Recently, I have spent a lot of time searching for furniture and stuff in Home Improvement stores. I got the bug years ago while going to the big box stores with Mom in search of something that they must have. I love furniture especially chairs. I got that bug from mom too. What I found was home improvement stores didn’t always have what we were looking for but they were like a craft store in which you could put parts and pieces together to make something. Did you know that you can find the hardware to make bifold cloest doors into four separate pannels that slide? I love these stores because the aisles are wide and I can’t break much except in the lighting section. Navigating these stores is tricky when you can't see but I just pretend I work there and can't find something.
Look at all the lights
At the home improvement store, you can find just about anything and lots of stuff you have no idea what it is for. When we were doing construction on our home, making it more accessible for me. Mom and I spent hours looking up at the lights and for tiles. Every time we went to the store Mom would say let's see if they have any lights. I couldn’t figure it out, aren’t all lights the same? Flip the switch and the lights go on, flip the switch again and the lights go off. What difference did it make? I found out it makes a huge difference and there are so many choices once I was able to see all of the choices using my glasses. Some of the lights pointed down, some up, some covered, some not. Lights made out of metal, plastic, ornate, simple, not mention LED or flouresence. Mom was on a mission. She found what she was looking for but it took months of looking. She even scored the pendant lights on clearance but broke one of them so instead of three we only have two. That doesn’t matter. I enjoyed it. To this day I still like the store and Mom kids me about looking at the lights.
Friendship circle anyone?
I also found out that you can pull up a chair and sit in any aisle and no one thinks, anything of it. Recently while looking at flooring samples, we all got tired of looking and pulled chairs off the shelf and created our own little friendship circle. We just sat there and talked about everything but the floor tiles. It was our group therapy session. It’s funny no one gave us a second glance. You ought to try it sometime. I do recommend that you do it in an aisle that has chairs and of course, you must put them back when you are done. It's better at staples because the chairs are more comfortable.
Hope the battery lasts
I know I have already talked about the wheelchair races in the store. I did it again only this time the other person had to push the scooter because it ran out of juice. My suggestion, if you are going to attempt it, is to make sure the battery is fully charged. I shouldn’t have to tell you this but if you don’t need the scooter please don’t race the scooter. It reminds me of the other day. Mom and I were going into Micheals and we saw this woman riding in a scooter from Aldi’s, driving through the parking lot. It was funny cause she commented on our car that she needed one with a ramp so she didn’t have to steal a scooter to go to Michaels. We both wondered if she was able to get back across the parking lot or if she had to abandon the scooter in the middle of the lot. Maybe that would explain why we have seen scooters in very unusual places. The key to long distance is battery life.
We are off to the lighting department
Paint it Black
Recently, my room grew up. The fun part was picking out the paint. We went to the paint department so many times we became friends with the paint lady. Her name was Erica, sounds like America, her words not mine. She helped us pick out paint, gave samples, and even tips. She was shocked to think that we wanted to paint my closest doors and bookcase black.
Color Match
It turned out pretty well. I learned something. I had an old pink, I mean a pink headboard. I decided I wanted a teal color. Mom found a sheet set that matched the color and recovered the headboard. Mom used those nail-in chair slides and covered them with fabric from the pillowcase to like buttons. The problem was they didn’t make a teal color to match the headboard so I could paint my old toy chest. Erica solved that problem for us. She color-matched the sheet and created a paint that we painted on my old toy chest. I thought that was pretty cool. It worked out pretty well. We even went back to get bathroom paint. Although the bathroom still has not been painted. Time, I guess. I still go into the store and look for Erica America just to chat and sneak a peak at the paint colors.
Think, Think, Think
Anytime you improve some part of your home, you realize your furniture needs some improvement too. I love furniture stores. You may think this funny cause I don’t sit on a lot of furniture, I always have my own chair. But I love it, just like Goldilocks, too soft, too hard, just right. I have learned some things about furniture too. Just because I love it doesn’t mean someone else will love it. It is really hard to find furniture for someone else. Especially a club chair for Mom. Amazon sells furniture when you can’t find it in the stores.
Look a furniture store
We looked high and low for the perfect couch. We met a nice lady that happened to be from England. We talked about Yorkshire England. I was reading a book that was set in the town. It was fun to hear her talk about her hometown. The furniture people are so nice and accommodating. It might have had something to do with working on commission but I like to think she was just nice. I was happy to see that she was not a pushy salesperson, she just wanted us to find what we wanted. Mom and I used to go to the furniture when we had nothing better to do. Mom explained it was one place we could afford to look at but didn’t have to buy. I think that is where I fell in love with furniture shopping.
You never know what you are going to find
So remember, furniture stores are a place for inspiration and finding new friends. There are so many different kinds of lights. Home improvement stores are more than they seem. Yes, not all the employees know what we need or where it is but you can find friends. If you can’t find finds you can take a friend and create a friendship circle. You can race down the aisles in a chair or on your feet. You can buy everything including the kitchen sink. If you can find it, don’t ask they won’t know where to find it either, unless it's about paint. They also have plants which are great to give for Holidays or Mother’s Day. That reminds me I need to go to Home Depot. The toilet flapper is broken and Mother’s Day is around the corner.
Thank you for reading until the end!
This is the view from my wheelchair, where miracles can make a difference. Always Strive for the Impossible. Come back next week to see Party!!!!!and hear more about my experiences and The View From My Wheelchair.