12/23/2006

Apartment Therapy: The Quizzes

After being inspired by the Apartment Therapy going on over at The Litter Box House, I decided to start a little of my own. Shayne and I agreed to work on one room at a time, but nothing in the house feels right anymore. The renovation/restoration has squashed any hint of comfort or style in the entire house, even in the basement family room. I've known there was a problem for quite a while, but thought it would get better once the living room was out of the dining room. It didn't. Even though one room is destined to be a mess, there's no reason not to make the rest of the house as comfortable and inviting as possible. So today I started with the Quiz...

Favorites

List your favorite in each category:
Actress: Keira Knightley
Actor: Ralph Fiennes, Russell Crowe
Artist: Michael Whelan
Writer: Melanie Rawn, Stephen King, Terry Goodkind
Music: Classical (Bach), swing/big band, country
Restaurant: The Vine, The Chocolate Cafe
Automobile: pickup truck, Jeep Wrangler
TV Show: NYPD Blue, The Shield
Clothing (designer or store): Eddie Bauer, NY&Co

How would you describe your style (3 words)?
1. earthy
2. simple
3. functional


Personal History

Where have you lived?
Where you were born: Dearborn, MI
Where you grew up: Riverview, MI and Mishawaka, IN
As an adult: Mishawaka, South Bend, and Lydick, IN

Whom would you consider a role model?
My mother and grandmother, my friends, my uncle Chuck

What 3 adjectives describe the qualities you admire in this person (perople)?
Honest, hardworking, high integrity


Apartment

What is the problem with your home?
1. Clutter
2. Lack of storage in bedrooms
3. Not enough furnishings

If your home could speak, what would it say is the problem?
"Too many layers on top of the original surfaces keep me from expressing my true self. The clutter hasn't helped..."

What one thing would you like to do or do more of in your home?
Entertain small groups of friends

8 weeks from now, when this project is done, if friends came to visit, how would you like them to describe your home (3 words)?
1. Inviting
2. Cozy
3. Warm


The above questions are designed to illustrate my personal style and aspirations, which seem to me to be mostly in harmony with each other. I do have tendencies towards fantasy (Michael Whelan, Melanie Rawn, Terry Goodkind), but even those somewhat embrace my core values of simplicity and integrity. Stephen King and The Shield show that I have a bit of a dark side... Overall, I like simple elegance and high functionality. Maybe I should work on having some things around that are purely decorative? There's also nothing particularly feminine about my answers. Aside from NY&Co, you probably couldn't even tell that the answers came from a female. Hmm.

There is also a second quiz designed to assess the "health" of your home. I scored in the low end of the "healthy" range, but I feel personally that my home fits more into the "weak" bracket. Especially since it refers to energy drain, which the house definitely does. It also talks about problems being put off for some time, which I have. Nothing needs repair, but I'm definitely a procrastinator on the cosmetic end of things.

I've decided to do the deep treatment, since some of the rooms need ore help than others. It focuses on cleaning and decluttering (which definitely needs to be done) and sets out an 8 week schedule designed for a 1 bedroom apartment. Since my home is obviously much larger than that, I think I may allot myself some extra time on some weeks, but I'll try to stick as closely as possible to the 8 week plan.

1 comment:

The Litter Box House said...

Very exciting. Now I have to read your other entries!

Andrea