FD and others...stymied about decorating
 

okay I have some old albums on my profile page. One is of the trailer danny (xh) and I shared. It was very small. I never painted or anything in there as I intended to move on, I was just happy to fit the furniture in we weren't there very long really.

I left behind the pie safe, the beautiful old victorian stove..but basically all that stuff is my memorbilia from the places I have visited or lived or from people. It is all very rustic, primitive and all earth tones.

I have gotten real curtains now..nutmeg colored.

I have moved the same stuff around so many times I am completely out of any fresh inspiration and that is unusual for me.

any and all ideas would be so appreciated!
but I just don't want to give up my sentimental stuff!

Rustic, primitive and nutmeg make me want to add a bright, cheerful, sunny yellow backdrop!
I don't know how to do pictures on here but maybe FormerD (I cannot bring myself to call her "Doormat"????) will come and post some good stuff!

Thanks, I found some new photos tips and ideas on the web..so I am getting a fresh sense of what is wrong.

I got a new and very comfy "my" chair with the travel trailer and it is too contemporary and recliners don't have a place either. It is throwing things out of sinc. I need to get to Indiana to rescue my furniture from there which includes a long traditional (handmade by my son) dining table, wood blinds, several chairs and etc.

For now I am thinking of moving a basic dresser into the living room to store and hide all the modern gadgets that David is so addicted to.

I might just wind up with textured cream colored paint? Maybe one wall a soft sage green?

I have all kinds of leathers, a rag rug, a leather rag rug, wood, textures etc that make for rustic primitive plus some collectibles that I can eclectically blend in.

I kept thinking yellow also, L2L, but I have this huge fear about it and maybe something soothing and allowing the things to have "pop"?

I dunno. This whole layout and materials of a mobile home confuse me.

Ooh I like the idea of cream colored paint instead of yellow. Or maybe like a soft, buttery yellow? IDK, I'm not great at thatzkind of stuff but I do like brown and yellow together. I love color!

the place I loved best when I was a kid was being in my grandparent's basement.

It wasn't an area that they occupied..it had a cement floor, but a field stone fireplace, stacked wood (and that smell!) and the old timey clock...and just some old, country stuff hanging around...arrowheads, farm stuff

I have ever since found the sound of those clocks one of the most wonderful things in the world! I got happily lost for hours watching the flames of the fireplace and read "history" stories and snooped around. I was fascinated, bewitched.

The AABF lived in a home built cabin that was very much like a pioneer cabin and close to that feel I had at my grandparents. Lots of antiques and artifacts...and backwards simple stuff.

Those things are the home of my heart and the feel of my soul. I want it to look like centuries past..but with a dishwasher (disguised!) LOL

Psychologically I need a soothing palette for my environment.

I want some of these:

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/5954/rps1169a.th.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

the wheat will always represent my grandmother to me...and this is the same symbol that is on her funeral memory card and I remember the message that went with it.

My grandparents ran a working farm. They didn't have pictures of decorative cows and rooster. They had a bay window and a field of cattle. They had chickens in the barn and grandma said the banties had the best eggs.
They wouldn't have used stripped down logs for furniture! They had their own sawmill and they did use their own lumber..but beautifully finished (I think that modern look of log cabins is very hokey!)...but they didn't fool around with routers and fancy spindles and turns either. Things were sturdy and functional.
Grandma didn't have time for needleworks and such either. She was raising 6 boys and feeding a family from scratch. They sat and read in the evenings. But they loved history, politics, current events. Those were her kin and boys in those wars.

She told me that when she was younger she lived in a log cabin and the indians would come to trade furs and such for salt & the like.

and on my grandfather's side...an ancestor had married and lived with the indians..so there was alot of lore there too.

also some exciting stuff about how my grandma's side had some Youngers and our family knew of some of that outlaw stuff.

If I was quiet I could sit beside my grandpa's chair and listen to the "men talk". I was always trying to peek behind his eye patch too, where one of the boys had run over him with a tractor or something.

They took a buggy to the World's Fair in St Louis.

and they never fussed at me..they thought I was a good girl and they let me be and I could run around, climb in the hayloft, sink the little boat in the creek..all those things I could never have done with my mom around.

So I am going to buy a couple of those panels and use them in a cupboard.
David wants to do some wood working.

My fifth great grandfather on my father's side was the first white settler in our county.
So, yeah, there was hero worship there. and lots of mysterious legends.
He lived amongst the indians.

