Tuesday, June 7, 2016

a dash of this and that


So you've all heard about the snowball effect, right? Well, have you ever noticed that that's what often happens in the world of home improvements? 

Ian and I decided that we were going to paint the inside of the front door yesterday morning. We visited our "paint store" in the basement (in an effort to not spend money and use what we already had) and found a gray color that I liked. 

We painted the door. We stepped back. We gagged.

Oh my goodness did it clash with all of the honey oak trim that is ALL through our house. 

It looked horrible.

We found a can of white trim paint in the basement. He started sanding. I started painting. Twelve hours and four coats of paint later, two walls of beadboard wainscoting were white. 

But I still have a hallway, a third living room wall, and a dining room worth of beadboard trim to paint. And now the walls need done. Which, in all honesty, haven't been painted for eight years and are in desperate need of some new paint anyway. It's been on the to-do list.

Then Brad comes home from work, and he decides that our ceilings need painted before the walls (which they do, but I'm typically not one to examine ceilings so it wasn't something that was extremely important to me.) Also, those honey oak colored beams? Yeah, we should probably give them a coat (or five coats) of paint too. 

And that, my friends, is how a front door paint-job snowballed into a whole-house job. 

So for my own sanity, I am already psyching myself up to view this as a summer-long project. I'm doing this by myself as much as possible (Brad's so busy and the last thing he needs is another project), so it's definitely not going to be a quick job! And that beadboard? Gosh is that time-consuming to paint. I think I'm going to go for a mix of white trim and the oak. It can be done quite tastefully, and I honestly can't even imagine the time it would take to paint all of the oak trim in our house. Besides, in the next few years, we're planning on ripping down the old trim and replacing it with a more substantial trim, so this is a bit of a temporary update.

Also, the garden beds and the big garden are planted. I might throw in a few more seeds, but everything is pretty much set. I planted impatiens in our landscaping, and I'm patiently waiting to see what perennials decide to spring forth from the soil for the summer season. 

The peonies are blooming like crazy. This is the first year that I've gotten a good crop of peonies. I think that this is the third year since I planted them. Anyway, I've got jars of peonies set out around the house. They are my most favorite flower. And I even spun up some pink yarn to match!

Ian made me a coffee table. It was my mother's day gift, but I just realized that I never posted a picture of it. He did it all by himself, and I love its simplicity. It's actually exactly what I wanted. He's getting really good at building things from wood. I started a board on Pinterest for him to mark projects that he could maybe tackle over the summer.

I pray that you have a most blessed day. 

I'm off to spend the day painting again!

7 comments:

Joyful said...

My you have been busy! It is true that once we start on a project, it tends to take on a much bigger life. Best wishes to you as you finish refreshing the house.

Wendi said...

When I looked at the picture of the table (Great job, Ian!) I noticed your wainscoting and thought that would look good painted white. Ha! It does look good. I understand those snowball projects. I need to touch up some trim in the bathroom, but like you I know it will snowball. Once you start with white paint you can't stop!

Zena said...

It's been a dominion effect with your painting! In Australia there is show called "House Rules" and teams have to renovate a house in 7 days! They have one night of painting the whole house. You could have a crazy 24 hour night of just painting. Only kidding I wouldn't do that either. I love the pics of your garden and the outdoors they are always so breath taking.

Billie Jo said...

Oh my! That table is amazing!
What talent...and love.
Enjoyed your photos, especially your pups. : )
Enjoy your summer project...it's looking great!

karen said...

that is one awesome coffee table! and look at how empty it is :) Lovely! we painted the first floor rooms for the wedding last year and it was quite the undertaking.

Mereknits said...

Funny how one thing leads to another. Good luck with the painting.
Meredith

Katy said...

Your coffee table is perfect!!! I love it! What a great gift!

You little pup ~ will it stay that size? If so, what kind of dog is it?