For the last 10 days, Donnie has been in Haiti. Now that he's back, I know you want to hear all about his trip and how the baby dolls went over, but honestly, I don't even know yet! Since he's been home we have been smothering him with attention and haven't let him get in more than a couple words in about his trip. (Other than to tell us what he brought us. He's a great gift-giver...)
So, until I'm ready to share about the mission trip, I thought I'd share a little of what's been going on around here while he was gone.
Last time I showed you the hallway, it looked like this:
Honestly, the light brown color--that was on every wall of this house when we bought it--is not that bad. But it was on every wall in our house. And the carpet is the same color. And it's been almost three years, and I've only repainted one room in the whole house. It was time.
I've been planning to subtly change the tone of our home from warm neutrals (browns, tans, with red accents) to cool neutrals (grey, black, soft blues and greens).
I've been looking at these paint chips and others like them since March!
I decided on "Delicate Mist" by Behr.
I taped off the trim, painted two coats of "delicate mist", and rehung the row of photos before Donnie had even been gone 24 hours. I get a little antsy when Donnie's out of town, and I don't sleep much--but I've learned how to make it work for me and get a few things done! I'm awake anyway, right?
I know I need to get the new photos in those frames very soon. I'm just afraid that going through our family pictures is going to bring up a new wave of photo album guilt, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. (I am very behind!) I promise not to show you another shot of it until it's finished, though.
I couple things I learned while doing the hallway paint job:
1. Scotch blue is NOT my tape. We have popcorn ceilings, and we are not getting rid of them any time soon, no matter how out-of-date they are. The blue tape would not stick at all to the ceiling, and kept falling down. So frustrating. Never again. From now on, it's all about the frog.
2. It is very difficult to keep a toddler out of the way while painting anything. It is very difficult to keep a 5-year-old boy from testing the walls to see if they are dry yet. But it can be done. I did most of the painting while the baby was napping, and bribed the older kids with an ice cream trip. Bingo.
The "baby cage" comes in handy now and again, too.
3. Painting a wall or hallway does not do anything to satisfy the DIY spirit in me. As soon as I was done, my brain was buzzing with ideas for the rest of the house. Even the rest of the hallway didn't seem good enough for the fresh new color. I could change out the door knobs, or spray them...add some trim to the game closet/hamper...maybe some handles on the hamper doors... And that was only the hallway!
Has that ever happened to you? Is painting a room enough change (and hard work) or does it just serve to get the ball rolling?
I'll let you know where it led next. Stay tuned.
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Here are a couple other rooms I found, painted in the same color. Notice how different it looks in different settings:
Source: womansday.com via Anna on Pinterest
Here's the link to the original post about the photo wall: Photo Wall in Progress