curently this room is nicer looking than mine, so maybe I will just sleep in here.
In the meantime, I have found my calling and will be working on many more cardboard designs to sell at rock bottom prices. Start saving your pennies (that’s all it will take) for your favorite design and send that “domestic goddess’ crown to me here in France.
