Hello, Gentle Readers. It’s week…7? of staying at home, and I hope you’re healthy and sane. If you are not, I’m sorry. I wholeheartedly wish you the speediest recovery possible. Ugh.
My colleagues and I are still working full-time, but our houses are really getting to us. As, I’m sure, is yours.
So what can you do?
Well, what do you have?
Assess what you have in terms of “accessories.” (I hate that word, but “stuff” isn’t a great alternative.) Go through the whole house. Look in your closets. On the mantel. On your dresser. Pillows, bowls, trays, vases, framed tabletop photographs, coffee table books, snow globes (seriously), a cool wooden toy that never made it to the playroom because you decided was too nice for a small child to gnaw on, curious objects you inherited or picked up in your travels.
Some items you don’t even think about anymore. I had two coffee table books under a bowl for years — YEARS — until I took a fresh look. Guess what? I decided they were dumb and moved them.
Look in unexpected places. I needed a tray to put under our liquor bottles. I went through the kitchen and found a stainless steel tray that is probably meant for hors-d’oeuvres. (I may have stolen it from my mother-in-law, who has some pretty cool stuff.) Anyway, that tray is now under the bottles, and it looks great.
Gather up all of your accessories and spread them out on the dining room table, or across the living room coffee table and sofa.
Then, put each thing where it wasn’t.
This exercise may sound obvious and possibly even condescending. But I did this myself a few weeks ago, and it helped. Pro tip: if you can trick your teenagers into coming out of their rooms, you might find willing accomplices.
[Thanks, Cartoonstock, for fining me for including a cartoon here, the caption of which read: “I’m ready to go whenever you’re through fussing with tablescapes.”]
The same thing applies to art: take it down, move it around. (Art is not an accessory, by the way. Art is art.) Don’t worry about holes in the wall. They’re easy to deal with — later, when you’re allowed to buy spackle.
If you don’t have enough art, take this opportunity to browse Transformer Gallery’s FlatFile
and my friend Liza Houston’s website for original work by talented artists.
All right. You’ve done what you can with what you have. Now, what can you get?
Small things, is the short answer.
These are desperate times. We crave instant gratification, but we can’t leave the house. Therefore, you have my permission to buy SMALL items online to help you get through the pandemic.
This isn’t tabletop small, but it’s furniture small: West Elm’s Martini Table.
I recommend it all the time.
I have it in brass, which I mentioned in a recent article in Bloomberg Quint about updating your home office. (Thanks again, Kathryn O’Shea-Evans!) It adds the right touch of modern to a traditional room…it looks especially great with a Persian or Oriental rug.
You will not regret buying a Martini Table. But sometimes, we decide to buy something we WILL regret.
I’ve mentioned the unfinished project that is my bedroom. Cobbler’s children and all that. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so this weekend I knowingly made some purchases that will not stand the test of time.
The first was a bedskirt. We bought a new bed last Labor Day weekend — that’s **8** months ago!! — and I had yet to buy a bedskirt. The reason? I want a new headboard and custom MATCHING bedskirt, but I couldn’t make a decision about fabric. And it’s an investment, so I want to be sure.
Anyway, last week, I decided that I couldn’t handle the ugliness of a naked boxspring anymore. So I spent the least amount of money possible on a thin, wrinkles-when-you-look-at-it, slightly too large bedskirt from Amazon. I think it was 25 bucks. It arrived in 3 days. It will do for now.
I also decided to buy a bench for the foot of the bed because it was ridiculously cheap.
Reminder: things you buy from online discounters will be crap and will not last. You must view them as temporary fixes.
Which I do. Again, these are desperate times. I took the money I would have spent on a nice dinner out and spent it on disposable décor instead.
That’s how I’m viewing it, anyway.
Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, DC, but we travel for fun projects. Annie’s design work and insights have appeared in numerous local and national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Washingtonian Magazine. Annie will be participating in the ASPIRE HOUSE, a designers’ showcase, this fall.