saturated with color
Not too long ago I moved into my first house -- did I ever link to this post at 64 sq. ft. kitchen? I can't remember if I ever did, or if I just meant to but never got around to it. It expresses perfectly for me the wonder of moving from a small apartment into a new house.
I'm still pinching myself.
This house had white walls. Very white. Like matte primer coat white. Chalky, giving off the impression of flourescent lights even though there are none. Just barely brushing up against the paint would leave a mark. We're the second owner of this house and it seems that the first owner never painted over that first coat of white slapped on by the builder.
What to do about those walls? Every house I've ever lived in has had white walls and brown floors, whether carpeted or wooden. I like white walls. If it's the right white. White walls are calming, cool, the perfect backdrop. But I was itching for color and so I've been tackling each room one by one.
I looked at my stuff to decide on colors -- the best indicator, I think, of what color to paint a room. Exhibit A, two of my favorite old mixing bowls:
And boy, is this house ever colorful now.
Here's a glimpse of the very green wall in the kitchen / dining room:
That yellow flower pot will soon be filled with a pint-sized herb garden. Right now it's holding some pint-sized succulents I plan to plant in a pint-sized terrarium because I am chockful of projects.
Some soon-to-be-painted shelves from the thrift store against a lighter green wall:
Once I start painting a room, I find it hard to stop. I'm like a painting robot. I have to set aside an entire day to paint a room -- I couldn't possibly do half the painting one day and the rest of the painting the next day because there's no way I could sleep in a house with a room that still had blue painter's tape stuck to its walls. It's not that I like to paint, so much as I like having painted a room. The getting it done -- that's what moves me.
Yesterday I finished up a silvery-blue-gray spare bedroom. A couple of weekends ago, it was a smalll and bright yellow bathroom.
The husband still hasn't come to terms with this yellow paint and that blue and white shower curtain. He's certain that those colors do not go together. Before I start each room I show him the color chip and he's all like, "Yeah, that'll be great." But then he sees the finished product and he's all like, "What do you call this color again? ... it sure is bright."
I know what he means. I sit and look and think, "Am I really a color person?"
I'll settle in and live with these walls for a couple of years. Who knows, there might be some buckets of white paint in my future but not anytime soon.
It's a work in progress.
