Home decor

When I first moved from the room I shared with my sister into my basement bedroom my parents allowed me to paint the room what ever I wanted. We bought a blue bedspread with large, abstract flowers in purple, pink and green. My dad helped me sponge paint those colours onto the wall - at the tender age of twelve (?). Since then I have been involved in all of the home improvements in my family home. I was always told that it was practice for my own home.

We tried everything. We laid lino and vinyl tiles, painted bathroom tiles, painted cabinets, tiled a back splash, laid laminate and painted nearly every surface. Stencils, texture paint (the stuff with sand in it), a chair rail dividing two colours on one wall, a red feature wall, faux finishes, colour stripes and monochromatic matte and glossy stripes. I was always encouraged to go crazy when deciding what to do with the next room. (I was going to list my personal favorite in this bracket but can't choose.) I love the gold and navy that Stef and I chose when we redid Mom and Dad's room - chair rail with navy on the bottom in matte and glossy stripes, with a light gold/yellow on top, a great rich bedspread and home-made roman blind. I love the brush stroke technique of three blues we did in the upstairs bathroom and the difference painting the ugly 70s tile made. I love the painted cupboards, laminate and tiled backsplash of the kitchen and I love the rich colours of the living room with the red feature wall.

Because I have tried everything I don't know what to do now that I have my own home. I have sat on this computer night after night checking out web sites to discover what I want to do. My previous interior design endeavors were led by something mom and I had seen on TV and wanted to try. But I have nothing driving me right now except the knowledge that I have to paint over the stencils of the previous owners.

I have time. This is research I like to do.