Sweet Home Project #1

Welcome to the "Sweet Home Projects!"  As my time at the bank draws to a close, I'm thinking of many, many things to do to keep busy.  I've decided to use my blog to tell anyone who is interested (mainly my dad and sister) about the projects I'm up to.  Also, I want to keep a record of how things look now, and how they will when I'm done.

Our little house is perfect in every way, but we are determined to make it totally and completely our own.  The house I was raised in was mostly paneling, but I really wanted some color.  My dad was totally against it, but he finally let my sister and I paint our rooms.  I painted my bedroom a light green color called "sweet pea" and left it that way for several years.  I had purple curtains and a purple quilt on my twin bed.  When I got a little older and got a full-size bed, I switched the color to cream and put a quilt in greens and red on the bed.  I followed that one with a red, white and blue postage stamp quilt.  Then Billy and I got married and lived in an apartment for a while, then with my dad for a while, then another apartment for a while.  It's kind of hard to personalize a rented or borrowed space.  Then, we bought our wonderful house.

This house is ours.  It belongs to us-well it belong to us and First Peoples Bank for the next 20 or so years--and I really want to put our mark on it.  The walls are all the same cream shade, and the doors and trim are all natural wood.  Billy loves the trim, and I want to paint it white, but for now we'll just leave that part alone.  So after much thought and worry, (literally waking up in the middle of the night worried that I'm doing the wrong thing!) I've decided to paint EVERYTHING.

We started small, but I think it's made a difference already.

This was our front door.  It almost made me sad to look at it.  I have studied front doors for years.  I think they really just open up the house (no pun intended).  They can make the house seem warm and inviting while you're still standing outside.  Billy wanted to paint it red, but I finally talked him in to letting me do it turquoise.  I think it looks awesome!

It rained almost all day on Saturday, but finally it cleared up in the afternoon an I was able to start painting.  Let me say up front that I am not a great painter.  I cannot paint around trim or in corners and I end up with paint all over my hands, my clothes and sometimes the carpet. No matter how hard I try, I end up with paint everywhere.  But I have learned the secret to successful painting. 

First, get out the supplies,  This includes paint, brushes, rollers, etc.  Set them all out in order in the floor.  Second, prepare the surface for painting.  Clean it off and scrape away any paint drips from the previous paint job.  Third, go to the kitchen to get a drink or a snack.  When you get back, you may find this...

Have I mentioned before that Billy is an awesome painter?  He finished the door in record time and I ended up with no paint on me or the carpet.  I love that man! Now our little house looks like this...

Is it possible that something so small as painting a door can make it feel so much more like home? Feeling confident after my front door success, I purchased two more gallons of paint today.  No pics for you yet, but the planned project is the living room and the color is "Cherries Jubilee!"  I'm so excited...or am I really nervous?  Not sure, but I'll keep you updated.  Look for the results in a future Sweet Home Project!

Lynz