Some Changes Around Here

There's nothing like an upcoming home show to make one look around one's home and say "Blehhh!" The many things that need to be updated/improved/repaired/etc..... become glaringly apparent. I got busy working on some of the items on my looooong list of improvements. The front hedge was trimmed and I gave the kitchen ceiling a fresh coat of paint. The most satisfying change was in the dining room.

We moved into this house in 2002 after buying it from the estate of the original owner. I'm fairly confident that everything in the house was original to the 1950 construction. The kitchen cabinets were UPS brown, the bathroom tiles were pink and maroon, and the rooms were painted either pink or that particular shade of green that was used in the elementary schools of my youth. I was anxious to put up a color in our new dining room that would help claim the house as ours.

We ended up with a pumpkin kind of color which I mixed on my own. Too many trips to Home Depot trying to find the color that looked good on the wall resulted in an assortment of pints of reject oranges. I took all of those rejects, emptied them into a large bucket and began to play paint mixologist, adding bits of other paint that we had leftover from other projects. I could never recreate this color.

Last week I decided that pumpkin is not what this room needs. Our house is not very large, and the cozy effect of such a warm and saturated color was beginning to feel claustrophobic. I felt a need for lightness and freshness.

I went to Home Depot and felt overwhelmed by the color selections. I quickly made a choice not because of color certainty, but because I knew that my one son's school bus was due home soon. Anxiety can give me real clarity or, more typically.... exhausted resignation.
I luckily have no disappointments with my hasty decision. I am very happy with the new look!
Two coats of primer were needed to cover up the pumpkin. Good timing on my part to begin this project as the first heat of the season moved in and our house was around 90 degrees. The evening that the coat of paint went on, I was determined that I would not stop until the project was completed. As I was cleaning the brushes at 3:15am, I did debate staying up until I could get my one son ready for his 7:30 school bus pick-up. I made the unfortunate choice to rest for "a short while" which turned into "a longer while" which resulted in me having to drive my son to school after a groggy phone call to our beloved bus driver, Bob . Whoops!!

I have no reject cans of paint left over from this project thanks to the fabulous, little testers that Glidden has available. I thought that 'Polished Limestone' was the right color, but confirmed that by spending a few dollars on this 2 ounce bottle and painting a couple of test areas. I like it when companies make consumer friendly decisions. That's the kind of thing that makes me a loyal customer. Thank you Glidden!