The Unbearable Whiteness...

of My New Condo.

with bonus 1985 light fixtures:

Sweet Baby Jesus, even the knobs on the cabinets are white and clash horribly with the cabinets and countertops - they look like crazy little eyeballs:

I am Itching to Decorate. It's the best blank canvas ever! Everything is in totally livable condition now, and as blank and clean as a fresh sheet of paper. Nothing major and expensive will get done right now, of course, just little things that will change the look of the place. After my furniture is in place I'll think about wall colors, then call my painting goddess Ms. Fix-It. We will have fun bringing this place into the 21st century.

Cheap Priority One: Swapping those ugly white knobs for antique brass will improve the cabinets. I will be doing that while lining the cabinets with shelf paper. It really will make a big difference.

Not So Cheap Priorities Two through Three:

New blinds on the big sliding doors to the balcony. The existing ones are probably the originals - they are cleaner than clean but old and brittle, and some of the vanes have broken off. Must be replaced ASAP.

The 1985 light fixtures are outta here. There are only three that must go - the entry and the dining area are the only two smoky glass and shiny brass items, with a somewhat matching shiny thing in the hall. I'll take it down to either cream or antique brass in an updated but classic style. Done.

Otherwise, this place is in just freaking amazing condition- the insides of the cabinets look like they were never used! Seriously, not a scuff or scratch or crumb left behind, after decades (these are the original cabinets). I met my downstairs neighbor, a very sweet senior lady who is the last original resident of the community. She said the lady who lived in the condo I now own was affectionately referred to as Mrs. Clean, and it shows. The place looks like it was wrapped in plastic for nearly 3 decades - everything works, and everything is immaculate. A few cosmetic updates for now and I'm good until I have the energy and cash to make some major changes later. I'm seeing tile flooring and bright area rugs. Paint the fireplace facing in contrasting colors. Take down the big mirror and hang a big painting. For now, I may get the bright area rugs and throw them down over the cream carpeting. And definitely paint. And removing the wallpaper in the foyer and guest bath, and painting same, but that can wait. I'll update the bath light fixtures when I get around to it.

I'm back in AVL as of this evening, and tomorrow a.m. the boxes will be delivered. A mad weekend of packing looms. The truck comes 11/1. I'm so glad I bought that red living room furniture, because it brings a shot of color to the Unbearable Whiteness without spending another dime.

I love being back in the old/new neighborhood. Yesterday morning I took the dogs for a LOOONG walk, so they would be tired enough to let me go out and run errands and such without fussing. They passed out on the inflatable bed and didn't give a damn what I did.

Here's a funny - today was garbage day, and when I took the dogs out I saw every garbage can had been tipped and pawed through - in some cases the garbage had been strewn quite a distance. So, I'm back in the Big City in a condo, and last night we were visited by either raccoons or bears. I'm leaning toward bears - the level of mayhem looked like bears to me. I felt welcomed.