Ever have one of those projects that in the beginning seemed simple, even when you knew it would involve a little elbow grease? Like, "Honey, I think I'll paint the kitchen this weekend." Easy enough, right? Ha! This is the scenario I created in my own little world..... (insert tingly, time-transporting music and a fade-out)
- Pick the color.
- Buy the paint and supplies.
- While the kids have all gone off to clean their rooms and do homework, skip around the kitchen like Cinderella singing and painting.
- Clean up, wash-off, make dinner.
Here's how it really goes down...
- After three months and repeatedly mentioning it to "honey" and the best friend, finally decide to buy the paint and supplies. Get several rolls of blue painter's tape - why mess with trying to be neat, you just gotta get in there and paint.
- Look at the paint in the garage for about four or five days.
- Put it on the to-do list with a "definite" date.
- Put it off for two more days because the poor kids came down with a stomach bug.
- Jump in on Saturday with a "Let's do this!" attitude.
- Take plates, pictures, and light switch covers down.
- Pull out nails.
- Get out supplies.
- Notice that the blinds sure could use a good cleaning. And the lace curtains.
- Clean the blinds.
- Take them down and realize the hardware needs to come down also.
- Go get more tools to take blinds down.
- Wash curtains.
- Ask "honey" and the kids to go find something else to do besides be in the kitchen.
- Start taping - everything you don't want painted.
- Time for lunch.
- Clean up from lunch.
- Decide that's boring and begin to paint.
- Time for dinner.
- Clean up from dinner.
- Paint.
- "Honey, do you think this yellow is too lemmony? I was going for light buttery."
- Move stuff around as you paint (Use kitchen chairs lined up in a row to move back and forth. Who needs a ladder?)
- Repeat two more times - it needs three coats!
- Get excited and pull off painter's tape as I go. Validation.
- Yell at "honey" and the kids to pleeeeeease go find something else to do besides be in the kitchen.
- Partially take down light over the sink so I don't have to tape around it and hope I can re-hang it later.
- Get about half of the walls done and give it up for the night.
- Spend 30 minutes getting paint out of the roller.
- Start over the next day. "I'm jammin' now!"
- Move more stuff around.
- Tape.
- Paint.
- Un-tape.
- Move refrigerator - "Holy mother of ?!"
- Clean behind refrigerator.
- Time for lunch.
- Clean up from lunch.
- Continue, always looking at what's been painted, not what still needs painting. That's like looking down when your afraid of heights.
- "I didn't realize I had this much paintable space. Huh."
- Finally finish, rip off the tape, step back and pat myself on the back.... a lot.
- Clean up.
- Replace hardware for blinds.
- Re-hang blinds.
- Re-hang curtains.
- Re-hang light over sink.
- Replace light switch covers.
- Put tools away.
- Breathe.
- Go to bed - tomorrow is Monday again.
So, my advice is this.... If at all possible or feasible - hire a contractor, ship off the kids, go to a B&B for the weekend, and come back when its been taken care of! I love to do this kind of work myself, really I do. But, somewhere in between projects I tend to forget the reality of it!!!
Previous wall color (my Martha Stewart years):
A little bit of all the colors (looks like a 1980's Benneton ad!) I told you I like to use blue painter's tape.
New color! So cheerful and a little whimsical. See my new high-dollar Target dishes? Happy Birthday to me, ya'll!
Now that my kitchen is all perky and happy, I have a problem. I have committment issues - about putting things back up on the walls. "Should I put this back here? Or mabye over here? Maybe just give it away and start over. A new chandelier? I'll look online. That's silly. I'll just wait......" So, I've been brainstorming and trying to come up with some new things to do, make, try out.
Let me know if you have projects like this... or am I the only one?!
:) Mona Pin It
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I decided not to wait for anyone to help me when I decided to paint our apartment. Over a two week period, in between school and baseball, I would paint -- yellow for the tv room, one hallway blue, living/dining a taupe color, the other hallway green, kids room blue. I moved everything myself and would try to have things back in place before hubby would come home. He thought I was crazy. But I couldn't stand the white walls anymore. Then when he travelled on December, I painted our bedroom green. Couldn't move one cupboard, so it stayed white behind there until we bought a new cupboard. Then hubby thought I was crazy because we couldn't bring the new wardrobe home until I painted the white wall green. :) It was crazy at times, but it got done. Definitely hang things in a new way, or get new things for your kitchen -- that's the fun part of painting and redecorating. Have a great day! Peace & blessings, Tammy
ReplyDeleteI have those target dishes! This cracked me up - "Move refrigerator - "Holy mother of ?!" "
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. My boyfriend bought us a house last june, it's a fixer upper.. anywho we thought it might be 'fun' to get our hands a bit dirty. That was, until we found out the plumbing is corroded!
Great post. Been there~ done that. Realitiy bites sometimes. I really like the new color. I need to paint our bedroom. Its on my list for Spring.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
Carolyn
Hilarious post!!! But don't laugh to hard at me because I LOVE to paint, hang wall paper, make new curtains, etc. My hubby used to worry when he would have to be away over night because he would often come home to rooms that were completely different than when he left. Sadly, we are not living in our own home now, so I must restrain myself....maybe I should just satisfy myself with cleaning up some messes! Hehe!
ReplyDeleteLove your post. I so know where you're coming from. We should have just traded walls - our living room is yellow and I'm ready for a more neutral color - like your old kitchen walls. That might have been just as easy!
ReplyDeleteMona,
ReplyDeleteYou are too funny! Gee your painting adventures sound like my painting/home improvement/etc etc..adventures!! We are sooo optimistic & just know this project won't take long at all "why should it? hmmm? " Oh yes...so I ever feel your pain!! :o) Just found you & anxious to browse about! btw..your paint looks great!!
Shellagh
Your paint looks great, just as it did before. I think you have great decorating skills, and will find the answer as to what to hand, or what to throw out..just as soon as you recover from the refrigerator move. :).
ReplyDelete