Creating Attractive Space to Live In

If I had to give you just one helpful hint, it’s to choose a color family for everything that you are likely to find an abundance of hues in. Myself, I like blues and greens the most, as they are the colors most abundant in the garden settings that I love. You may prefer warmer colors of the sun’s rising and setting. Up to you, but do be consistent as you choose--to develop a home that has a unified look and feel. Indeed, choose wood tones as well that are either light or dark to the extent practical. 

A variety of patterns within a color family adds interest. It’s best for some patterns to echo others--a large area reflected by accent pieces,

One easy way to “pattern” a table is to use colored masking tape to affix to it one or more plastic placemats that bear designs. That wide, colored masking tape can also be used to “draw” stripes or checks, or even to develop solid colors, on surfaces that have seen better days (this doesn’t work in high-traffic areas or those exposed to heat.) Much cheaper than decorative vinyl like Con-Tact brand!

Have an overriding theme for pictures and other decorative objects. I really like animals, so I have quite a variety depicted, in pairs where I can. A good source for photos? Try calendar pages from a prior year--even buying extra calendars that you like from this year will be cheaper than buying “prints” sold as such.

If you live in rented premises, you probably cannot affix much of photos or anything else to the walls, especially not with tape or screws. Try either masking tape--or lightweight bulletin boards. The latter generally will stay put with just one small nail as security. Amazon.com’s warehouse offered a group of ten for under $70, each large enough to hold four calendar photos.

Of course, buying furniture in thrift stores is less expensive than anywhere else, but if you can’t find all types that you need there, again Amazon--or other online stores--are good sources if you yourself can assemble the units or if you have a friend who can help you out with this. (Amazon offers assembly for a fee that is above market value for a handyman’s assistance, in rural California.)

Arranging your books relatively by their subject matter not only makes it easier for you to find to hand a given volume, but is decorative.

As many plants as your thumb can tend will--if you select carefully--clear the air of pollutants. In the extreme seasons, they lend Spring. Certain herbs, like thyme, are easy to grow and will save you big dollars in the produce section of the market as well as improving your cuisine. An indoor garden can also provide you, if you live alone, with a sense of purpose--see “A Singleton Who Tends to a Companion is Not Bereft.”

The one attribute that you can bring to your home above all that will please a visitor is to provide reasonable neatness. The second-most important is to lift the eye diagonally across large walls--it can do wonders to provide interest. And unifying that color scheme is a close third.

For your own and your family’s sense of security in your home, I do not recommend deadbolts or strongboxes, but rather an area with Judaica emphasized and a general scattering of objects that reflect your spiritual roots.

(Due to the Passover holiday, this blog will resume on April 29, 2019.)