DOES YOUR HOUSE NEED TO BE YOUTH-A-NIZED?

We have lived in our house for 21 years.  When Braxton and I bought it in 1990(!) we had two small children, I don't remember how many pets, little furniture, a busted ass car, and no money.  We decorated - if you can call it that - with lots of hand me downs, a few inexpensive purchases we made before we had children, and frankly a whole lot of junk.

As time went on- we added a few things here and a few things there.  Then we added a few more things here and there and then again......until...  by the time the girls went off to college we had a house full of this and that and no real decorating vision.  And. It. Showed.

I remember the day when I said to Braxton "this house is beginning to look like my parents house and YOUR parents house, and it makes me feel old.  We really need to youthanize this baby, and now."

What I'm about to show you is really really embarrassing - but here goes.  Okay, never mind, I just can't show you what it looked like when we started this process - but I CAN show you what it looked like a year ago, and what it looks like now.  Apparently I do still have some pride.

This is "the heart of our home" as Braxton calls it.  We had two chairs and a table in front of the fireplace and as you can see - everything on the mantle piece is the same height(!).  Too much junk.

And this is what it looks like today.  Whew.  Trust me, our parents NEVER had over sized colored art glass on their mantle pieces.

OMG.  There are no words really.

The bedroom today.  As you can see we painted over the Laura Ashley green - very popular in the 1980's - with a youthful marigold.  We added mid century pineapple lamps and black and white curtains.  Kinda sexy now , right?

My dressing table used to be the covered with bottles and boxes of every shape and size.  Wouldn't you assume this was the dressing table of a elderly lady?

Ahhhh, much better.

My wall of shame inspiration.  What an unholy mess.

Now the mess is at least an organized mess.

There really is no excuse for this.  Notice the shutters, which were original to the house, the camera equipment(?), the waay too short curtains, and shit knick-knacks everywhere!

Can you believe THIS is the same window?  I know, right? (Okay, the curtains are still a little bit short, oops.)

 So, to recap, we didn't move (although we thought about it), we didn't burn the house down (although we thought about it), we did start over with a a clear vector, a little money in the bank, a whole lifetime of reading decorating books and magazines, and we youthanized  our little house.

I would recommend to any homeowners in mid-life - to reassess your home - get rid of all the unnecessary detritus, clear off the surfaces, paint the walls youthful colors, and take back your house. 
For more ideas check this out; http://www.shelterpop.com/2011/06/03/look-younger-home/

Have a BEAUTIFUL day.
YANCEY