Decorating

This week two things are happening: I am going to finish "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" for the fourth time, and we're getting a new roommate. Another underemployed theatre people. These two things don't have much in common with each other, only that when my old roommate moved out, I realised just how much stuff was actually hers. The apartment is literally echoing with the empty space. So I have decided to redecorate. The reason I mention JS & Mr. N is because my dearest wish would be to decorate in a style faintly reminiscent of the Empire period, but, alas! low fundage prevents buying the lovely Empire style desk that I saw at Macy's today. (the floor model was only $3,999.98!)So I have decided to put to use some of those skillz I learned in theatre and from watching shows like anything on TLC and see what I come up with.

I also think of JS & Mr. N because of the chapter where it's describing Lady Pole's very first dinner party after she gets married, and how big a deal it is that she gives a dinner party which is entertaining, that it is a mark of a good feminine mind. And I started to think about how one of the benefits of having one's own place is that one gets to finally inflict their personal tastes on everything. I am quite looking forward to it--although, as much as I would like to paint the bathroom ceiling black and hang glow-in-the-dark stars, I probably won't. (Our landlord is generally rather forgiving when it comes to outlandish wall colours: my room, for example is a lovely terracotta that was not of my choosing, but I like it) Since I have roommates, I think I'm going to paint the living room a sort of French-grey/lilac/lavender/bluey thing, like the colour of heartbreak, and do the ceiling in sky blue, then get some yellow pillows for the sopha, and then it will match "The Fighting Temeraire Taken to her last Berth to be Broken Up" which I finally bought a frame for.

We also need a kitchen table and chairs--I think I'm going to try to find a mishmash of chairs and paint them all to match--and eventually some other odds and ends. But, it's chiefly the living room I'm concerned with right now, as that is the room where I like to study. Although a kitchen table would be nice too: I'm getting sick of eating my cereal on the floor.