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mini-banner.gif• Cure Clock: 7 weeks to go
• Assignment: Read Read Chapter 1: Creating Your Own Vision
• Members: 1518

We're rounding out the beginning of Week One of the Cure and if you're just ramping up, don't worry you're right on track. This weekend you can start gathering inspiration (like csharpe's bathroom inspiration above), taking your before pictures and spending some quiet time in the least used parts of your home:

101509_Cure_Japan.jpgParadem has an inspiration tray ready to go for their foyer--love the simplicity and that poster!

Our Job: We (Laure and Abby, both of Apartment Therapy Los Angeles) will be here each Friday to show you how your fellow Curees are doing and to focus you on the most important parts of each week's tasks, things you can do in a short bit of time, so that you can keep up (we know all too well how work and life can intrude on doing the Cure). This week Laure's pulled all the pictures and commented on them so I (Abby) will take care of the pep talk and share some of what Laure and I experienced and learned when we did the Cure.

The Style Tray: I loved this part of the Cure. I got out that giant box of magazine tear sheets that I'd been saving for years, put on some music and started going through them. If you don't have a folder already, go to the newsstand and get a whole bunch of decor magazines (get at least one of the super expensive ones) or start surfing the web (Sarah Rae's got a good list of image resouces in the Wednesday post or go back to house tours you've loved), bring your camera and visit that pricey home store you've been eyeing. Don't censor yourself as to what you feel you can "accomplish" or "afford," just go for it. Have fun. Let your dreams for your home be big! Later, when you look at everything together, whether it's in on your computer or laid out in a tray, you'll start to see patterns. Maybe you like a certain arrangement of furniture or a certain colour that keeps repeating and this will give you clues to your style that we'll clarify next week. Go back and look at the Monday and Wednesday posts for this week. Can you see how all of the bedroom pictures that Maxwell pulled look sorta the same? In Sarah Rae's style tray, it's clear that she likes large dramatic lights and unusual shelving ideas.

101509_Cure_BeforeAfter.jpgpeachheights spent the last two weekends warming up the concrete floor of their living room--what a great improvement.

Small Changes = Big Improvement: Sometimes, all it takes is a tweak to make your home feel different. It's important to note that Peachheight's "tweak" took two weekends. You won't accomplish everything you have planned for your home in one fell swoop. Some projects will take longer than others. At this point, when you've got lots of energy, it's tempting to race ahead. Try and pace yourself. You're starting a new relationship with your home and, like any new relationship, start slow and enjoy the process, even if it's cleaning! See how small improvements -- - a vase of flowers, a cleared off dining room table, a sparkling bathroom mirror -- make a big difference in how your home feels. Sitting in unused areas, notice how your home looks different.

101509_Cure_Yellow.jpgcowgirlinwellies wants to ditch the painting and rethink the space filling it with the stuff she loves!

101509_Cure_Inspiration.jpgjmdezines has a pretty beautful style tray happening in the flickr pool.

101509_Cure_Cull.jpgjenicrae84 wants to cull and organize her pantry--a great place to focus before the holidays.

Remember, this week is JUST about creating your vision, experiencing your home from new angles, making a list of things that need to be fixed, and cleaning. Don't drag your feet on accomplishing the two most important tasks for this week: buying fresh flowers and getting rid of one thing. We're shaking up the flow of stuff in and out, the movement of your home's qi (chi), and getting your home energized so we're bringing in one thing of beauty (the flowers) and taking out one thing we don't use.

TODAY'S COMMENT QUESTION
What can I do today or this weekend, that I haven't done in a long time or have never done, that will make me happy in my home?

If you're not sure what to do, here are some suggestions: take a bath (and use the bubble bath and the candles you got for a gift and have been saving); sleep on the other side of the bed; eat at the dining room table instead of on the couch in front of the tv or, if you already eat in your dining room, switch to a different chair; play different music than the kind you usually play or if you don't play music, try it; enter your home through a different door; open the window you usually keep closed; use a different burner on the stove; read in a different chair; rearrange your knick knacks or clear them away; eat your food -- even if it's takeout or pizza -- off the good china; have your breakfast in bed or in a different room.

Let us know, in the comments, how you're planning to get to know your home this weekend. Also, if you have anything you want us to address, or if anybody's particularly proud of what they're accomplishing so we can make sure to show off your work to your peers next week.

POST INDEX

• Week 1 - Creating Your Vision
• Week 1- Tips and Tricks

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