My dad is nearing 80 now and he has started passing on stories...just to his kids.
but I might like to share some of them here.

(((((Live)))))

Please check out HGTV on line. They have a fantastic site with lots and lots of ideas of things that have been done on their cable show.

HGTV - Decorating, Outdoor Rooms, Landscaping Ideas, Kitchen and Bathroom Design : Home & Garden Television

Not only do I LOVE their site, I love the channel. And they have ideas that can be done on a budget (cheap solutions, lol)

Just a thought that might help.

Love and hugs,

thank you Laurie!

Okay, I've just got to ask after viewing your albums...what is your secret to looking so young?!!! Holy guacamole Batman, she's found the fountain of youth! :)

I don't do Fb, so, I can't see the pics, however, I like yellow. I just painted my kitchen which leads into my living room a bright yellow, with an accent wall of pumpkin. Put up wood blinds and a modern abstract circular rug under my coffee table.

Suprised the h*ll out of me...I love it!

My bedroom is peach with sage green drapes, the room is very serene, I sleep like a baby enjoying the peaceful colors!

Be back later to share my thoughts....

For FD:


My Dad has recently started sharing his stories, he sent me this:



I dont remember any fo my Grand fathers from either side My gG F on my dads side was named Benton Grandmother Lillian My mothers side my G F was named James his wife no idea. James died in an asyslum. From what I have heard he was a large land owner and two of mothers brother had him committed and took his land. That would be Wesly and Cleve Patterrson. I barely recall some old man staying at our house at one time and believe that to have been James Patterson. My Grandmother on my mothers side was a Younger. In the 1870s and 1880s many people from this area went to Kansas including James and his wife.. Aunt Nellie and my Mom often said they left in the midle of the night and came home. Mom was not born when they were In Kansas Nellie was and she recalled many things and left a tape which I have never heard but I am sure it is embellished.
Mom graduated from the 8 th grade Dad went to the 6th grade. Mom played the Piano and Dad the fiddle. They lost one child if the flue season. My G. F on my dads side and his daughter died the same day. Daughter waas Edna. Edna was pg most women tha were pg died in the flue of l918 19 Because Edna died first her husband had no right to the estate. GM Lillian raised Ednas child which would be Glen Donalsons motherGrnad mother Lillian came into this country on horse back from Ky she was a Randolph. She lived in a cabin iin the woods on the goat farm. She told me that an Indian came back there for many years and once offered to trade a pile of beaver skins as tall as his rifle for a pinch of salt.
Dad told me the in the W.P. A. days he had a fellow come to work for him that was rather old. This fellow related to dad that he was to ride with the Youners and Daltons the day they were shot up in Coffeeville Ks. but could not catch his horse. Dad asked him what brought him to Illinis and he said he had friends here. By that time most of the Youngers that had gone to Ks. had returned. Histroy will show that there was a large imigration from this area to Ks and then an imigration back to this area
All of us biys attened Moccasin school at one time it was a 2 yr. high school, Wallace graduated from Cowden HighSchool the rest of us from Bc
When I started to school there was two room 1 -4 and 5- 8. The next year there was only one room 1-8 We stared after Labor Day and was out by the last of April. 8 months of school We damn sure walked to school
Brother Ray was the sissy of our family . We called him Sally , and he would just cuss us. Dan 7 I tied him up in 90 ft of rope and put him on a cart and sent him down the hill,, fell off and broke his collar bone. He really wasnt anything but a rope mummy
I was an A student in grade school and a C student in high school and a #3.21 on 4 in college. College was tough for me in English composition the rest not so bad.
I left H S at Christmas 12/21 51 and joined the Navy I was in Great Lakes on Christmas and didnt know why some guy were bawlling. I was on The uss Amphion for a short period of time put in achit every day to te transferreed went from there to the MTB Sqquadron 1 from there to the Uss Alagash all were excellent duty except amphion. I was rated by the time I got to Allagash made e5 on it I put in a chit to get out early in 1954 and got out early to go to school but didnt go untill fall of 55
Wallace, James ,Wayne,Dan, Ray , Garry. WALLACE jAMES WW2 Ray Wayne Peace time Day Garry Korea
Married Nov 25 1955 Every thing went off with out a hitch except Sam Sparks Suit wasnt back from the cleaners Married In Matton, Ill by Rev Kindig, Ur mother worked at the telephone office and I got the G I bill $135 a month the trailer rent was $5.00 a wk. had to go outside to shower later bought a different tailer that had a shower. The first one only had a stool and sink. 27 ft. long the second one had a shower and all modern it also was 27 ft long . I had a scholorship and tution was $120 a year.
I dont know how man sister and brothers my mom had they did not get along. Dad had one brother and one sister Edna and Frank.



