LATE.NIGHT.DESIGN.DATE.

by 8:30 on a friday night, dinner's over, the tube is on, and most couples have already committed their plans for the evening: a rockin night out on the dance floor, the movies with a group of friends, or like carlie and i, recuperating from a long week with a nice relaxing evening at home. and if plans change at this point, the most spontaneous choice might be an inspired trip to coldstone's.

but, when my bride drew me into one of the many home design reality shows, that can show you how to turn a dozen paper towel rolls into a hi-fashion bedroom accessory, inspiration struck... and not involving a delectable frozen creation.

let's move our bed, quickly turned into, how about we paint our room, find some new window treatments, and maybe find a mirror or two to hang on the wall... and yeah... maybe we could paint our dresser and hang some pictures.

with a half-an-hour of time before our stores of choice closed for the evening, we made it, mario andretti style, to home depot and ikea [with 5 minutes to spare]. and, as a skeptic of the shows that can turn a house upside-down in a matter of days, i knew we had taken on a bit more than we could chew.

but, somehow [i say that as if i didn't realize the radfactor power behind the inspiration of a wife on a mission... especially carlie on a mission], we were in bed by 2am with four freshly coated sand-stone walls, a coffee [though i think it looks black] colored dresser with matching mirror, and a set of double-drape window treatments [white lace & dark espresso], not to mention the crisp ivory duvet and pink peonies accenting the neutral tones [but not-so neutral smells] of our new room. and though we probably should have slept in the living room, we were beat.

next time you don't know what to do on a friday night at 8:30, get inspired and follow thru. it can be a lot of fun.