Well, It's Started

I have been obsessed with decorating for all of my adult life that I can remember. I seriously considered going to school to be an interior designer, but I didn't - for a couple reasons. But every place I've ever lived, I've gotten seriously into the whole redecorating thing.

Unfortunately, I've rarely been able to do anything that remotely resembles the visions in my head. First I lived in crappy apartments where I had to put up with the cheap landlord's basic starting point - nasty wallpaper, ugly carpet, etc.

When I bought my current house, I went nuts for years indulging in fantasies of all I'd do to the place. I got to do some of it - the bathroom which was gutted and completely rebuilt right after I bought the house, pursuant to my specifications from a magazine picture I'd fallen in love with (and the contractor initially argued with me that what I wanted couldn't be done ... until I showed him the pictures and said, "If you can't do it, I'll find someone who can." He did, and I've always loved it). And the major kitchen remodel which I designed myself, and have always been thrilled with.

But I haven't gotten to do much else, mostly due to a lack of money. I tried to patch things together with what I could afford, but it was never right, never really what I wanted. Later I gave up due to a loss of interest in fixing up this house, since it had so many other problems.

Now that we're getting the new house, the decorating obsession bug has bit again, big time. And I am so loving this!

I spent much of the evening staring at pictures of the Imaginarium, trying to decide what I wanted to do with it. There's so much room there, it's almost hard to know where to start. I kept looking and looking at the pictures, knowing that eventually it would start to speak to me.

It did. I focused on this area ...



... deciding I wanted to make that area to the right side there a comfy seating area. After looking awhile longer, I knew what I wanted ... something round. Yes, round. I don't know why, it just seemed like a grand idea, like something that would look really cool, and be super comfy to just fall on and relax.

So I went on an internet search, having no idea what if anything I might find. First there was this ...



... on someone's blog from almost 2 years ago. She'd seen a picture (this one, in fact) and become obsessed with getting one, but the only places she could find them, they were like $3,000. This looked close to what I had in mind, but not quite - and was way out of my price range, for now.

I continued searching, but ran into the same problem. I found this ...



... but it wasn't quite what I wanted either, and it was still expensive. Then I wondered if I could adapt a round bed to be the kind of seating I wanted, so I found this ...



... which I thought I could make work by covering it with an interesting, custom-made (by me) throw or cover, and adding big cushy pillows. But these were over $6,000!!! Umm, no. Continue searching ... and my diligence paid off, when I found this ...



... and this to go with it ...



... making the perfect round sitting area that I was looking for, with the bonus that the ottoman could be moved out of the way if I didn't want to lounge, but actually needed an actual sitting area. I figured I'd cover it with some colorful throws (just kind of tossed over, not necessarily all tucked in and formal looking) and replace the back cushions with ones I make in colorful fabrics and patterns, to spice it up. Big, fluffy, lounging cushions.

And the extra bonus - while it's not cheap, it's not thousands of dollars - $900 for both of them at http://www.atrendyhome.com/.

I'd love to just order this now, but I'm holding off, for a bunch of reasons. First, I don't want to be spending that kind of money right now until we get in the house and get settled, get the budget on track, and see what if anything else needs done (and there are a few things that do need done). Second, after I'm there for awhile, I may change my mind about wanting this type of thing. I need to give it time to settle and see if that's really it.

But ... I got an idea, went on a search, and found it. I'm so totally psyched!

The rest of the Imaginarium is slowly coming together. I'm thinking this ...



... should be the library, because it's the most uniform place to put it. I initially wanted to put it in the front section where you first walk in, and this is in the back bedroom ... but in the front section, the walls are all different heights and shapes - which I think is awesomely cool, but which doesn't lend itself well to becoming a library. This part has the two uniform, matching walls, and is a little separated area. I can put bookshelves on each side, and even beside the window, and then I'd just walk down between them, almost like shelves in a real library. I think it'll work out well. And that area is actually big enough to hold all my books. Umm, I think.

That's about as far as I got so far ... and who knows, once I get moved in, I'm liable to change my mind all over again. And that's okay. I can do that. It's my Imaginarium.