Hi. I’m Star. And I’m a decal-oholic. There, I’ve said it! Oh, I could pretend that it was just a little decorating sideline, but the problem has really gone a little too far for that. It turns out I’m obsessed with wall decals. When I’m not actually busy installing one, I’m thinking about what the next one will be. I picture myself receiving the box in the mail, slowing unrolling the design and then using my scraper to smooth it all out. I think of all the time it will take to try various arrangements on the wall, the technical expertise it will require to apply it smoothly and then the ecstasy I’ll feel when I’ve done the permanent application and stand back to admire my creation. Oh! Yes! Yes! Yes! But then, of course, it’s over all too fast and I catch my wandering eye surveying the walls of every room for that perfect spot that “needs a little something.” And so it goes. Yes, I may have a problem.
A week or so ago in “My Living Room Forest” I showed you the tree decals I installed in the living room. They make me so happy every time I walk down the hall. But while I was doing that job, it ignited something within me. Doing these things is a challenge I really love. There are plenty of problems, but solving them gives me so much satisfaction. So anyway, about a half an hour after that was finished, I was, ah, “resting,” in my tiny downstairs restroom. As you sit there, you are forced to gaze up at a perfectly blank, ugly wall which, unknown to me before I painted it, had been patched sometime in the past. I had always kept my eye out for a picture for in there, but had never found the right thing. Until now. Before I knew what I was doing, I started exploring decal stores, not only the ones on Etsy this time, but some of the hundreds on the Internet. There were so many possibilities, but I finally settled on one that just felt right to me.
Here is the ugly bathroom wall BEFORE.
And, ta-dah! Here it is NOW!
Here it is at a little different angle. It totally brightens up the whole room. I even had to go out and get bright white switch and outlet plates to match. The room was so small that it was hard to get back to get perspective as I was hanging it. I was so sure that the birdcage was perfectly straight. But, the next day I was washing my hands and saw it through the mirror and it appeared that the cage might be tilting, just the smallest bit. It could be because I couldn’t get back far enough to eyeball it or, as I suspect, it could be a result of my double vision. Or it could be the weight of the bird, (ha, ha!) But, nonetheless, I think it still looks great. It definitely improves that room.
When I finished it, I told myself, “Okay Sister, you’ve got to back away from these things now. Think about something else.” But that’s just silly because I don’t think I have anywhere else to put one. I do have other artwork in my house, after all. Well, okay, there is one really cool thing that would look so neat in my new kitchen, but I’m trying to exercise self-control. I called my friend, Iris, and told her she needed to look at some of these stores and if she found one she liked, I’d install it for free. And suddenly I felt like a vampire, with Iris holding up a cross, saying, “Oh no! I don’t have any place for one of those things Now you get away!” Some people are no fun.
So I guess it’s just one day at a time from here on out. I’m going to try to contain the hungry monster within me. But darn! It’s so fun that I’m not making any promises. After all, I’m only human.
Star, Simplified 