Hiding the Ugly ~ Who Knew?

 

Sometimes we all have to live with life's little idiosyncrasies, not always our favorite thing to do...but oh well. Such is the case with some of the not so perfect things in my home. When we moved into our present location a number of years ago I aspired to have everything in our house "just right" in about 3 months (ha!). Well, eleven years later and counting, we're not quite there yet. Funny how words like "budget, emergencies and emergency rooms" can squelch a design plan. And honestly, who doesn't have things in life that come along and thwarts progress from time to time? Such is the case in my house as well. Long ago, I finally decided instead of bemoaning the "ugly" why not just camouflage instead? I happen to live in a house that is older, not old as in "old with an abundance of character," but old as in "lots of little quirky annoyances". Here are a few of the "someday I'll have a little extra to fix that" projects and I thought I might share them with you.

Master Bath Shower ~ see above photo.  Someday I will have a pristine shower in the Master Bath with shiny new tile and a lovely shower door.

Until then ~ I hung a curtain on the outside of the shower to conceal the unsightly tile and not-so-lovely shiny brass door (complete with custom etched water stains in the glass). I made an inexpensive curtain out of cotton twill and hung it from a curtain rod that I attached. I close the curtain when the shower isn't in use and just sweep the curtain open when it's time to suds up.

Master Bedroom Alarm Keypad ~ Our home has a rather unsightly alarm system keypad that was placed strategically (NOT!) on the wall in our master bedroom.

I hung a painting of my husband (a gift from Nana from a photo that was taken when he was 16) on top of the keypad and voila...ugly keypad, no more!

Office Desk ~ I found this old university classroom desk for $19.00 at CCA, a local thrift store. It was the perfect size for a desk I needed for my office. As you can see, the laminate top is not so attractive. I hope to one day give it a new zinc top.

Until then, a painter's drop cloth from the hardware store disguises it wonderfully.

Office Easy Chair ~ A dear friend gave me this Queen Anne chair that she no longer wanted. It's such a comfy chair, however it's upholstery is somewhat lacking. 

I threw a bedspread over it that I purchased from a thrift store for a few dollars (I washed it of course) and added a throw pillow from Restoration Hardware. Someday it will be beautifully slipcovered, until then this works just fine.

Kitchen Speaker System ~ In a prime location (argh) on the wall in the breakfast nook is the command center for our 1980's home, a stereo/speaker system (we're so technology savvy...hehe!).

I found this wonderful old towel rack at a Paris flea market for $5.00. I installed it over the speaker system and hung vintage linen towels on it and now it looks divine.

Kitchen Phone Jack ~ Who knew back in 1986 when this house was built, that someday landlines just might become obsolete. Placed right above my kitchen counter, this phone jack is not the least bit obscure.

An old mottled mirror hung over it hides the phone jack's unattractiveness.

Dining Room Speaker ~ 80's technology strikes again! This intercom was placed smack dab in the middle of the wall, (surprise!). Someday I'll have a tape/bed/texture guy come over and patch over all the dated weirdness in my house.

Again, a mirror hides the ugly, this time a larger one that is better suited to the rest of the rooms furnishings. Thankfully, it conceals the cavernous hole where the intercom once jutted out of the wall.

Someday I hope to have everything just right, but for now I'm content hiding the ugly ~ besides who knew? Here's hoping that maybe these ideas can help you live more comfortably with the not so perfect in your life.