Decorating with Enlightened Lime

Retirement often involves moving to a new home and decorating a new space.  In my college days I was happy with one cinder block bookcase and poetry books. What happened?

 Time to choose paint colors. White or beige, no. The Sherman Williams color wheel has maybe 2,974 choices. Do I prefer White Duck (SW 7010), Spinach White (SW 6434) or Likeable Sand (SW 6058).  

 Friends advise me to purchase multiple samples and test a few directly on the wall. Compare Mesculin Green (SW 6724) to Enlightened Lime (SW 6721).  Or snowdrop (SW 6511) to Ski Slope. (SW 6518)

 Part of my frustration is watching HDTV and witnessing the transformation from fixer upper to both functional and elegant living spaces. And then - storage space is all the rage!

 My husband’s favorite room in our home is what we call the “Christmas Closet.” The entire tree stays assembled and fits into the space. He wanted me to leave all of the decorations on the tree but I refused. Instead there are neatly stacked red and white boxes behind that pre-lit spruce, and there is no more schlepping the tree from one level to the next.

One year my husband decided not to drag the fake tree down the stairs but to hoist our tree over the second floor balcony using a series of carefully constructed bungee cords. I stood below with mouth gaping wide and watched as each of the three tree sections came apart and plunged into the new hardwood floors. The Christmas closet is special for both of us.

Decorating decisions can be difficult for partners whose ideas of style differ somewhat. My husband doesn’t mind using a printer for a coffee table. He can watch TV and not feel the urge to redecorate the mantle every Thursday, whereas I have a decorating sickness, a never ending desire to perfect my surroundings. I get visions and must experiment.

“Honey, do think we should move the sofa under the window?”  His eyes gloss over.

“Sweetheart, I don’t think we should have ever hung the TV over the mantle, do you?” His head lists to one side and he grows pale.

It has taken us two years now to agree on a chandelier to place over the dining room table because we weren’t sure about:

A. color
B. size
C. style
D. placement

 Shouldn’t it be centered over the table? Do you think we should put the leaf in the table and then center the chandelier?

 Why not continue to eat by candlelight? Because I love candles more than flatware. We have a drawer in our kitchen dedicated to storing summer, fall and winter tapers next to the box of Christmas candles and yet another box of white tea lights.

I do know there are more important ways to spend my retirement years than decorating or hanging a light fixture. I don’t like the side of myself that obsesses about where to put the sofa when there are too many refugees in the world who just want a safe place to sleep.

I have more time and money now to enjoy life, but I think I was happier when I had less money and more poetry books. I was more centered than the chandelier.