Monthly Archives: September 2011

paint gods

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The paint gods have cast what seems to be their shadow of disdain over our house for a couple of weeks now, and this weekend, just as I thought we were breaking through, was no exception.

I had intensions of completing the office this weekend. Painting the shelves, organizing the books/stuff, putting up frames, etc, but it didn’t happen and I’m actually really bummed about it.

This is what I’m talking about… it needed work.  I get hives just looking at the mess.

First we picked a color. Brick Red or Olive Green?

Then on Friday, I took down all the bookshelves’ items and started the painting process… again.  I think I might start a countdown of how many rooms I have left. I got two coats of paint rolled on of Olympic No VOC paint (color matched to Benjamin Moore georgian brick HC-50).  I used Olympic because I was so impressed with the fireplace, though it didn’t coat as well. I knew I would have to put a solid three coats on to make it look good, but the price was right.  Next time I’ll stick with what I like.

This is what it looked like after two coats…

Saturday, I started the edging.  But the moment I started the edging, the rolled paint started coming up!Seriously, this is not making me happy.  All that time, all that work, and it’s peeling away.  So, I started peeling it too… which left me back at square one, defeated, and saddened that I had wasted much of my weekend.

For obvious reasons, there is no photos taken during frustrations.  

I then googled what had went wrong. I believe I found the reason. I have oil based paint on the shelves, which need to be sanded or primed with adhesive primer before I start again… it won’t be this weekend. But at least I have a reason things didn’t work out. To make the best of a no-paint weekend. (tear.) I loaded the shelves like they had the dramatic backdrop and did a little photo shoot.  It made me feel a little better to have a semi-clean office. Don’t worry a new fan’s on the list!!

Bookshelf photo shoot

In other news, Paul and I picked one of our colors for the kitchen and put bigger samples on the wall. Dun, Dun, Dun!!

And the winner is…. not this one. It’s still not the right color. I want a solid color in the kitchen… just need to find it.

Lastly, Saturday, Paul and I went to the home and garden show in Dallas to get ideas on windows, flooring, etc.  and we decided to do the unthinkable!  Unthinkable in my book.  Since getting married, we have never had cable, we never really needed it nor wanted the “idiot box” part of our daily routine. But I honestly couldn’t stand looking at those rabbit ears anymore, especially on my new fireplace, and Paul hated not being able to watch the football games.  So we bit the bullet and got cable. I’m still kind of sad in my decision as I have this vision my children or Paul or myself watching TV 24-7 instead of talking, reading, playing outside. We’ll see… we can always cancel it.

Bunny ears in the middle of my poor beautiful fireplace.

Now, NO bunny ears!! Yay!

Here’s a fun angle from our family room.  I think it’s getting there.  Just a couple photos left to mount on the wall but all-in-all we’re happy with the space.

it’s a marathon

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My generation and the ones following get looked down upon for our demands to have instant gratification. We want the goods delivered. Fast and now. I, too, want it now. I’m willing to put in some effort to get things done, but I want it done well, and I want it now. I want my house to be painted, cleaned, window treatments hung, wood floors installed, beautiful hand-picked pieces for every room, all my magazines read and finished, and all my books and movies read or watched on my “I should read/watch list”. But I have to remember this is not how it works. It takes time!! It all takes time. Unless, as Paul pointed out, I would just do crack; then, maybe I would have more time…

This comes to me in a time of despair.

I’ve been having trouble lately with colors. Making my want-it-now attitude turn sour because now I have to re-do it, again.  Here’s my problem: I have this wonderful idea in my head of the exact color I want, but I’m unable to translate that idea into reality when I get to the store to color-match the paint.  Or it looks great in a blog post or article and horrible in my house. It’s like reading a great book with all your wonderfully vivid characters in your head and then watching the movie and wondering how the director could butcher all the characters that badly. Except in this case, I am both the book reader and director. So, as I promised from the beginning, I’ll tell you about the good and the bad.

Here’s a list of my distasteful color choices, and their appropriate names, in case you would like to bring them to your home … maybe you could make them loved? In no particular order.

Laundry closet – Benjamin Moore marblehead gold HC-11 – Does anything look good with open-faced/cobbled cabinets and a fire extinguisher?? Really?

Bookshelves – Benjamin Moore providence olive HC-98

Kitchen – Benjamin Moore yarmouth blue HC-150 – It’s not bad, but it’s all wrong.  I cannot explain it.

The kitchen was so bad that I woke the next morning after it was finished with hoping it was all just a bad dream. Maybe I dreamt the hideous blue on the walls? Maybe it looks better today, in the morning sun? But it wasn’t. It was still as bright and as awful as it was before. So, I walked into the kitchen, took out all the color samples I owned and painted. Not even the morning coffee could take me away. Until, Paul with his infinite wisdom (or being of the male species) said not to waste my time. “We have to figure out our water damage situation before we paint the whole kitchen anyway, Sarah.”

