The Fine Balance

T.G.I.M…. our weekend extends to Monday which is probably the only real day off we get on this team, unless we take another. Days off are a real commodity to me. I’m definitely not the kind of person who works from the time I get up to the moment I go to bed. I love putting in a good day’s work and then spending some quite time with my husband, with a good book, or in conversation with friends. I suppose the reason that I explain this is that my blog can tend to reflect the whiplash change of direction that I experience in my daily life working here. One day I am writing about the desperate circumstances of the orphans with whom I work, the next blog is about home decorating.

So, as we continue the process of settling in and putting our mark on our house, I find myself enjoying the challenge that lies in this creative process. Our concrete block house definitely lacks the inherit character that was present in our last house, a 1926 Craftsman Bungalow, so it is up to us to make this place homey and reflective of who we are. Aided by the paint that we brought over from the U.S. (most of which was paid for by loving friends) and Mark’s ability to take something old and re-create it, this house is turning into a home.

I am a believer in only retaining things that are useful, much loved, or are a particular reflection of our family. I also believe in using resources that are readily available to us. Arguably, anyone can make a room look “nice” by ordering everything straight from the Pottery Barn catalog.  However the fun and exciting challenge is finding the items that are the perfect intersection of practical and personal, and that have character. I’ve been thinking about a coffee table or side tables for our sofa, and I think I am going to use the cheap wood frame, corrugated tin top tables that you can find at every roadside stand selling bread or bananas here.  How will that look with the mix of weird furniture we already have?  I don’t know but I guess we’ll find out.

In the end, our house may not turn out like a spread in House Beautiful, but if it’s a place that my family can feel totally relaxed and that reflects our tastes and values then it’s good enough for me.