The Looking List

Posted at January 16, 2010

I am not an impulse buyer when it comes to home decor. I look, and look, and look some more — buy something, return it and then buy something else until I find what’s just right. Add to that my refusal to pay full price for anything and you have a home with too many bare walls, empty spaces where furniture should be, floors without rugs and windows without treatments.

You may call me “picky”, I prefer ”choosy.” Just me taking the time to find what’s just right. Go ahead, call me Goldilocks.

The list I call the “looking list” includes the details of exactly what I need, what I want and what would just be fun to pick up if I see the right thing.

Here’s the current looking list:

10′x10′ rug for our dining room
The room is 11.5′x11.5′. Square rugs are hard to find.

roman shade for kitchen window
I see plain or striped roman shades everywhere. The shade on my list is a stylish pattern with blues, greens and browns.

leather beanbag
This is on Jake’s looking list. I’m  not sure about it. We have a corner of our family room that’s not quite big enough for a chair and we’d both like to have additional, flexible seating in the family room. It would have to be a grown-up bean bag.

mirror for master bathroom
Need: a nice mirror, preferably with a wooden frame that’s 3′x5′.
Don’t need: to spend the $300-$700 that the mirrors I like seem to cost

Bonus points to you for sending me ideas. When it comes to the looking list, checking things off is much more fun than adding more.

The Looking List

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  • Abbei Monroe

    they do cut the pieces for you. you can buy stained, ready to cut molding in a bunch of different widths, types design and Home Depot will cut it for you with the corners all nice. You need a really strong epoxy glue, jason had some stuff from his boat that I used. Make sure your wood is pretreated and all that to withstand humidity and water. Then you fit it and glue around, just like a puzzle. I used a sharpie marker on my mirror to outline exactly where I wanted to glue it, used a level to get it straight and voila…new mirror!

  • Abbei Monroe

    Hey Emily! I see on your list you are looking for a mirror for your master bathroom…my house is a constant work in progress as well…progress has slowed in the last 2 years since Will was born…but its picking up now. Anyway, I HATED our bathroom mirror. It was one of those tacky big giant plain pieces of mirror. So I got some pre finished molding…I actually used pretty crown molding and framed out the big mirror. It cost me about $35 or $40 for the whole project and made a huge difference. It gave it the look of one of the expensive framed ones. I got the stuff at Home Depot.

    • Emily

      Thanks for the tip. That’s exactly what we have now- just a big plain peice of mirror. Boring! I’ve never tried to tackle any woodworking projects like this before. I wonder if they would cut the peices for me at home depot? i think i might have a hand saw somewhere. i should give it a try.