House to Home

Dale and I knew when we moved into our new house that we wanted to decorate it a little more than we did our old house -- in other words, we wanted to hang at least a few things on the walls and didn't want to have any completely empty rooms. Despite living in our old house for a decade, we never really got around to buying furniture or decorating. And I knew that without some help, we'd wake up ten years from now and realize that we still hadn't done anything with our new house either!


So, we called one of the most artistic people we know and requested some help. My Papaw and Ruth (Nana) live in Florida, are retired, and enjoy traveling. I asked if they would come out for a visit and help us decorate, and they said they'd love to. "In fact, we're going on a little road trip in May to see our niece graduate from high school. We could just stop by on our way to her graduation." Perfect!

As the trip got closer, I happened to ask where they were headed for their niece's graduation and was surprised to hear it was in Pennsylvania. New Mexico is "on the way" from Florida to Pennsylvania only to people who have a sense of adventure, are willing to drive across the country for weeks at a time, and love their grandchildren so much that an extra six days of driving is worth the week they'd get to spend with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And I'm lucky enough to have just such grandparents!

So, Papaw and Ruth arrived to the blank slate that we had called our home for the previous five months. We had several pictures and paintings -- some framed and some unframed -- and no sense of what looked good where.

Fortunately, Ruth has a confidence in decorating that I've never had and she knows how to decorate on a budget. We spent the week scouring consignment shops, finding frames for our unframed art, deciding on paint colors, selecting greenery, and rug shopping. I never imagined I'd have so much fun shopping!


As we brought home our new things, Ruth arranged everything for us, from placing greenery and decorative bowls above our kitchen cabinets to figuring out where the "to-die-for mirror" should go for the best effect.


And while Ruth and I shopped, Papaw was up on ladders hanging artwork, patching holes in our walls, taking out shelves in our closets, and generally doing all the little handyman things that needed to be done at our house. Looking back on it now, I'm sure that the week Papaw and Ruth spent here was more like work and less like a vacation for them!


By the end of the week, our home had been transformed from a blank slate into a warm, inviting home.




Thank you so much, Papaw and Ruth, for visiting us "on your way to Pennsylvania" and for helping us decorate our house. We love the things you did for the house and we learned so much about decorating from you!