business is beautiful

Look what I got in the mail today -- business cards!

I can't believe I waited so long just to get *something* made. I agonized over what my branding would be until I realized I just need something out there. So here they are. I am currently working on my branding label for business cards, letterhead, website, etc., but for now I am totally thrilled. I can finally hand people a card when they ask! :)

the chair that was a couch

This is the latest acquisition for the house. I have to say it's adorable (but unbelievably heavy!) I didn't really love it when it was first introduced, but it's growing on me. I love the avocado green color with gold glitter flecks and especially the lines, but am not so fond of the plastic nature of the chair (this is not one of the cozy, curl-up chairs I favor for working from home.)

For the last few months we have been endlessly discussing how to set up the Florida room, mainly focusing on a new couch since all of the seating in the room is either a) broken, b) uncomfortable, or c) disfunctional. There is no cohesiveness to the space. We entertain there constantly, so it's an area we really needed to focus on. The room is oddly configured with three doors on three separate walls and a non-working fireplace on the fourth wall. It's a design issue I mentioned when tw showed me the house before he bought it. Back then it was just an observation, now that I live here it's become a dilemma.

I'm discovering there is really no stronger dilemma than how to design for a house that you live in but that ultimately isn't yours. I constantly go back and forth on this. I have known tw for 15 years, and our design style is very similar. So far, he's let me rearrange any pieces I want to create a tableau that appeals to both of us. The breakfast nook is a great example of this:

When I moved in, there was a broken table with no chairs we bought 10 years ago sitting in the space. We carted that to the curb on trash day and I rummaged through the house for something usable to take its place. The table belonged to his grandmother and was just refinished by his uncle. I found it under a blanket in the office. The chairs were headed for Goodwill before I snatched them up, the tablecloths are relics from my grandmother's bridge-playing days, and the art is all Florida-focused (posters found at thrift/antique stores, photos taken by tw) which I found in a pile on the office floor. I framed them in frames also found in the office. This was easy since he already owned most of these things and so I knew he liked them.

The Florida room has been a bigger problem because I know exactly what I want to do in there, but I'm just waiting around for tw to jump on board. We were stuck in the "what next" phase for several months while he contemplated a couch. Then the chair showed up one day out of the blue. True, it's no couch, but it's a sign tw's ready to forge ahead with the rest of the space. We have an Ikea date planned and furniture in mind. Hopefully we'll leave there with a clearer picture -- or maybe even furniture!

This isn't my house, so designing for the long-term is hard. But it is my home & workspace for my growing company. And as one of my best friends said to me when I was feeling blue about packing my life into an attic, "It doesn't matter where you live, your home will always be very you." When helping design the spaces in this house, I am often reminded of those words. I have to say that most days I am blessed that it is just that, not mine but very me.