A Makeover, Kinda

I strain to squeeze out the very last toothpaste in a tube. When my shampoo stops pumping, I turn the container over and shake the remnants from the bottom of the bottle until nothing else plops out. Both ends of a Q-tip get used and I scour out jars to get the last dregs of face lotion.

I’m careful to recycle everything I am allowed to place in the blue and green bins, but I feel guilty about adding to the landfill (brown bin) when I throw away things I haven’t worn or used for a long time. Given this guilt and my general frugality, it’s hard for me to dive into a home makeover, even though we’ve lived with the existing décor for twenty-four years. And what about the fact that our expensive blue leather chairs, all recliners, are favorites of ours?

Answer: A Kinda Makeover…or Makeover Lite.

Our house used to have a Sante Fe ranch house look to it, with kilm rugs in rusts, cream, and blue highlights. They gave off a warm, Native American artsy vibe, complementary to folk art wall hangings from our world travels. But I wanted a new look and fewer throw rugs to trip over. Our Roomba had had a field day chewing on rug fringes, so I knew fringeless rugs were my next big buy.

Blue was a pivotal color, so I bought blue and cream rugs with three-dimensional bold patterns, nicely set off with matching throw pillows. I rummaged around to find complimentary vases and knick-knacks; I used a blue quilt my sister made to set off cream pillows. Tough, it was, to sort through internet offerings, but by reading reviews and looking at customer pictures of the items I considered, I was able to match colors.

I’m happy with my kinda makeover. Will it please me for the next twenty-four years? Well, hell, since I’m seventy-nine, why worry?

Did it kill me to throw away all those carefully chosen throw rugs (even though their fringes were ragged)?  Absolutely. Do I like the effect of the new rugs and does my décor make me happy. Yes, and it does. My makeover might be ‘lite,’ but it feels monumental to me.