Happy Hour : Finding Joy In Our Rooms

Every been in a restaurant when it turns "Happy Hour?" You notice the mood instantly changes as everyone is ready for fun. Whenever I'm having a Bad Hair Day, my cure is always a personal Happy Hour. Of course, I'm hopeless addicted to interiors; so for me, this hour is all about decorating. In this series, we'll look at some quick and happy mood changers for our very own Happy Hour. Each should take about an hour - a mere 60 minutes - to perk up our minds and our rooms. Let's get the party started.

Last week someone asked me what my New Year's resolution was this year. I've never been very serious about resolutions - take tea every afternoon, learn the words to the song "Walk Like an Eygptian," see a movie once a month. You get the idea. But this time, my answer surprised even me, "Find joy," I answered. Especially in these volatile times, joy may seem elusive. Because we are in control inside our rooms, maybe we should look to them to bring us joy. In this Happy Hour, let's see if we can by making small improvements to our rooms.

designstickerstore - etsy

This idea brings me immense joy. Did you know you can "wrap" your large appliances with vinyl (about $40 for a dishwaster) or with magnet pieces ($70) in a myriade of beautfiul designs? Each comes in glossy or matte. Many Etsy stores offer appliance wraps. The refrigerator wrap (at the top of the post) costs around $225. Each can be applied within a Happy Hour.

Joy in our rooms? You bet! One "Happy Hour" took five minutes yesterday. This linens on this guest bed had been bugging me for months. All I did was change white pillow cases to old blue&white Ralph Lauren pillow cases. I also dug out velvet pillow covers out of the basement. The covers are so soft and well made and for $21 for a set of two (Amazon), a real steal. (I use two down feather IKEA inserts for each pillow.)

In this guest room, I did the reverse - just leaving the sleeping pillows on the bed. I like the simplicity of this European way of making a bed, complete with keeping your pajamas under the pillow.

Finding joy in the laundry room might be a stretch but I have an idea. If you have a freestanding sink (where you can see all the plumbing) in a bathroom or a humble laundry room, try a skirt. I made this in less than an hour with some leftover fabric. I frayed the top and bottom edges (so no sewing) and adhered the skirt to the sink unit using velcro. Easy peasy.

RomeoHomeStory - etsy

After I made the one in my laundry, I found that "sink skirts" are on offer everywhere. The one above sells for about $50 and also uses velcro.

etsy

I love the idea of using curtains on rods to hide a multitude of of "clutter." Maybe we can find simple joy by hiding all the stuff we need in a modern world. Hope you have time to take a wander through your rooms today. Is there a tweak here or there you can make? After all, shouldn't our rooms bring us joy? Happy Sunday!

PS ~ A special "thank you" to my joyful friend, Sally, who told me years ago that "joy" was her favorite word.