A room for the whole family
It’s a good thing I started off my weekend with a list but no expectations. What I meant to be a cleaning and seed sorting/winter sowing extravaganza turned into a freelance catch-up, business website development and living room painting marathon.
The photos I took of the living room came out terrible, so I won’t bother you with any until it’s all finished and everything is put back where it belongs. But we got bold and chose a gorgeous, rich red-orange called carnelian for the wall that goes up the stairs. We hate the light green we picked for the rest of the room and now have two gallons we don’t know what to do with. It’s just a bit too minty, though it didn’t look that way in the store at all. Darned fluorescent lights. We’re thinking we might need a very light, creamy coffee to pull it all together.
Of course, I should tell you that when I say “we” I mean Chris. He does all of the painting and he does it freehand without taping any edges, and never makes a mess. The lines along the ceiling? Flawless. And! And he did it with Lila helping him paint. Maudess bless that man, he’s way more patient than I’ll ever be—just the thought of trying to pay attention to a little girl who leaps and twirls with every movement, paint brush be damned…well. You get the picture.
So back to the paint store for some new color study. Next month we’ll do the dining room and kitchen and already have those colors picked out. Chris and Tyler moved the piano into the dining room last night, which opened up the corner at the bottom of the stairs and we’re thinking of getting a chaise lounge of some sort with a little table and a lamp. It’s so nice to have that window visible again. The dining room’s a bit crowded feeling, but that’s partly because stuff is stacked all over the table. We can make it work, I think. There really isn’t anywhere else to put the piano unless right back by the window in the living room. And one of these days I’m going to get it repaired and start lessons for myself and Lila. Unfortunately, having it in the dining room means I won’t be able to get that groovy sideboard after all.
It’s so good to be finally figuring out how we want to occupy the spaces in this house by finally putting our own style in it and making it our own.
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar."
~Helen Hayes
January 21st, 2008 at 7:39 am
Oooh, getting painting done is high on the list of satisfying weekend activities, congrats. With that minty green, depending on the base, you can get it retinted at least somewhat. We turned Soft Pumpkin (a peachy orange, leftovers from the dining room) into a lovely deep Terracotta for my sewing room with just some extra tint, and the lovely man at the Benjamin Moore store didn’t even charge us for it. Green + red = brown.
January 21st, 2008 at 9:00 am
Darcy, thanks for that info. I wondered if we could get it altered. I’m going to give that a try!
January 21st, 2008 at 10:36 am
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January 21st, 2008 at 10:43 am
Hey, K! Sounds like an energizing weekend especially with Chris doing all the work! What a guy! I love a bit of redecorating when the mood strikes. Our dining room is waiting …but the mood has not yet struck. Send Chris this way!
January 21st, 2008 at 11:38 am
Hee, he’s on his way, Cathy! But he’s slow and methodical and it very well could take an entire month to get the one room done…
January 21st, 2008 at 2:21 pm
There is nothing that refreshes me more than finally painting walls and making rooms feel right. I need to do the same thing here. We finally did the living room but there’s still the kitchen, the dining room and the family room to paint. Perhaps I’ll do one of them this month!
January 21st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Angelina, you’re so right. We’ve been living with this bland cream color on all of the walls since we got here and it feels SO GOOD to change it. Next to go: the calico wallpaper!
January 21st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Ah, painting! It’s hard work but so rewarding. I had the idea I might have time to paint the window trim in the kitchen this weekend, but I’m settling for giving it a thorough cleaning instead. The painting will have to wait a week or two.
I can’t wait to see pictures of the carnelian wall. I love bold colors.
January 21st, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Oh dear, I am clearly of the work-minded, not domestic-minded type. I was going to say (and am going to say): yay for the website! Though I’m all for colors as well, having an orange kitchen and blue-green dining room, sunroom, and front stairs…
January 21st, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Good for you. Moving the piano sure would open up the room. How about the chair rail and that wall paper
It’s great that Chris did the painting. I don’t do a bad job—–except for the ceiling area….
xoxo
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:38 am
Becca, I love your parenthetical style, woman! Orange kitchen! Yummy! If we had white cabinets I’d be all over that, but our wood work is all oak. I just don’t have the heart to paint over it all.
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:39 am
Debra, the dining room’s next month and yes, the chair rail and paper are going. Blech. Chris is now thinking he can live with the green, but I think we should take the paint back and see if they can make it more of a light coffee.