It may shock you to learn that, despite the high number of times I’ve moved in my adult life (30 times in 45 years), I have not once landscaped a yard (i.e. planted new flower beds & put out “decor”). Every time I’ve moved, I’ve been perfectly content with the yard as it was — even if there no landscaping at all.

On a side note: Oh my goodness, that’s the first time I’ve counted up all the moves, and even I’m shocked!

For some reason, though, when I moved into my current home in mid-December, I began imagining how I could transform the basic, absolutely-not a single-thing-other-than-grass yard into . . . well, something that gave me peace and joy.

And this week’s step in that direction led me to the contemplation of the word “tacky”.

I love vintage metal lawn chairs and began scouring FB Marketplace in search of two. Notice, I said two. As in: 2.

I kept seeing them, but at $90 and more per chair, my frugalness (i.e. cheapness) said “um, no”. But then, I saw them. Four chairs for $100.

I snatched them up, planning to use two of them and sell the other two to recoup some of my money. But on the 90-minute drive from picking them up, I began to picture three of them, placed strategically in my soon-to-be {fingers crossed} completely-landscaped yard. And then, I thought of how I could use all four of them!

Which begs the question: At what point does whimsical become just plain old tacky?

We’ve all seen them. Those yards filled to bursting with gnomes and whirligigs and metal furniture and statues and . . . well, you’ve seen them. The owners of those yards think their yard is pretty or cute or even whimsical.

But the rest of the world knows it’s, well . . . tacky.

I don’t want a tacky yard. I don’t want a yard that screams “old lady with 42 indoor cats, tatted lace doilies on every conceivable surface, and a crocheted-doll covered toilet paper roll on the back of every toilet lives here”.

(Cat-lovers and fans of doilies and crocheted-lady toilet roll covers, please do not take offense and post nasty comments & troll me on social media. I’m only kidding. Really. Well, not about the 42 indoor cats . . . and the crocheted-lady toilet roll covers. And  honestly, a few well-place doilies can add a nice touch.)

So promise me that if I ever cross that oh-so-fine line between whimsical and tacky, that you’ll tell me.

But be gentle. And offer me a glass of wine first. 

Here are a few pictures of my in-progress yard, complete with four vintage lawn chairs:

 

 

 

 

It’s a bit hard to see in the 2nd photo, but a planter filled with a red-flowering plant is on the seat of the black chair.