Have I turned into Martha Stewart?

So, FINALLY, my wife is home. She had been down at her sister's house for a month and I'm here to tell you I was MORE than ready to have her home! We've been talking about remodeling the living room for awhile, and I got the bright idea that I would do it before she came home as a surprise. That's right, me, a male was about to dive off into the realm of interior design.

Thirteen years ago, when we first arrived at the house, we had the walls painted. I insisted that they were done in white. By golly I didn't want any color on MY walls! Well, over the course of time I have mellowed quite a bit, and my tastes have changed. The white walls were BORING!

Monday morning I went down to the paint shop and picked up an interior decorating brochure. I thumbed through it and saw a color combination I liked. I asked the daughters what they thought and they said they really liked it. At that point I started moving everything away from the walls and, when I was finished with that, I headed back down to the paint shop to buy some paint. I thought it would be a quick and easy project. Yeah, right. I worked on that stupid room from early morning until well after dinner each night and still didn't get the crown molding installed. It's painted though, and waiting in the shop until a date yet to be determined.

We have had ratty metal mini-blinds for as long as I can remember and they were long overdue for replacement. I made a trip up to Lowe's and got faux wood blinds and that problem was eliminated. I also got nice curtain rods at Lowe's. I needed curtains that would match my chosen color scheme, so I went to JoAnn's Fabrics and spent and hour or more with a blue-haired lady getting just the right stuff. One of Cynthia's friends had agreed to do the sewing: I just had to deliver the goods to her so she could get started. She got the curtains done, and one of the ties I asked her to make. She made the one tie and delivered it to see if it was the correct length before she made the rest. It was great, and now she's making seven more. I wanted the ties to wrap around the curtains when they weren't spread out in order to make a pretty bow.

When I had finished painting and installing blinds and curtains, I stared arranging things in the room. Now here's the REALLY scary part: as I was putting things on the display case I studied the look after I set the wooden fire engine down. I had originally put it on the right side of the case, but then I moved it to the left. Why? Because, I thought, if it was on the right side it would put the room out of balance. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Right then I probably should have gone out and bought a dress.

Anyway, when the wife came in the door she was amazed...in a good sort of way. She was VERY happy with the outcome, and has been bragging on me all weekend. She likes it and that's all that counts. So, without further ado, here's the before and after pictures:

Before:

After: