When it comes to the decoration of his house the really nice guy is rather a minimalist. He would never get on a show like 'Clean Sweep', which is - don't get me wrong - not necessarily a bad thing.
If you are not familiar with that show: In every episode a team of experts helps homeowners to transform two rooms from cluttered disaster areas to organized spaces. During the process, everything is removed from these areas, piled up in the front yard (I assume, in case the neighbors didn't realize that they were living next to a pack rat), and categorized in Keep, Toss, and Sell. In the unlikely event of the really nice guy being on that show, I'm pretty sure that the TV team would make the whole neighborhood bring their clutter just to get a Keep pile of the dimensions they usually have. While participants of that show have a difficult time getting into their bedroom because of clothes, unopened boxes, exercise equipment, music instruments, and a Star Wars collection that is blocking the way the really nice guy has unobstructed access to both pieces of his bedroom furniture. The mattress on the floor is as accessible as the coffee table that serves as a night stand.
Compared to some of our friends I'm not a master of decoration either but one of my first purchases for my apartment was a bedroom set. Unless you are a starving student and live in your own apartment for the very first time, a mattress on the floor is a temporary arrangement that I can tolerate for 72 hours. One year of dating the really nice guy had therefore stretched my tolerance in that point beyond recognition. It was time to take action.
During the last two months I left very subtle hints that would - so I was hoping - lead to the purchase of a bed. I'm sure that the really nice guy was wondering why all advertisements he ever received anymore were from furniture places. I admit that it was a little bit over the top to ask Robert from the furniture store to call the really nice guy daily with an update on bedroom sales. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
It worked. Last Sunday, we found a nice bedroom set that fulfilled our demands regarding price, quality, and design. It was to be delivered the following Wednesday and I was already decorating the whole room in my head. My tolerance was on its way of recovery.
On Monday, the really nice started to have buyer's remorse. "The dresser could be a problem", he announced. "It might be too big." While I understand that increasing your furniture by 50% may be a shocking thought I couldn't share his concerns. The dresser didn't look that big in the store. Came Tuesday, his apprehension had turned into rejection. "The dresser is definitely a problem. It's huge!"
On Wednesday I couldn't wait to get to his place to see the furniture. When I first walked into the bedroom I felt like walking into a hotel room. It looked very 'grown up' and I liked it. The really nice guy looked somber. "What's with you?" I asked. "It doesn't look like before!" He replied. Well, after spending that amount of money on furniture you'd hope that a room does look different. "And the bed is so high that I need a ladder to climb into it," he added. I was disappointed. Apparently, the nightstand was the only acceptable item we purchased (even though it contributed to the change) and I didn't even dare to present the ideas I had for the color of the walls.
When I called the really nice guy Thursday night he didn't answer the phone. I was wondering if that was because he was busy disassembling the furniture and hiding it somewhere in the basement. However, on Friday all bedroom furniture was where is was on Wednesday and the really nice guy seemed to have come to terms with the new look of his bedroom. I decided that it was the right moment to introduce him to the idea of painting the walls...
Once the really nice guy approved the color I didn't want to give him a chance to change his mind. Hence, I spent my Saturday morning in various home improvement stores to buy everything I needed for the painting project. Since I hadn't painted here before I wasn't too familiar with the vocabulary. Fortunately, two sales associates were more than happy to help me. One quizzed me on what utensils I might need while the other was running to get them for me. "Brushes?" - "Got one." - "Roller?" - "Definitely need one." - "Tape?" - "Yeah, better take some." - "Drop cloths?" - "Absolutely." I could get used to that kind of customer service! Next time I go grocery shopping I will take a cart, stay at the entrance, read out my shopping list and wait what happens.
Now it's Sunday and except for a few touch-ups and a picture on the wall the bedroom is finished. We both like how it turned out and if we were John and Yoko you would have the opportunity to see it yourself. Since we are not you have to take my word.
Do we see any further decoration projects in our future?
I'll keep you posted.
Bis bald,
SAPgirl
P.S. Guess where I was sitting while I was writing this post...
