5 things i've learned the hard way: #2

many thanks for the well-wishes!
i am feeling SO much better, and
am ready to reveal the rest of the
"things i've learned the hard way."
#2
life is messy. 
plan accordingly.

(via)
(i find this picture completely and utterly hysterical.)
pets.
kids.
food.
husbands. 
(huh? what did i just say?)
probably the three biggest culprits 
when it comes to messes.
but guess what?
with some careful planning and
forethought, you can still have
nice things, PLUS pets, kids,
husbands and FOOD.
here are my top three tricks
to help disguise and avert the dirt:
1. install wainscoting or bead board in
high traffic areas like halls and stairs.
after living in house #1 for just over 3 years, 
the walls in our stair well and main traffic areas
looked like a dozen chimpanzees had been
living there for a decade.

when we built house #2, i swore
that i was going to avert the little greasy
handprints, "accidental" crayon doodles, and
mysterious splashes of food that always seemed 
to plague our walls.
and so, we installed wainscoting in most rooms
 and bead board in the halls and stair wells.

we did the same thing 

in house #4 and house #5.

the walls still got greasy handprints, 
and "accidental" crayon doodles, but they always 
cleaned up beautifully. 
2. choose patterns, leather, and heavy woven fabrics (including velvet)for upholstery.
as a mom, i always try to imagine what a fabric will
look like after being sweated on, stomped on,
walked on, thrown across the room, spilled on
and used as a plate. cuz that's what's
GONNA happen to most fabrics, so you
might as well plan for it...

(via decorapad)

by choosing a fabric that will look great for
years to come(despite what horrors it may have to endure), 
you can protect the investment that you
make in your upholstered items.


3. when selecting tile and carpet,
always select one shade darker than
you "think" you want.
carpet, tile and other floorings can be tricky to select because you are usually looking at a tiny sample, right up close to your
face, but the final product can be hundreds of square feet...
and, well, at your FEET. 
the first time i made the mistake of selecting a carpet
was when we built our first house. i remember showing up just
as the carpet installers left, and declaring 
to my husband that they had put in the WRONG carpet.
i was SO sure they had installed a lighter color than
what i had selected, that i marched out to the car, 
grabbed my little 2" x 4" sample, threw it down on the newly
installed carpet, and.....it was a perfect match.
oops.
of course, it still looked great,
but it wasn't as dark and rich as i was picturing it would be.
my advice when selecting flooring:
1. always ask for a bigger sample.
many  companies will order large carpet and tile samples
from the manufacturer and have them 
sent directly to your  home. 
 2. always look at samples the way you will be looking at
them when they are in your house...on the FLOOR.
you get a much better perspective on the color they will
appear when installed.