I remember the day the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor, I remember the day F>D. R. died . I reember the day Truman fired McarthurnI reember the day W.W. 2 ended It was a cause for big celebration More ramblings to follow some time . questions that u always wanted to know but were afraid to ask maybe u should still be afraid ! Dad

I remember my Great Grandmother Lillian, the one he said lived in a cabin. They had a 96th birthday party when I was 3 or younger. I also have it on video where they took it with the old projector style camera and it has been converted to cd.

There was still an old log cabin behind my grandparent's house. The hired hand lived in it. My Mom always called him "Old Dirty Tom" and I sort of remember him but I was supposed to stay away from him. I recall that I addressed him by my mom's "nickname" and my mom was terrible embarassed.

FD, It is no wonder I fell so in love with the abusive ABF..he had an old cabin that he built on to and truly lived like a pioneer.

He had a humongous collection of artifacts and antiques (bottles esp)..we put those in windows so that they looked like stained glass and I got him into doing voluntary seminars on archeology and Indians. It was so cool.

I am thinking we are going to have to cover one wall (around a window) with bookshelves in order for me to be able to put up my things and still see them.


I have the original dresser that my grandparents set up housekeeping with and it is a beauty! That was the fanciest piece they had and it has the mirror with the silvered back..that is in Indiana

And my son (deceased) built me a dining table kind of like the Waltons for Mother's Day.

The dining table shown was Danny's. I have a kitchen big enough to go retrieve mine.

I love your stories, Live. So, I went back and re-read your thread from the beginning. One thing that struck me is that you said you've identified what's wrong with your room, but don't know how to go about fixing it. My suggestion would be to ignore those items that are wrong (I think you mean the newer, contemporary chairs) and focus on what is right and make those pieces, fabrics, and accessories the stars that they should be. If you do that, then you'll find the items you don't necessarily love will naturally just fade into the background.

You have fond memories of your grandparent's farm and time spent in a log cabin. You can evoke the feeling of a rustic home or log cabin in any interior--even a modular home. You don't have to live on a farm or in a log home to create the same type of feeling when you walk in your door.

When I think of a log home, I think of the golden-hued ceilings of pine and the rich browns of the hand-cut beams that comprise the walls. You could create the same feeling by painting your ceiling a golden hue. The paneling that you currently have could work very well to evoke the feeling of a log cabin interior if you painted it a similar warm color. In fact, if you flipped it from it's current vertical orientation to a new horizontal orientation and painted the occasional "board" a rich brown, while leaving the others a cream color, it just might look like hand-cut beams with mortar in between. You could buy a small piece of paneling and some sample sizes of paints and try it out and see if you like the results.

When I think of fabrics for a rustic home, I think of warm, country plaids with hues of brownish reds, golds, browns, and perhaps even some greens. For a more modern twist, you could add a very deep turquoise--almost to the emerald green side, but with a hint of blue.

Your cow hide throws and leather rugs would be fabulous in this room, as would a braided rug. You could include a variety of baskets to store various items and add even more texture. And your beautiful trunk would make a great coffee table or end table by your favorite chair. I imagine you don't have a fireplace, but field stones would be a great addition. Perhaps you could set some stones in the kitchen in mortar as a back splash to evoke the same feeling as the stone fireplace you recalled so fondly. And your floors could be updated with an inexpensive laminate or even vinyl that looks like wood. Or, you could remove the carpeting and paint the floors with a faux wood grain. Learning that technique could be another fun project.

The tin tiles you showed are an easy do-it-yourself project. All you need are sheets of tin, a photocopy of the wheat pattern above, a hammer, and a nail. You no longer have your pie safe, but you could sand the edges and then nail the finished tin tiles to the fronts of your kitchen cabinets, or even on the drawers of the dresser you plan on moving into the living room (which, by the way, I think is a fab idea).

Candles would be another good addition. You could light an abundance of candles in the evening on a coffee table or even on a mantel you hang on the wall to evoke the feeling of a fireplace. I can picture you curled up in your now not-so-contemporary looking chair with a cozy woolen blanket, a good book, a steamy cup of hot cider or tea at your side, all warm and toasty in your log-cabin style home.

