The {Reclamation} Project: Part 1

I marvel at people who manage to maintain the public areas of their homes as {grown-up} spaces after having children. And I'm not just talking about the people who make unrealistic furniture choices (HOW can someone have a white couch with young kids in the house!?!?!? Or, even more alarming....pets...) ~ I'm talking about people who simply have things displayed in their home within reach of tiny hands. Such has not happened here with much success.

The tiny people just cannot seem to leave things alone. It's not always on purpose, granted, but the few decorative items I have in our living room frequently get knocked over in the course of their play. The {Keep Calm and Carry On} sign that sits on a display easel on our half wall has dented corners and a black small black smudge (no idea what caused that) from being knocked off the wall so many times. And it's not just limited to things within easy reach. There are finger smudges on the family portrait that hangs in the hallway. Keep in mind that a chair had to have been moved to the area for either of the tiny people to actually {reach} said portrait. And my favorite example? Here you go....

The tinier of the tiny people apparently took it upon herself to flip the personalized art work in her room {upside-down}. How exactly she managed to do this, I'm not entirely sure. My mother noticed it when she was here for a visit ~ I truly have {no clue} how long it was that way before she pointed it out to me.

So you can see why the majority of my decorating takes the form of hanging photographs or decorative ledges like the one from my last post (which, with the increasingly daring feats the tiny people are performing lately, is apparently no longer a safe option, either!). It's getting a little old...and now I'm on a mission to {reclaim} my home for the grown-ups. I had already moved all of the toys into the tiny people's bedrooms, so that's one battle down. Now onto the next thing....the living room...one corner at a time...

Clearly it's not finished ~ it just seems to need something more. I'm thinking maybe a table lamp ~ something to add a bit more height to the table and kind of tie it in more with the subway art on the wall. Any thoughts you have on what might work well there are appreciated! It's a {small} step, sure, but a step is a step!

(Tutorial on the frames ~ even though it's {so} easy you can probably all figure it out with no help from me! ~ coming soon!)