My mother is one of those people who loves to give gifts, but unfortunately, has no sense of what the other person likes. She orders junk out cheap catalogs, re-gifts (for instance, a make-up case where an eyeshadow or two was used), or wraps up prizes she won at bridge tournaments (keychains or BBQ tools marked "Delta Dealin' Regionals"). She is well-to-do, (maybe because she doesn't spend much on presents? ha) so she's not giving inexpensive items out of necessity. She just doesn't get it. Christmas is tricky--but my family chuckles. (My husband got a Humane Society calendar this year, the one they send for free if you've donated. He also received a plastic Thomas Kincaid corkboard/keyholder thing in a busted box that he immediately took to a "Dirty Santa" party.) But then I am left with boxes saying "As Seen on TV!," useless kitchen gadgets, hideous plastic decorative items and heavy sense of guilt for wanting to get rid of it all. "Gosh, it may not be much, but she chose it with love and wrapped it with me in mind. I can't just put it in a yard sale." I was wringing my hands over my quandary, as my closets slowly filled with unwanted items ("but my MOTHER gave me this!"), when a wise friend had a talk with me. She reminded me that when a gift is given to me, it is now mine to do whatever I like with it. It is not Mom's, with strings attached or say-so about what should be done with it. It is MINE. I own it and I have the authority to decide where it goes. And it is perfectly okay if I think it should be donated to Goodwill and be enjoyed by someone else who might love it and think they found a treasure, instead of sitting unopened and disliked in my closet. So I no longer feel bad about "recycling" her unwanted presents. The only time I've ever spoken to her about the issue was when I had to gently ask her not to give me clothes anymore, since her taste was so different than mine. Now I thank her And sometimes she does hit the mark and I am delighted by her gift. You cannot control someone else's desire to spend money on your presents. They enjoy shopping for you and they like thinking they found the ideal gift, even if it's expensive. Of course, if you don't like it, it makes you feel bad that they invested in it, but every so often you might get something you want and then the cost doesn't bother you, right? I think you're being very gracious about trying to decorate with this item to spare your mother's feelings. But it's not up to her what you do with it, because she transferred ownership when she gave it to you.

One of the tricky things about shades is that often the shade is the high ticket item of the lamp and shade pair. This is true even when they are new, but if bought together, the assumption is the base cost a lot more than the shade. It becomes particularly painful when trying to replace an old shade. I just replaced shades for a client that the cheapest I could find that was appropriate was $150 x 2 (delivered, they are also expensive to ship). The lamp bases were dirty and needed to be rewired so they were a relative bargain but the "total lamp" still ended up to be $200+ each, most of the money in the shade.

Chris, your house is so "you" that if you gave me 100 manufactured homes on country lots in the middle of the US, I could pick yours out on my first tour, just from having enjoyed your photos. 20 years after you are gone, Idahoans will be trading beauteous glass-covered furniture, toilets, and whatnots in art galleries and flea markets and remembering (or wondering) what the story was behind their find! I rather like the orchid color, if you tone it down to about 15%! I have never been a trend follower, but on a lark, I just may paint one wall in our main hall, behind my Carmel Foret Pansey print, a violet. I have to scare up the fabric I bought to glue to my wood blind and see if it matches. I have a wood blind for the end of the hall, where it meets the foyer. Our foyer faces the bedrooms. We scurry across that hall to get to the bathroom in our skivvies. So I got a blind from a clearance bin at Lowes. It hangs up high, out of sight of the foyer, unless I lower it. Trouble is, if the lights are on behind the blind, one could see through it a bit. So I bought fabric to glue to the inside of it. My favorite choice had violet. I think I ended up with my second choice. Does anybody else spend an hour at Joanns, then go home and never actually DO the projects you dreamed up for yourself while you were there "saving money" on all those sale items? No one is building that much around here yet to judge trends. I think there are a whole new class of working class folks doing service jobs who will never own a home, though. Younger people hate carpets. My 28 yo niece thinks my linoleum is wonderful and calls them "cork" no matter how many times I tell her that cork is one ingredient, but fully cork floors are different. I think that solid surface floors of any kind will help you sell in the future. People see carpet as filthy now.

I work with feathers a lot. They get dusty and are hard to clean up. That said, if you like it, go for it and it can always be freshened with clean feathers for other years use. On my table, something would for sure get spilled on them and since I couldn't wash them, they would be toast!