Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Trying to find my center

Once I get started on a project, I want to finish it right this minute. 
But prudence dictates that I wait for fabric samples before I do much else
on the guestroom makeover. That damned prudence – she always gets her way.
There was one small thing to keep me busy in there
yesterday, however, involving more paint.
 
Before I continue, I must give a shout-out to my recently acquired, $9 canvas dropcloth.
Painting my way through ten houses without a proper dropcloth is the newest item on
my "life's regrets" list. Old sheets and cheap hunks of disposable plastic can't begin to compare
to the ease of use and practicality of a canvas dropcloth. Painting the guestroom this time was...
dare I say...almost fun because this dropcloth all but removed my fear 
of the disastrous mishaps which usually occur when I'm painting. 

Anyway, the barn-red color on the barn-wood mirror had to go, so a-painting I went.


This is what my life has come to – sitting with my dog, staring at a wall,
a wall upon which a sconce is not centered and how could I have lived here for 12 years
and not noticed this? Perhaps it is more obvious now, with the dresser out of the way.
And if Smooch would get out of the way, you could see what I'm talking about.


Thank you, Smooch.

The bed is centered in the room, and my feet are centered on the bed. 
The mirror is centered on the sconce, which is about nine inches off center.
I know some of you are thinking, "it's no big deal, get over it," but that's not gonna happen.

The best thing to do would be to relocate the sconce 9 inches west of its present location,
but that would involve electricity and holes in the wall and crawling around the attic and
I hate that kind of stuff.
The second-best thing to do would be to move the bed to that wall and the problem would go away,
except it wouldn't because neither the entry door nor the door to the porch 
would open fully with the bed over there. 
The third-best thing to do would be to never sleep in this room myself
and hope like heck the imbalance doesn't bother my guests as much as it bothers me.
Or I could just throw my paint-spattered dropcloth over the sconce and call it art.


29 comments:

  1. Such a decision ... IMO, if the bedroom door is open, all looks good to me. I’d let it go.

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  2. Hmmm, never noticed and you are right...never cared. I was always focused on the artwork inside and the beautiful landscape outside. Plus the excellent margaritas!!
    Ethel

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  3. I am laughing because things like this bother me so much, that at times when a blogger post a photo of a room, and something is not as I would have it, i think WHY would they hang a painting there, or put a dresser here. it does matter to some of us. since you don't sleep there i would leave it and just don't lay on the bed

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  4. I think it’s time for a day trip.

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  5. I, too, have some 'issues' in my house, where care was NOT taken to center things, (vents, lights, ceiling fans, etc.). This actually is something I can obsess over easily. It gives me bad vibes when I think about it. I try to imagine things all nicely centered, and I feel the calm of it, but when I think about what would be involved to make it happen, I lose heart. Maybe 30 years ago I would have tackled it...but at 63, I know it's just not going to happen. To counter this, I just don't look up that much, and enjoy all the perfectly placed furniture and art. Is the sconce the only light in the room? If it isn't, you might consider a larger mirror or painting...take the sconce down, and center the new art/mirror on the wall, and hide the sconce hole. Just a thought.

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  6. Were you an engineer before you retired? That would be the first thing my husband would notice. If things are a 1/8" out of square he's OCD about. I keep telling him no one else will notice. We're just happy to have a bed to sleep in or whatever. LOl

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  7. Guests won't care. Haven't cared. Who can we blame for this symmetry obsession? Greeks? Nothing in nature is symmetrical.

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  8. Is the sconce centered between the edge of the open door and the opposite wall? Maybe that was the idea originally? It looks fine to me with the door open, not paying attention to where the bed is positioned.

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    1. Exactly! That happens in lots of rooms--center something on the wall itself or allow for the visual impact of windows, open doors, etc., that skew one's impression of where the center actually is. Your mirror & sconce look like they're in the perfect place to me :-)

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  9. I agree that the sconce is FINE where it is and in fact might look as if it's headed for the door if it were centered on the wall. The mirror looks really nice.

    Also, canvass drop cloths make wonderful heavy "Linen" curtains.

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  10. You will hate it more if you move it. With the door open it will look rediculiously off center.

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  11. I would obsess over this too. We are currently building a new home and I am having issues with things the electricians have been doing...

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    1. A biggie is the lighting over the dining table(s). Most houses have the chandelier 'centered' on the room, but when you add a buffet or china cabinet, the table has to shift in the room, thereby throwing the whole 'centered' chandelier off to one side. Gives me whim whams.

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    2. Looking at your room this morning with fresh eyes, I'm envisioning a lovely macrame or dream catcher hanging away from the wall in the corner...like a hanging plant, only art. 'New Project'! Think macrame sculpture meets dream catcher kind of thing. Seems like it would balance the wall/door situation.

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  12. Leave it! As my mother used to say “don’t borrow trouble”. It looks fine and if you move the sconce then you will find something else that isn’t centered. Oh, and I made dropcloth curtains and very pleased with results.
    Kipper

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  13. What Andrea said...builders do that so that a dresser under the sconce will be centered under the light, but not interfere with the door. What this means is that you have to move the dresser back to re-center the light:)

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  14. I like the remove the sconce and hang a larger item idea - but you could also leave as is and hang a rectangular piece of art to the left that balances the other two items - to make it a 3 part focal point.

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  15. I like the offset light fixture, because to me it looks as if it was done purposefully.

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  16. If it took you 12 years to notice this, just make sure no guests check in for 12 years. But I also agree with Pudge450.

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  17. I'm with Andrea...it seems centered with the door open. Only close the door to go to sleep and it is just fine!!! You won't ever notice it with the door closed!

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  18. Rather create another of your gorgeous crocheted cushiones than obsess with sconces!

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  19. I would try centering the bed to the sconce and mirror and put a larger side table on the left side of the bed to balance it out on that end. But then maybe the bed will interfere with the door to outside? I don’t know how close it is over there. The other thing is hang more art on the side that feels out of balance. I can obsess over things like this and then I can also turn things “catty-cornered” and love them and have many fond memories of my dad shaking his head and mumbling quietly when he visited and saw my wacky arrangements.

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  20. I would go with some additional art...multiple items grouped on that wall and "center" no longer is a thing. Lisa G in TN

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  21. Purchase a “longer” sconce so it could appear more centered...... 🤣

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  22. I saw what Andrea did too. Just tell your guests to leave the door open. ;)

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  23. Found in the spam folder:

    Rather create another of your gorgeous crocheted cushiones than obsess with sconces!
    Carine

    Leave it! As my mother used to say “don’t borrow trouble”. It looks fine and if you move the sconce then you will find something else that isn’t centered. Oh, and I made dropcloth curtains and very pleased with results. Kipper

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  24. I think it is centered with door opened

    Guest will never, ever notice that it is not centered

    The mirror looks great!

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  25. Oh, my. You are scaring me to death! I am retiring in a month and I had visions of sitting in my recliner with my feet up, reading the latest bestseller, and eating bon bons!! Looks like retirement is a lot of work! :)

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  26. Put a larger mirror on the wall ...or a few pictures ... or a large picture ... ..so you don't even notice that it is off centre...

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