Decorating Challenges

The current decorating challenge I’m dealing with, is lack of conventional wall space. We are currently living in my husband’s shed. We are building a new home, but the weather has not cooperated the last two summers. I miss a conventional home, the most at Christmas time.

Each half of our shed is 40 feet by 42 feet. We have 4 walls, basically. Being limited on space, I’ve learned to go up. I use the 14 foot ceiling height, to my advantage. I have large pieces of furniture but I’m able to go higher yet. I have a very large, tobacco basket. I’ve turned it, to look like a diamond. I’ve placed a eucalyptus wreath in the middle. I use a corn husk wreath in the fall and of course, a evergreen wreath at Christmas/winter. I have a large wood sign, thick, chunky barn pegs and long shelves, that I utilize to fill up the space. 

Large, open spaces have become very popular. If you have cupboards, or lots of décor, you hang, this may not be for you. Clean, open spaces are not for me. I enjoy my collections and displaying them. They always say, 3 or more are a collection. Grouping your items together, make a larger impact. 

Since we only have 4 large walls, and some smaller walls that separate our bathroom, kitchen, and laudry area. I’ve had to become creative on creating “rooms.” I’ve used many of my cupboards to separate our spaces. I may have bought a few more, for this justifiable reason (insert chuckle.) I threw down a chunk of extra carpet from our old house, in the living room. I’ve hidden extension cords under pieces of furniture, as all our outlets are on outside walls. I’ve created extra room by putting a butcher block, as an island in the kitchen. 

Storage is a huge issue, as I feel everything is on display. With no doors to close or a closest, to stash things a way. I’ve learned to stash all kinds of things in drawers and behind cupboard doors. I put extra baking dishes and cookie sheets in a wooden trunk. I store extra towels under our tv in our bedroom and also in a dresser over in our guest room. The trunk, I use as a coffee table, holds all the blankets we use while watching tv. My seasonal items are stored in totes up on a shelf, that’s 10 feet above our kitchen/bathroom/laundry. It’s quite the ordeal to things down for the changing of the seasons. It’s usually a family affair. 

I am very thankful that we have had the option of living in our shed, I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to having a house, again. I know the things I never thought about, when having a house in the past, are definitely a priority, in the new house. Along with a few other wants.