"Nobody has the right to be bored in a half-made home. A home which is not a fair expression of us at our best, a home which lacks what it might have, a home which is in any part more ugly or in any part more uncomfortable than it absolutely need be , .. a home which cannot be run without waste, a home which by any detail gets on the nerves of its inhabitants and so impairs the harmony of their existence - something ought to be done about such a home... Why not make the perfect home a hobby?"
If you asked yourself "Has dear Britta become lazy, uninterested in blogging, or - what the hell is she doing?" you will find an answer in the quote above. Arnold Bennett wrote 1924 an article (as part of a series "Making the Most of Life") for The Royal Magazine (the quote is by Sarah Ban Breathnach's book "Simple Abundance")
It fits. As you know I have my "second home" in Bavaria, very near to the triplets, and I furnished it as a holiday flat - for me, quite nice, BUT... now I spend almost three quarter of my time here (one quart, though not even that each month, in Berlin).
So I started to think. Looked around - and of course found many imperfections, but also good traits.
Yesterday a painter came to give an estimate what it would cost to paint the ceiling of the parlours. (Painters are not easily to be lured into your home nowadays: as it is still summer they are painting the frontage of houses in powdered pastels as long as the weather permits..)
I am really keen to know how much money it will cost - because I have only rented the flat, and if the white gloss hand painting will cost the equivalent of a gilding I will not do it.
(Plan B: buying a beautiful costly lamp for the dining table - that would be mine IF I ever move, and much easier to be stored away than a ceiling in the unlikely event of moving again... :-)
PS: The charming picture above is an illustration by "Rico Puhlmann: Fashion Photography 50er - 90er" at the Helmut Newton Museum für Fotografie in Berlin - I enjoyed every minute there!
Forget plan A Britta - white gloss paint must surely be a task for the owner to do. Go for plan B - treat yourself to the beautiful costly lamp to sit on the dining table. The ceiling will become a lost cause during twilight evenings as you dine beneath it.
ReplyDeleteDear Rosemary, I am happy about your analytic proposal! Yet I will wait till the estimate comes - and then decide. The ceiling is not only a "normal" white ceiling - it is middle-"beige" coloured wood in panels, and, very surprising: 2 intermitted stripes of dark glazed tiles in some sort of dark brown - the house was built in 1969 - and maybe that decoration was the hype of the year :-)
DeleteFirst of all I know from reading your blog I know you are far from lazy. You have the right idea about decorating your home. It should be a place where you can feel totally content. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mimmylynn! I am always happy to read your comments! At the moment I have to find my way - to make a distinction between happiness and love (my grandchildren and beautiful nature) and "appearances" in busy, busy life in Berlin. Though I think: if I moved after making the decision there will be nothing to stop me to travel into a city whenever I will... And to make my flat cozy.
ReplyDeleteOf course, you decide after the assessment!
ReplyDeleteWe need to have the information and then make a decision!!
Dear Katharina, now I have had the first assessment - well, well, well - quite a lot of money. I am on my way y way to Italy,
Delete... WIFI interruption in the train to Munich - from there I will fly tomorrow to Florence. So I have two weeks to decide.
ReplyDeleteDid you finish your Italian trip and what did you enjoy most?
ReplyDeleteDear Helen, I just found your comment. We are still in Tuscany, so I can not answer what I like most, but will do soon!
ReplyDelete