Stuff...

Whenever I think about my stuff, I can't help but think about George Carlin's Stuff!!  I've had my stuff in storage, stuff in an apartment, stuff in a bigger house, back into an apartment and now stuff in a shed.

Before I moved to Florida, I left a 3 bedroom cottage in a U-Haul truck.  I took what ever would fit in the truck and in my car (which I towed behind).  Whatever didn't fit, I left behind.  I still had stuff packed in the apartment closets that I gave away after moving in and when I moved out of the apartment, I donated to a local organization. Now I still have stuff, and once in a while I regret things that I don't have but I survive!

I remember when my sister came to visit me in the apartment, I said to her, "you can sit down", and she said "there are so many things to see".  She was interested in my 'dog gallery'... one of my favorites.

So anyway, as I work on making this my home, I seriously think about what I want... what I want to feel, what I want it to convey and feel like to ours.  I want most  of all to feel and be happy!  I have been accomplishing that with color, so far.  But I've also used themes too that are important to me.

For example, my kitchen's theme is focused around a rainy weekend in Prague with one of my sisters and our Bohemian heritage.  Although it was a rainy weekend, I chose yellows as my primary colors to brighten things up.  I am happy with how it turned out.  Among others, there is a lot of Gothic architecture in Prague.  The Gothic elements I did use, stand out against the yellows.  The only elements used in the kitchen were "kitchen things" and "Prague things".  If it didn't have to do with one or the other, I took it out.  That is how my "lost shaker of salt" stayed there because salt goes in the kitchen!

my "lost shaker of salt"

As the kitchen opens up into the living room, I wanted to carry the yellow kitchen ceiling onto the living room ceiling and a color for the walls that would coordinate with yellow.  I still wanted it to be bright but also very happy.  

When picking out a theme, it was easy enough, as I've always lived close to the water and the beach is my favorite place.  Coming from up north, my decor had more elements that I'd consider nautical and wanted to infuse more tropical elements but still focused around the beach.  I used some sayings to keep positive, family photos, and beach pictures I've taken.

My bathroom is decorated around the accessories I bought just before I moved called, "Beach Memories".  It is made up of photos of children on the beach, and there are a few pictures of my own that I want to add.  That is how my map covered dresser wound up with a map of Florida and photos taken in different areas of Florida.
Beach Memories ~ My Bathroom 

My home may not be any one else's style, and no one else has to like it, but besides myself, when you walk in I want you to feel comfortable enough to be barefoot with sandy toes.  While someone may find my thrown drop cloth over my sofa sloppy, I find it adds to the comfy casual look I'm going for, as well as the quilt over  my chair.

I am using colors of outside on the inside:

• SUN: yellows 
• WATER: aqua, turquoise, blues
• SHELLS, SHELLS, and more SHELLS
• CORAL and FLOWERS

As I wait for things to grow and colors to bloom outside, I have been infusing color outside with different elements like chairs, pink flamingos,  flower pots, shell top tables, lights on the palm tree, shells in the garden, shells in pots...

Left on my to do list is: 

•  painting the hallway, probably yellow just to brighten it up with a gallery wall on one side and built in shelves on the other. 
• the washer and dryer are in the hallway and besides shelves above them, I want it to look "better"!
• my bedroom:  I don't know if I want to paint a color or not; as I am going tropical in there, I have decided on a bamboo fence for behind the bed; and that is as far as I've gotten.
• my spare room started off as an office as such but has become a catch all.  I have to redo the floors, which means a lot of moving things around.  I'd like to set it up for crafts to do in the heat and a day bed for just in case.
• I still want to do more outside, but that is a little at a time.
• There are still bags of shells to be put out!
• And there's that stuff in the shed!  To unpack, decide and organize!

It's all about stuff.  There comes a time when you have to decide how much stuff do you need to live comfortably and which stuff can you do without.  That's where I'm at... clearing out my stuff.