Tight Squeeze

Trying to hang family pictures, awards, and a collection of maps was the greatest challenge I’ve had since the move. You see, they once occupied the walls of a long hallway and two bedrooms and my challenge was to get them all into the walls of a 10 x 12 foot office that I share with my husband. Unlike our old house, these ceilings are the high ones, so I did have equivalent wall space – it’s just that Hubby didn’t expect me to literally use all of it. While I was nailing away, he was insisting I was making his office look like a cave decorated with floor to ceiling paintings. I pointed out that there were two desks and two computers in our office. By the time I was done, we compromised. The space directly over his computer was an “eye resting area” – not a picture for him to see - just a plain bone colored wall as he wanted.

I’ve always had one unwritten rule for hanging pictures and mirrors in highly visible spots: make sure I like what I’ll see since I’ll see it a lot. I intentionally hung a picture of a skinny me facing my desk and placed another one of skinny me with my grandkids on my desk. I have literally taken off 3 pounds since I unpacked and hung our pictures a few days ago. Every time I’m tempted to get up from my desk and head to the kitchen to stuff my mouth, no matter which way I turn, I am confronted by images of a slender me. Until now, I never thought of pictures as diet motivators, but obviously, they work for me.

The unofficial rule for family pictures is not to display them in your formal living room – unless you are the descendant of famous people like George and Martha Washington and have their portrait to hang over your mantel. I think a decorator who had an ugly family or infamous relatives and didn’t want them on display came up with this rule.

There is another unofficial rule someone told me about today for family pictures in the bedroom. Only put up pictures of relatives who never upset you. If you stare into the face of a loved one that has just upset you, you might not have sweet dreams. Hmmm. That eliminates anyone over 21, including Hubby and yours truly. It leaves only my grandkids and their dog.