Fixin’ Up the House - the Little Things

We moved to northern Virginia three years ago. It’s the first place we haven’t really “done up” to our taste. With the pandemic it probably needs it more than ever, but we just didn’t have the inclination. The place looks okay, but not “cozy” - at least to my standards. A couple of weeks ago we rearranged the bedroom furniture so the head of the bed is away from the window. And we moved the couch in the den to the side of the room rather than walking in to it. It all looks so much better! That made visible a couple of things that needed to be addressed. The boxes that were under the bench by the foot of the bed are now under the window. Because they are sitting on the wood floor instead of the carpet, I needed to put sliders under them so as not to scratch the floor when pulling them in and out, and also attach to the back so they wouldn’t scratch the toe kick. We then had one of the lamps repaired so now it works like it should. There were four ugly plugs that stand out against the white wall that needed to be better camouflaged. I pulled out the very large adapter we used in our Capitol Hill condo and put the only white plug to the right, two black plugs on the left side, and put two plugs in the extension cord. Then all the cables were tied together and lifted off the floor so the vacuum cleaner wouldn’t get caught up in the wires. If we had a king bed you wouldn’t even see the wires and plugs. But we have a queen so there is the extra space. The three way plug that was once used there is now in the bathroom where we now have a small dehumidifier running, but need more plugs for other things. I can’t believe there was only one plug put in this bathroom! Then the small Persian carpet that was in the foyer by the closet was put back in the kitchen where it belongs. We purchased a Ruggables rug a few months back that never stayed put and just didn’t look that great. Then on the balcony we finally refurbished the baskets that hang from the seats with annuals. Now it looks fresh and pretty even though the flowers face the outside. At least when we sit out there we can enjoy them. It doesn’t seem like much but when you have a 1000 square foot living space everything needs to have a place and be functional. Since we probably won’t ever put in a second bathroom in our bedroom closet that may become the next project. We have so much junk in there it needs to be purged. We probably won’t ever use the twin bed that is stored there and taking up space. I’ve seen “closets” that might work nicely there that have shelves and doors and hanging racks. The discussion now is to either remove the candy dish in the foyer because it’s too busy or find something less ornate. Since we had to use the furniture from our other house not everything really goes in the new one. We did purchase a dining room sideboard a few months ago that we hope will create a cleaner look. If we ever see it we’ll need to decide next steps if needed. Oh - the shade in the dining room is crooked. We should probably get that fixed……