Courtesy Photo | Maj. Gina Garbedian, with the 304th Sustainment Brigade, use her creative ingenuity to...... read more read more
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq —The 304th Sustainment Brigade and Joint Base Balad have their own Martha Stewart tucked in the H-6 housing area here.
Maj. Gina Garbedian, a native of Los Angeles, moved into her containerized housing unit (CHU) November 2008 and has made it her home away from home.
"It was like moving into a warehouse," she said.
She immediately began to think of ways to make it seem a little cozier and more like home. Garbedian said she visualized, "Creating a little sanctuary where I could recharge my battery."
For her first project, she replaced her mini blinds with curtains made from two bath towels and a shower curtain. Garbedian found an old piece of pipe in the yard next to the self-help woodshop and cut it down to the appropriate length. She used ribbon to cover the exposed sides and placed a bow at each end to cover hooks. She said no one could have known these materials were used had she not pointed them out because the curtains looked professional.
"It became like a game for me to find things around post that could be reused," she said.
As time went by, Garbedian tackled several other projects. She tapped the self-help resources on post and got her husband in on the act by having him go to fabric stores to purchase and ship materials she could use to glamorize her CHU.
When Garbedian went home on leave, she had a lot of ideas for her CHU, she said. She bought foam, fabric, thumb tacks and dust ruffles with plans to use them when she returned to JBB. Much like Martha Stewart, Garbedian has always drawn inspiration from her surroundings, she said.
Each project took approximately two months to complete, and the final unveiling of the completed CHU took six months.
"I would do a little bit every night," she said.
Her creative vision resulted in a tastefully decorated CHU in hues of light green and yellow. Garbedian made her own sanctuary in the desert and now shares the knowledge she gained through the interior decorating process.
She said the project showed she is resourceful enough to decorate with limited time and resources.
"I no longer have to wait until I retire to decorate my home," said Garbedian. "I can do a little bit each night until it is finished."
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2009 09:29 |
| Story ID: | 37631 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 829 |
| Downloads: | 568 |
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