Home Decorating

We spent too much on a kitchen faucet two weeks ago. I am suffering from Buyer’s Remorse.

Our beautiful new brushed stainless steel kitchen faucet

I’ve been trying to excuse it. I’ve been rationalizing it by telling myself that we have saved $$ on so much else for the kitchen by buying at restores, redoing old stuff, and repurposing other stuff. Hmm, the key words here are much and stuff…

I’ve been telling myself that it is a quality faucet, and it will last forever. After all, it has a ceramic cartridge, it is made of stainless steel, and it won’t rust. Hmm, the key words here are quality and forever.

It’s difficult to be rehabbing a kitchen and trying to fight that impulse of materialism. The two just don’t go together. I can get caught up in the look I want; the colors I want; the type of flooring I want. The key words here are pretty obvious…I want.

I want much quality stuff forever…

We’ve been trying to be thrifty and balanced — nothing outlandishly pricey or ostentatious. Simple even. After all, there are people living in tents in Haiti; in huts in Malawi; in tenements in this very city. (Remember those starving people in China who would have eaten those peas I wouldn’t eat as a kid?)

Last week I was cleaning out my home library and found this:

I don’t know where it came from, but I saved it. And I found it again at a time when I needed to be reminded.

In this time of gross materialism (I mean Christmas, but it could just as well be any time here in 21st century America) we all need to be reminded. It is not about stuff, even quality stuff, even quality stuff that lasts forever. Because as Jesus reminds us, the earthly treasures rust and get moth-eaten — yes, even stainless steel faucets. The forever treasures are what we need to want; those are what last.

I was ~~reminded~~ convicted again yesterday when I read my morning devotions. Sarah Young writes in Jesus Calling:

I carefully crafted your longings and feelings of incompleteness, to point you to Me. Therefore, do not try to bury or deny these feelings. Beware also of trying to pacify these longings with lesser gods: people, possessions, power.

God carefully created us to long for Him. There is a hole in our human hearts that can only be filled by Him. And instead we fill it with stuff, work, family, lovers and mates, hobbies, eating, shopping, sports, even church — you pick one (or two or three…)

These things are not necessarily bad unless they become replacements for God — Lesser Gods. I don’t know about you, but I fight those lesser gods all the time.

When I win, I can feel Jesus smiling on the person who struggles to be like him and sometimes manages a shadow of His presence.

When I lose, He gently reminds me how imperfect I am. And His gift of grace that covers me is the softest blanket on a cold night.

Yes, it is a beautiful faucet. We own it. I will be happy with it. I will touch it every day, and it will shine as a reminder of my imperfection. And in return, it will remind me to give graciously and joyfully to someone in need. I can’t make up for my greed; I can’t be vindicated for my materialistic sin, but every time I look at that faucet, I can remember.

It will remind me of my blessings.

It will remind me that I have the ability to share those blessings.

It will remind me that there are people without faucets, without clean water, without living water…and what am I going to do about it?

I am going to give. One person at a time.

Books to remind us about Simple Living and Giving:

Crazy Love by Francis Chan
The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns
Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken
One Thousand Gifts by Ann VosKamp
Radical by David Platt
Love Walked Among Us by Paul Miller

In a previous post, I told you about [reHabitat], the online design/decorating company who is giving us ideas on what to do with our yellow bedroom, while we concentrate on the kitchen and the bathroom. In the interest of full disclosure :-) [reHabitat] is Diane and Emily, my sister and my niece.

I chose the reVive box for the bedroom. They have several others to choose from — less and more. This is what we’re getting with the reVive box:

{reVive}

Need a bit more direction as you settle into your home or want to give a room an upgrade? Let us give you a basic framework that still allows you full creative control. You’ll start by taking our TasteTest, measuring your room, and snapping a few before photos. We’ll draw up a floor plan (based on pieces you already have and things we think you should add), recommend paint colors, and show you some examples of pieces to look for as you shop on your own.

Includes: floor plan, paint colors, links to furniture inspiration, notes/suggestions to address any problem areas, phone conversation to clarify any questions you have after you’ve received your box.

*Shameless advertising plug: Visit reHabitat’s website to find out about other rehab box packages. They have a fun blog as well. The link is www.rehabitatdesign.com

With the taste test are some pictures of chairs, couches, tables, accessories and such. I checked off the ones I liked — this gives them an idea of my taste! Then there are two sections of questions. Although I can’t give away all their secrets, the questions mostly deal with what you like about the room, what you envision for the room, your favorite colors, your hated colors, that sort of thing. It was fun to do, but I’ve always liked filling out questionnaires… The hardest part was making up a floor plan of the room, but there are fairly specific directions on how to go about it.

And then you get to tell them the pieces you have for the room that you want to keep and send them pictures. I’ve done all that in the form of this post below. Our problem is that we are downsizing. and we have too much furniture. So what do we keep? And what can we get to tie all the mishmashed pieces together? I’m sure you all have ideas as well. Who knows, I might get lots of input from you all. Stay tuned to see what the professionals do…

Here is the bedroom from the four corners:

Queen sized bed

The TV does not have to go in the bedroom. It’s only here now because there’s nowhere else to put it. Don’t you love the card table?

Small door goes into bathroom and has to be sanded and painted on the bath side, so could be on this side as well. The other door goes into the living room, is always open, and has to be replaced.

Lovely corner, eh? Even the pictures of this yellow room give me a headache…

We have three dressers to pick from:

This one was rescued at a thrift shop for $40, sanded, and ivy stenciled to go in the ivy bedroom. It can be painted or resanded — it’s yellow pine. It is 32″ x 17″ and 47″ high.

This is Clara’s oak dresser. It has to stay as is if used. (New hardware is okay.) 34″ x 18″ and 50″ high.

This is Michael’s dresser from childhood. (Is it back in?) I’ve been going to change the pulls forever — to a simpler mission type look — but never got around to it. At one point I suggested painting it (it is just pine) and he was okay with that. Dimensions are 51″ x 18″ and 30″ high.

Here are lamp choices: (There are two of each; we don’t have to use either set, and/or new shades can be selected).

These are fairly tall–30″

This pair is shorter–20″.

Here are some other furniture pieces that have been in past bedrooms at various times…

We dont’ have matching nightstands. This is Michael’s from when he was a kid — antique oak

Here’s another:

This belonged to Michael’s grandmother; he thinks it is a Stickley.

Nanny’s cedar chest–it is long, 60″!–fits at the bottom of a queen-sized bed. 22″ wide.

There are also these two mirrors–one came from Dad and one came from Clara and they are almost identical.

This is the ceiling light fixture. I kind of like it, but Michael isn’t so sure. It does bathe the room in yellow light, which goodness knows it doesn’t need right now, but maybe when there is new paint color?