Mirror Image

As I stood in an endlessly long line at the grocery store last night I found myself doing (what I assume) everybody does. I grabbed a few smut magazines (not the big boob, naughty photo kind, but the modern day smut of celebrity gossip) and I was shocked that A.) I had no clue who half of the people photographed were and B.) why did I care enough to flip the pages so quickly, dying to see what celebrity "does this too." Jennifer Aniston pumps gas!!! NO! Then again, secretly, it made me feel a little better inside. It's been a remarkably crappy year for us, so to step outside of our reality for a second, even via the pages of a silly magazine, was refreshing. It was also interesting to see in the septic tank of Hollywood where image is everything, we can't wait to see these untouchables do something, well, "normal." Britney Spears spills whipped cream on her chest, Drew Barrymore picks her nose in public and, don't fall over, JENNIFER ANISTON PUMPS HER OWN GAS. Wow. Funny how it's so easy to get caught up in day to day nonsense and forget that we all put one shoe on at a time, brush our teeth (hopefully), slip, fall, get back up again and, even, on occasion pump our own gas. My afternoon daydream was quickly interrupted as I hoped back into my truck, looked in the rearview mirror and saw a bedroom waiting to be assembled in my backseat. To save a client money on a property he plans to rent weekly as a vacation unit, I headed to the good old city of Pararamus, New Jersey and my home away from home of Ikea. The entire bedroom was furnished (I know it doesn't look like much, but simplicity was key) for UNDER $300. Bedframe, mattress, sheets, pillows, window seat, accent pillows, artwork, lamps and mirror for under $300! One of many great design tricks I use over and over, is tricking the eye by strategically placing a mirror. While it isn't totally clear in this image, the mirror lightens up a large, blank wall and reflects the million dollar view of the Hudson River. Now, when a potential renter walks into the master bedroom instead of seeing a large, blank wall, they will see the glowing image of the Hudson River outside!
TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Five minutes
COST: Mirror at Ikea: $19.99
STRESS LEVEL: Keeping up my good image: LOW