Decorating
Jane
Goodhew
Decorating must be one of my
pet hates as it is never ending rather like ironing. No sooner have you finished when another room
needs doing or the immaculately ironed shirt gets creased the minute it enters
the wardrobe. This was a necessity as
mother-in-law was coming to stay and no way could she be expected to go in
there as it was. Peeling wallpaper
pre-war edition and paint that was that dingy brown that seemed so popular back
in 1930s.
So off she went to Perfect Homes in the hope that inspiration would go
with her for right now she had not the slightest clue of what she was looking
for. Floral always seemed to brighten up
a room with white paint on the skirting board and maybe a plate rail for all
those ornaments that she had accumulated over the years. Volunteering at a charity shop didn’t help
because there was so much temptation, and she was very weak when it came to
saying ‘No’. Anyway, she had arrived and
so went straight to the books with various designs and textures, and it was
then that a voice boomed’ Emma’. Just
her luck an old school friend who she hadn’t seen in years, nor did she really
want to. ‘Hi’, she said in her most
cheery voice, ‘fancy seeing you here’.
Without a chance to protest she had been whipped off to the coffee shop
and Esther was gushing forth 20 years’ worth of useless information of her life
in the
After what seemed like an eternity Emma said her
goodbyes and went back to the wallpaper books. The page had been left open at a
rather catching floral design and Emma decided that was the way to go, so next
stop the paint section. That was much
easier and so with tins of white satin and enough brushes so others could assist her she made her way to the
exit.
Once the car was unpacked and the decorating material
in the spare room she went to the kitchen to make a much needed cup of
tea. No sooner had she sat down when the
phone rang. It was her mother-in-law saying she was arriving a day or two
earlier and would that be okay. It
seemed it was a fete accompli as she had already booked the train tickets.
It was going to take a miracle to have everything ready in time
especially if the phone kept ringing.
This time it was Esther, but what she had to say bought a huge smile to
my face and an even bigger sigh of relief.
Esther was an interior designer, and she needed a blank canvas to show
off her talents at transforming a room into something spectacular. So it was,
the next day a gang of workers appeared and set to work, within 2 days the room
was finished, even the plate rail. All I had to do was put the ornaments in
place and make up the bed and all would be fit for a queen. Her husband could
not believe the completed and totally renovated room. He was more than happy
and knew that even his mother could not find fault, though she would try.
D-day arrived and Cecelia was shown to her room, her face was a
picture for she could not contain her delight at such a charming room for her
to spend a few days, in fact it was so lovely she may be tempted to stay
longer.
Of course, Emma did not let it be known that the room had been
decorated by a team of professionals, after all the wallpaper was her choice
and the colour coordination of the bedding had finished it off to
perfection. Tea was served in the
conservatory and congenial chatter made the time fly past till her husband came
home. Tonight, they were going to the theatre
to see A Midsummer Nights' Dream and then a meal so it would be late when they
returned. A cup of hot chocolate and bed. Emma slept soundly satisfied that
the day could not have been better and even Cecelia had nothing but praise. So,
the day drew to an end, and suddenly decorating did not seem so bad ater all.
Copyright
Jane Goodhew
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