The second key to good decorating

In the previous post we discussed the building block of good decorating, which is having a dog. Of course, a dog is only the beginning of tasteful decorating. To this beginning you must add paint -- to the room, of course, not the dog, and if your painting skills are anything like ours, when you start painting you will want the dog and any other objects you value well out of the way, preferably in Switzerland.

As we saw with the dog, home decorating magazines are a good place to get inspiration for paint colors and schemes.* As one magazine declares, "It's amazing what you can do with paint." It IS amazing, because when you look at the photos in these magazines, it is difficult to detect any actual paint.

Walls in these homes -- we call them homes, although it has never been documented that anyone actually lives in them -- are covered with enormous picture windows overlooking the ocean, grand fireplaces, built-in bookcases, objects d'art, etc., leaving very little room for paint. In contrast, the walls of the average homeowner's dwelling are covered with: holes from misplaced photographs, or perhaps a spouse's overzealousness at searching for a hidden fireplace behind the wall.**

*Our readers might wonder what the difference is between a paint color and a paint scheme. Paint colors are, of course, things like red, blue, ecru, daylight, twilight, midnight madness, etc., whereas a paint scheme is defined as "an effort on the part of an individual to win over a reluctant spouse in the matter of preferred paint color. Often includes begging and, when warranted, threats or deception."

**Not that we, personally, have any experience with this particular situation.

The result is that there is actually very little paint needed for the walls you see in the photos. Whereas when we paint, even with the same exact color mentioned in the story accompanying the picture, we have four painted walls staring at us, begging for something to cover their nakedness and shame, some objects d'art, or at least some objects.

Unfortunately we do not have time today to discuss more on this issue of decorating, but we will return to the subject once the Princess and Hero return from their short trip, which will, happily, involve no meal preparation or cleaning or paint scheming.

This blog is officially on sabbatical until next week.