While You Were Out . . .

My sisters and I are preparing a "While You Were Out"-style Christmas surprise for my mother. "While You Were Out" is a TV show where friends and relatives redecorate other people's houses while the homeowners are out for the day. Charlotte, Becca, and I have decided to re-do my mother's entryway.

It SHOULD be an easy redo. She bought some wonderful wallpaper, but hasn't put the paper in place yet. She's even stripped the original paper off the walls. All we have to do is put up the new paper, and (optionally) paint the woodwork. And replace one broken tile in the entryway floor. Charlotte wants to stencil a mirror to add to the room, so we'll do that as well. Our only hangup is figuring out where Mom has hidden the wallpaper. I think we'll be able to find it, though, given enough time. Oh, and the single tile. I have my heart set on a small Art Nouveau tile, but I'm not sure we can get one in time. I'll have to try.

Charlotte and Rebecca are providing brawn in the form of husbands, and light entertainment in the form of children. I'm bankrolling the project. Wednesday Charlotte and I will shop for supplies. Saturday at 10:00 AM we start WORKING!! Dad will try to buy us six hours, but I don't know how successful he'll be. I'm sure Mom will figure something is up before she makes it home.

The entryway is such an easy project that I'm VERY tempted to do the breakfast room as well. I've had a "dream" dining room in mind for Mom every since we saw the Carol Endres wallpaper. Mom fell in love with the patterns, but bought a not-so-pretty floral paper instead. She doesn't really like the floral, but she can't bring herself to trash her investment. What I want to do is paint the walls a deep blue, a little darker than denim, and then place a Carol Endres border at the top of the wall. As a finishing touch we'd get new curtains and a new tablecloth. We'd also hang a bunch of her vintage photos, which should glow against the blue walls. I'm thinking blue-and-white curtains.

Sounds so simple, doesn't it? I wonder what disasters will crop up.