I think the biggest obstacle to creativity is fear. Let go of any fears you might have about decorating and jump in with both feet and trust your instincts. If it feels good, and looks good, and is within your budget then you're on the right track. Sometimes when I'm stuck, I just sit down in a room I want to change and start dreaming about how I want the room to look. Then I visualize all the changes I want to make in my mind, decide how I could go about accomplishing the look I want to achieve, and then take one item to the store with me as an inspiration. Then with that item in my cart, I start shopping.

I once decorated an entire bedroom around a multi-layered, multi-colored ruffled pillow I had. My sister-in-law was with me when I went shopping for the new room and watched me fill my cart with things that worked with that pillow. I held that pillow up to practically everything in the store. I shopped the bathroom section, the bedroom section, the kitchen section, even the kids section of the store. No area of the store was off limits. You never know where you'll find a prized, affordable item. So, don't just look in the kitchen section when you're shopping for kitchen accessories. That's too limiting. Just because you purchase something from the bathroom section of the store, doesn't mean it can only be used in a bathroom. When you start thinking like this, every thing becomes a possibility. And the kids section is much more playful, fun, and affordable (and more colorful) than the adult section of the store.

When we got home from the store, my sister-in-law told my brother, "I just watched FD design an entire room around a pillow." And she was right, I did.

I love the quilt you have on your bed with it's beautiful, rich jewel tone colors, and lots of fall colors in there, too. If you still have that, it would make a fabulous starting point for your room, and can easily make the leap from bedroom comforter to living room couch throw. Or, you could choose one of your beloved paintings and use that as a starting point. This could be lots of fun!

Thank you. You just nailed it for me. I have been drawn to the "hawthorne gold" paint from pottery barn. Do you think that would look good on the ceiling or is it too gold?

I also could not get past the point that this is a mobile home!
You have made me believe it possible! and you really do get that it is the pioneer type cabin with the ***** and mortar!

I, too, have been tempted to pull up this almost shaggy brown mottled shade carpet and simply paint the floor for now!

oh, boy!!!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I spent two days looking at HGTV and just didn't find the look I wanted. I came closest looking at actual historical sites!

I am glad you enjoy the stories! I will go find another one!

I think Hawthorne gold on the ceiling would be warm and delicious. I love your stories (can't wait to read more), your enthusiasm, and HGTV, too!

Another story from my Dad:

U all know we had a log cabin 14 by 14 concrete floor , electricity, 4 bunk beds with a wood stove. It is a fact we lived in the log cabin except for meals. We got to go to the house to eatother wise we slept there year around. Many neighborhood kids would show up some for the day some for the night. The Troutman kids were pretty bright kids. Theyalways had a lot of unanswered questions. One of those question was how long a snowball would last in hell? We argued and some one came up with the idea that hell was seven times hotter than fire. Solution make a snowball have the stove red hot and put the snowball on the stove. Now apparently the size of the snow ball had no bearing on our experiment. In our case Irecall exactly snow ball will last 4 minutes in hell>

This story is named "We got our butts kicked" from my dad:

When I was 13 or so old . The neighbor hood kids and myself made a very large dummy. Shirt, pants ,boots and gloves stuffed it with straw and it looked pretty good. Now west of home was the cemetery with a large tree near the road way. We climbed the tree , had the dummy on a long rope. One guy in the tree another kid on the other side of the road. When a car came bywe would swing the dummy across ed the road in front of the carand the kid in the tree would pull it up waiting for the next car. We may have operated 30 minutes or so until we had a car dodge it and go off in the field . No one hurt but us kids. I can still feel the boot.Dad
Next a scientific study of how long a snowball would last in hell!

FD, I did also find some warm browns for the walls but thought it would be too much...I can use it as you suggested.

I once took a green-blue vase to the paint store and had them match it..like you I used that as my color and decorated around that vase!

another story from Dad:

