Making Do

The Silk Purse

by Fran Wing

I’m not sure that I can remember a single incident in my life when I wasn’t “making do.” When I started thinking about this, it was more along the lines of criticizing myself for a lifetime of denial of what I really want, but as I worked my way through it I realized I’ve made this form of compromise into an art form and I’m not sure I would have it any other way!

One of my favorite phrases is “making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” — it’s possible this phrase may end up as the epitaph on my gravestone.

Here lies Frances Wing.
Let it be known that she could always
make a silk purse of a sow’s ear.

(This gravestone was originally the marble countertop from a client’s outdated bathroom.)

When I look around my home I see very few objects (other than the art I’ve adorned my walls with) that I have chosen because it’s what I wanted. It’s interesting that I never deny myself little decorative items or books or good china or fine crystal or sterling silver, but I scrimp on the big stuff. Many of the furniture pieces are cast-offs from someone else or mistakes I make in purchasing for a client — a mish-mash of styles and scale. It’s odd that an interior designer would have so few pieces of furniture in his/her home that are actually chosen or purchased new. That goes for the house itself. I have never owned a brand new house. I’ve always bought used houses that are full of other people’s mistakes and then proceeded to “make do.” I’ve never allowed myself a full-scale alteration of residence like those I design for my clients. My home, like myself, is truly a work in progress.

I’m also a pretty decent cook but I really shine when I go to the pantry to find it bare and must make a meal from scraps of other meals or odd cans of things I find there. I’m famous in my family for the two most memorable dishes I prepare: Stuff with Glop and Chicken à la Fran el Cheapo. Of course neither of these meals can ever be duplicated, but then that’s the beauty of them. In our home they can be served on a very artfully arranged (albeit cast-off from a former owner) table with fine china and fine wine served in very fine crystal stemware. We never deny ourselves fine wine.

One of the reasons I’ve been thinking about this so much lately is that sometime last week I walked into our master bathroom and saw if for the miserable dump it really is. For more than twenty years we’ve been living with this disgustingly outdated space just because we felt we couldn’t afford to do it right — which would be to blow out the wall and gut the space and start over from scratch. We have this minute 6’ × 9’ room that is likely the most disgusting space I’ve seen, aside from looking at old photos of the insides of the New York tenements during the turn of the 20^th century. I’ll spare you all of the details. I’ve decided that I’m ready to take on this sow’s ear and I’m having great fun planning all of the details of what can be done with what we have. There will be a new toilet and floor and sink. Ah! A new project! A new value to fulfill!

Another chance to make something out of nothing while enjoying the process and ending up with a functional space and another place to hang a valued and carefully chosen piece of art.