Keeping Busy

The Smith household is a project household at the moment.  The previous owners took good care of of our house structurally but not so much aesthetically.  The orange short shag carpet in the basement was perhaps the most obvious and egregious attack on good sense, but it was far from the only example.  Most of the rest were just better hidden.  And by "hidden" I mean "painted over."   Every room in the house was a flat beige "neutral" when we arrived.  Well one room had wall paper but we're still not ready to discuss that particular atrocity.

Actually, lots or rooms had wall paper.  That one room is just the only place where they chose not to cover it with beige paint.  Elsewhere we keep finding bits of wallpaper beneath fixtures, behind switches, and tucked into numerous other places the contractors didn't think anyone would ever see.  Well we've seen it and let's just say we're glad the place was painted.  Their style and our style are not compatible.  At all.

So we have a house full of beige.  We don't mind the beige.  No one minds the beige, that's the whole point of staging with it.  It goes with everything.  Or to be more accurate: it doesn't clash with anything.  It's safe because it's boring.  So it's going.  Room by room we're clearing it out.  And we're getting the hang of it.

Sarah's sister painted the master bedroom for us when we first moved in.  Then Sarah and I tackled the basement.  Two weeks ago we painted the kitchen.  Last week, we painted it again.  See, we didn't like the first color very much.  We were aiming for pale green but hit a little too far on the pastel side of things. The result felt like living in a giant scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  It was almost right, but not quite.  So we redid it.  This act has met with surprise from coworkers and friends which has in turn surprised us.  We have to live with it and "not quite right" is just another version of "not right."  It never occurred to us NOT to repaint it.

Partly that's because we're having fun.  Turns out we're good at painting.  Or at least we're happy with our work.  Both of us have plenty of previous experience and we approach the project with very similar attitudes about how and what needs to be done (and were also armed with several helpful tips from an expert).  Fortunately, Sarah and I also have similar attitudes about color schemes and styles.  Although I suspect there are times she wishes I hadn't gone to design school (ask her about my issue with outlet screws sometime).

We're not crazy, though.  We don't paint ALL the time.  Sometimes we replace doors, switch locks, hang artwork, install fixtures, clear flowerbeds, repair banisters, or assemble furniture.  Right now it's a lot of fun to be us.