In the late 40's the oil boom was the big thing. Money wasevery where. The oil johnny's carried a lot of mone on their person. This story carried out over 45 yrs and finally I was told who shot at big Red. Seems as if Big Red was one of the wild catters that played a big roll in our neighbor hood. guards were placed on equiptment so that no one could come in and destroy it. One of dad's best friends < Tero Bartimus was shot while guarding a dozer. Tero was shot from a distance with a shot gun. It knocked him off the dozer and he was taken to the howpital and survived but didn't live too long after. He ultimately died as a result of being shot. Most adults packed a gun. Everryone wanted to buy up oil leases .After dark Big Red was east bound on the Moccasin Road and turned north to go to Beecher City , another vehicle was headed west. As soon as Big Red headed Noth the west bound vehicle stopped an unloaded a full clipp in to Big Red's car. Big Red got to Beecher City and said theat they had tried to rob him and jumped on the running boards of his car. The car did have some bullet holes in it. The sheriff was notified and he interviewed John Inman that lived where Hurrel Doty now lives John reported that he had heard the shots. Tom Mc Devit stopped by our house and asked dad if he knew anything . Nope hadnt heard anything either. The sheriff allowed that Big Red may have been chaseing some woman and the husband became irate and tryed to kill him. This was proably early winter of 1946.m,mIn the late 1980's Wallace told me ( Remember Wallace had only been out of ww2 a short time)that he and dad were west bound on the Moccasin Road when this car turned in front of them and damned near run over them . Wallace said I jumped out of the car with my pistol and unloaded on the sob. There all dead now so what differece does it make,


Next story will be the sucide of Jess Doty in Dads car and how come the killing weapon was 30 ft away from where he allegedly shot himself.

They were ornery like that. Growing up my dad would say cryptic things but then wouldn't answer questions or tell any more.

Up in that hay loft I liked to climb up in was a wood box, trunk sized. On one end it had an emblem painted on it..all faded out. It was really old and dirty. But somehow it held a world of mystery for me. The emblem conveyed "blood" to me. I was always trying to figure that one out. Dad wouldn't tell me a thing. He would say "I don't know, open it and see." Well, I was way too chicken to ever open it. Never did. I imagined a skeleton. I imagined Dracula.

Years later as an adult I figured out that the emblem was a Red Cross emblem and the chest wasn't sinister.

I really wish I would have went back and opened it..even then!

The XABF had his own version of a "crock pot"..

A big cast iron kettle with a lid placed on the wood stove. (chili, roasts etc)

When I met him his idea of grocery shopping was: flour, cooking oil, bread and milk.
Flour to fry up the dear loins etc (oil to cook them in) and milk to make up the gravy which was poured over a slice of bread.

He hunted, his family had a big gardern, they gathered nuts, berries, persimmons and canned everything and froze the rest.

He has a small pond stocked and if we wanted fish, he just walked down his lane and caught them.

The influence I had on him: he now buys red potatoes because they steam and butter so well (even in the microwave!) and for a treat he buys frozen brussels sprouts. Yep, he learned microwave cooking from me. LMAO!

from dad:


First and foemost I do not remember any of this. I only heard about it afterwards. My father and my Mother went to their grave thinking JessDoty had been murdered in Dad's car. It seems as if Jess Doty was an emploee of dads and he had borrowed the car to go a courtin. It was and oldChevy 38 or 39. This was also Oil Boom times. Jess apparently had gotten drunk and run the car off in a ditch and took a shot gun from the back seat nd killed himself. Every one had a gun. When dad arrived at the scene the gun was out of the car and 20 or 30 ft away. He told me he asked everyone there if they had moved the gun. No one had and Cook's funreal home had taken Jess away.
Many year later I was fishing with Hank Coffman in Canada and that event came up and I told Hank what I knew and Dad was sure he had been murdered. Hank told me he move the shotgun in order to get the body out of the car.

from dad:

Oil wells. When I was a kid there was an oi boom gg on in our area. Dan myself & Sally decided we would drill for oil. Remember dad owned a saw mill. We built a derrick about 15 ft. high. Attached a pulley to the top , ran a rope though it tied a rod on to the rope , we would pull it up and let it drop. U would be suprised how deep u can go befor it gets stuck and u cant pull it out. This is where I first heard of fractions. We sold shares in our oil well. A nickle got u a 1/32 a dime got u an 1/8 we sold shares to the neighbor hood kids the Troutmans, klines & Phillips. Pay was up front.If we lost the bit we had to refund 1/2 there money. Many fights over the nickle shares. Charlie Kline paid us a $1.00 to move the rig to his house and drill on him . We moved the rig 1 mile to his house and got all set up and his dad came home and made us give the $1.00 back and tear down and go home, Such was our Oil drilling. We actually punched holes to 30 ft or so before it would get stuck and we had to cut it loose. We alwasy hit water. I sent u the one about the buggy didnt I cant find it on the computer. Dad

With the price of oil running at 80 or so a barrel, there's been more drilling in the Louden area of late. At least, in the St. Elmo area. I did happen to take a drive that way recently for a burial of my closest friend's mother and didn't take in all the scenery as much as I normally would have.

Thank you for sharing this thread :)