The Half-Assed Decorator: The Powder Room: Express Yourself!

Friday, April 27, 2012

The Powder Room: Express Yourself!

When I decided to redo my powder room a few years ago, I decided that this tiny room is the perfect place in your home to add some whimsy and really express yourself. I had found a really cute french memo board and decided to create a place for my guests to express themselves. I hung the memo board on the wall, and a small shelf on which I placed colored scraps of cardstock and metallic gel pens, then let my guests do the decorating for me,

Since then, I've moved, and the new powder room didn't have a big enough space to hang the memo board, so it now hangs in our guest bath, along with these:

My husband got me these vinatge paper dolls for Christmas a few years ago (Grace Kelly and Bette Davis) and I decided it was a crime to keep themn the book where no one would see them, so I mounted them on textured black craft paper with double sided tape, framed them with cheap frames, then hung them up.

I still wanted that bit of irreverence in the powder room, though. Since I had ordered a bunch of vintage ads from eBay a while back to put in my laundry room, I brought them into the powder room. They're hilarious, they provide a bit of reading, and they add the fun aspect I like to see in there.

Lastly, I stole this idea from a magazine: frame a fortune cookie fortune. And when your fortune cookie tells you to "Never smell the inside of a hat," it's begging to be framed.

I saw an idea on Pinterest where someone had taken Polaroids of guests each time they came over and tacked them over the fireplace. While I wouldn't put them over the fireplace, I would definitely cover the walls of my powder room, so as soon as I can pick up a cheap Polaroid camera, I see this happening at my house.

If you're a bit too traditional to go nuts in your living space, try working outside the box in your powder room. Your guests will appreciate it!

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What's This About?

I am a professional decorator. Really. A suburban, low-budget one with no formal training, but nonetheless, people do pay me for my work. Some of it can be seen here: http://www.newperspectiveinteriors.net/. When doing a job for a paying client, I try my best not to be Half Assed. After
all, they could be Half Assed themselves for free. But I am always cheap, and can help people over the hurdle of “I just don’t know what to do!” by showing them the big picture. So why would I share my ideas and tricks of the trade with you for free? Well, because I am Half Assed, I don’t do a wonderful job of marketing our business, so we don’t get a ton of work. And
because I like to share. Sharing’s my favorite.

If you hate decorating, this is not the blog for you. If you’re the kind of person who wants fine, quality items, lovingly chosen with care by someone with impeccable taste, and you want a timeless style that will last until you have grandchildren, there probably won’t be much for you here. If you’re a perfectionist, you will be utterly horrified. And if you’re in the market for expensive, rare fabrics and $10,000 window treatments, you may even find my projects awful. But if you love to change things around, mix up your style every few years, try new things constantly, I can help you. If you have almost no decorating budget, I can help you. If you think you have no
creativity or style, you’re not crafty or handy, and you’re sick to death of white walls and overhead lighting, I can help you. These are the tricks I’ve learned by trial and error over the
years, decorating and redecorating my own house, the houses of friends and clients, and office spaces.

I can’t promise to blog with any predictability, but I can promise that if you check in from time to time, you’ll find pictures, projects, ideas and guidance.

I’m not a photographer, and I’m far too Half-Assed to hire one for this blog. So the photos come from my $100 digital camera and may be grainy and poorly lit. My videos will be the same, and also filled with me stumbling over my words, while the phone rings or the dog barks in the background. Sometimes I will be too Half-Assed to get out of my PJs or put on lipstick to film them. But that’s what Half-Assed is all about…doing just that bare minimum to get the job done.