Tag Archive for: turquoise

The Beginning of Change-Budget Living & Dining Room

For years, I have been toiling over what to do with our living and dining room. I’ve gone to you all, my dear readers, in months gone by with my initial thoughts and asked for your opinions. I’ve badgered friends and cats with this subject over and over.

 

Living Room
Because frankly, this room was boring. Clean? Yes. Minimalistic? Yes. But, B-O-R-I-N-G? Double yes.

And although I felt ready to pull the trigger, there were many objections for change:
1. Financially I can’t in good conscience spend money redoing something we just did 5 years ago.
2. If Biceps had his way, this room would have had center seating (black), gray walls and little else. He wanted to go for the art museum feeling.
3. I hate taping and caulking.
4. I hate cutting in trim.
5. I hate cleaning out brushes and roller.
6. I’m pregnant and flat out didn’t want to.

 

Living Room
I decided to finally quit talking about changing the living room and the dining room and just get this thing done. Using many of these items above as inspiration, the trigger was pulled–while Biceps was at the station and couldn’t stop me. Heh heh.

 

Taping:Caulking
I started by assessing the initial costs:
1. Paint $60
2. Blue Painters Tape, Painters Caulk, tray liners $25
3. Trim for picture frame molding $36

After buying my necessities, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. First, I pulled everything into the center of the room and started taping and caulking like a son of a gun. (I will share the reason behind this process in detail this week).

 

PicFrameTaped
I waited for Biceps to determine the size of  the picture frame moldings. It was a long process, which enriched our marriage. (I will also show you in detail how to install your own picture frame molding this week).

 

TrimCut in
While Biceps was back at the station, I opened my can of paint and panicked a little. Was it really that blue? After a short stint of talking myself off the ledge, I grabbed my favorite Purdy brush and got to work cutting in the trim.

And didn’t stop for 2 days. The living and dining room is now a lovely shade of “exotic sea” blue, which Biceps and I both love (thankfully).

Don’t worry, I will show you the finished product after hanging all my lovely art work. That is another process that is enriching our marriage.

But–I’m dying to know–what do you think so far?

 

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It’s Wednesday. And My Living Room is Still Gray.

House Theorem #17:Once you move into your house, you no longer want to remodel.

The things that just “had to go”, like peach tile in the guest bathroom, suddenly pale in comparison to just hoping for sheetrock and a working sink.

 


The green color that you painstakingly chose for the master bedroom and bathroom and at one point that you loved, soon is loathed each and every day. I blame my father’s army roots on this color choice.

But although you loathe it, it still takes you three long years to change it. Because you are waiting for it to “wear out” and earn its keep.

 


House Theorem #108: Once your walls are gray, you are scared to paint them a bold color, like this:

 


Aqua Blue with hints of bright orange, tan and browns. Because perhaps this is another green bedroom and you (and your guests) will have to live with it for years until this color too, has “earned its keep”.

 

So, it’s Wednesday. And my walls are still Gray. But, who knows-Sunday’s on the way.

(And if you know who I’m quoting from 80’s Christian pop music, then you deserve a hug. And some shoulder pads.)

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