May 5, 2005
Dear Everyone:
Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommies out there.
A few months ago, “Jeannie” decided to paint her living room. She chose to paint three walls a deep, dramatic red, prompting “Marshall” to inquire (not too kindly), “So when are you installing the slot machines?”
In order to accomplish the painting job, it was necessary for “Jeannie” to remove the shelves which I had helped her, with limited success, to mount. It’s tricky getting wall-mounted screws exactly level and even, to fit the pre-drilled holes in the back of the shelves.
So now that she was ready to put the shelves back up again, she decided to consult an expert. A friend of a friend (etc.) had recommended a woman who does interior decorating, among other things. This woman (we’ll call her “Bonnie”) makes her bread-and-butter money staging model homes. You know, those showcase models that make the rooms look twice as big as they really are and include all the “designer extras” that don’t come with the stripped-down model you’ll probably be getting?
“Jeannie” and I used to spend happy weekend hours
going through models, supposedly potential buyers, but really just
looking for decorating tips.
For example, we saw one house where the smaller bedroom was decorated
for a young boy, lots of sports things around.
What caught my attention was the “built-in desk” that precluded
the need for a dresser. Then
I realized that the desk/dresser had been built into the space where the
closet was supposed to be.
That gave me the idea to remove the closet doors in my own second
bedroom (in the condo
in
So if you’re looking at a furnished model home, “Bonnie” is the person who put the ceramic goose on the kitchen counter, along with everything else. Another thing that “Bonnie” does is decorating consulting. In this, she goes into a person’s home and redecorates, using the person’s own furnishings. She knows they like the furniture because they bought them. She just finds imaginative and unique ways of displaying everything.
“Jeannie” had several “consulting” meetings and
last Saturday was the “big day”.
“Bonnie” and her husband arrived around
After the movie, there was a message on my cell phone (which I had, of course, turned off during the movie.) “Bonnie” and Company were ready to show off their masterpiece and “Jeannie” left immediately. About an hour later, she called to rave about her living room. “It looks like a grownup lives here!”
We decided that I would watch a tape that I had recorded earlier that week, which “Jeannie” wanted to see, on Sunday morning. Then I’d take the tape up to “Jeannie’s” to see her “new” place. I also planned to swing by the really big sporting goods store as I had a need for a gym bag.
The living room was, indeed, “transformed”. They had taken a couple of floor lamps and put them in the corners. Then they angled the sofa and chair across the corners, with the coffee table between them. You would think that this would result in less available floor space, but it actually opens the room up. The way the sofa and chair are arranged allow for people to converse (just like grownups!) or to just watch the television on the opposite wall.
You can’t really move the TV since that’s where the cable comes out of the wall. So instead, they “framed” it with three of the wall-mounted shelves. Two larger shelves on either side, and the smaller one directly above the TV. They also arranged numerous small artificial plants on and around the VCR/DVD to hide all the wires behind it. And they placed “Jeannie’s” most prized photos, plates, small candles, and so on, on the shelves. They also hung numerous framed prints, all at “eye height” for “Jeannie”, in various places, including the entry way, which now seemed more like additional space.
And they moved the silk tree from the dining room into the living room against the deep red wall between the sofa and chair. It was only after I got to “Jeannie’s” place, and had properly appreciated the decorating transformation, that I realized I had completely forgotten to bring the tape with me. And I was on my way home before I remembered about going to the really big sporting goods store for the gym bag.
On the plus side, I now have two episodes of the show “Jeannie” asked me to tape ready for this weekend. And I discovered that the really big sporting goods store is the ideal place to buy a replacement for my patio cover, which was destroyed in a storm last winter.
As for the movie we saw: The Interpreter. Nicole Kidman plays a woman who was born in the States, but grew up in a fictional African country. She has a job at the United Nations because she’s familiar with several African dialects and can interpret them into English. Sean Penn plays a Secret Service agent assigned to “visiting dignitaries”.
One evening, Kidman overhears two people possibly discussing a plot to kill someone. What she hears is, “the teacher will not leave the room alive.” When she realizes who “the teacher” is, she contacts the authorities. Penn vacillates between shrugging her off as a kook and suspecting her of planning an assassination herself.
The acting is topnotch, not only Kidman and Penn, but many of the supporting players. And the suspense is successful because there are enough plot twists to keep you off-balance. In the end, as “Jeannie” pointed out, it is a rather sad story. But a story well-told nevertheless. And it’s been a long time since that happened in a movie.
Love, as always,
Pete
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