So, I walked away… I’ll figure it out… later.  Here’s the samples… I want a color?  Not white or beige, a real color. Any ideas?

My favorite is the top left but we’ll see…

This idea of getting things done was emphasized when I revisited an article I read a month ago in Real Simple. It’s about this girl who always had a to-do list or numbers in her head, from her caloric intake to the day her infant would be a toddler.  This sounded familiar to my own life.  I too have deadlines: when I’m able to do something or eat something or even when I’m able to go to the bathroom.

“Fold the rest of the laundry and then you can go to the bathroom, Sarah.” Seriously?

I have countless to-do lists from books to read, movies to watch, flea markets to check out, the lists for the house, to detailed hourly schedule for a weekend, a work week.  It’s kind of crazy.

So, I vowed on this “labor day” that I would still have a to-do list BUT I won’t have them haunt me if/when I’m unable to finish everything. Maybe even scratch the list completely for a dinner out with friends, or a movie in the afternoon. Life is life and I will reference this article frequently until it becomes second nature!  As Paul says, “it’s not a crisis”.

Real Simple article Count Me Out

http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/inspiration-motivation/counting-00100000062753/index.html

Otherwise, this weekend was comprised of little tasks: painting missed spots, covering holes, organizing paperwork, and one BIG monster project that was both exciting and scary.  I’ll just get to the big guy, he was sitting in our family room sucking the energy out of the space but I felt he was ready for rehab and a new look on life. ;)

He looked like this (below) before I decided the unthinkable!

Sarah, it looks like you have some good ideas but I just wanted to tell you, you know if you paint the fireplace, well, you can never paint it back. ~ A.S.

before

First, I started by taking down the bronze door and washing off all the brick with a little soap and water.  I vacuumed around the door frame because that was McNasty. Oh, the layers of dust. Which lead me to this… already an improvement! I also sanded the mantle surface so the primer would have something to stick to. The little LED tripod work light in the fireplace is a little wonder! Paul got it for Christmas a few years back, and we use it all the time!

I then started the priming process!  It was fun to see the transformation and the brick have new life.  It looked so sad and dated before! I was going to use a roller for some of it but opted for two paint brushes instead. One small, one bigger. With all the nooks and crannies, this was the best route.

Primed. Check!!  Yes, I put my estate sale find on the mantle.  Even with just the primer it looks so much cleaner and happier. My estate sale find worked out perfectly, too!  I was getting really excited for the final product!

Then I painted the whole thing (two coats and a third to the mantle and hearth) with Benjamin Moore white linen (color matched to Lowe’s Olympic no-voc semi-gloss paint).  Because my Benjamin Moore store wasn’t open on Labor Day… and that whole, I want it now attitude.  You get the idea.

I’m so happy with the results!  I loaded it up with goods so you can get a visual of what it may look like all dressed up!! With all my strike outs, I’m so happy something worked out! Now, we can load the room. It will be ready for grilling and football season! Yay! Especially with the beautiful weather we had this weekend, everyone was ready for the fall… and sometimes you need to stop the projects and play a little football.

three’s no crowd

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Summers have always been special months for both Paul and I! We’re summer babies and love all the summer festivities: grilling, warm air, weddings, yard sales, and country music (Tim McGraw’s ~ My Next Thirty Years has been playing a lot in our household). Fitting, no? Late August brings the joys of buying school supplies (I love that stuff), the start of football, and hints of sweater season.  This year we got to add one more event to that list of summer loves: the purchase of our home! I cannot believe we’ve been here for a month, but it’s been a fabulous adventure already!  I love coming home to a loved house with history, old trees, that if they could talk, I’m sure would have lots to tell, and a neighborhood full of people that look after each other.  We have a 90-year-old (a multiple of 30!) neighbor that brought us over her special morning muffins and two cornbread muffins for dinner. If we like them, she offered to pass along the recipe. of course.  The previous owners said not to worry, if there’s anything suspicious going on, she will always call you before she calls the police.  We have another neighbor who has an uncanny ability to show up whenever we have workers in the house… “you know, I just passed by, and saw…” I love it.  Our neighborhood is a great mix of young and old, dogs and cats and one coyote. Good neighbors is something you can’t count on when purchasing a home.

We’ve been celebrating all month long in the Snitker household.

They actually took our offer!

Celebrating thirty days in our new house!

I turned thirty!

Paul turned the big 3-0!

And we had three rooms de-wallpapered and painted!

Master Bathroom

before

during

progress

Benjamin Moore Natura boothbay gray HC-165 in Eggshell.

Entryway

before

during

progress

Benjamin Moore Natura stone harbor 2111-50 in Eggshell.

Kitchen

before

during

See the water damage on the left.  I’m praying it hasn’t gone into the cabinets.

progress

Benjamin Moore Natura yarmouth blue HC-150 in Eggshell.

I have to admit, I think the kitchen is a vast improvement over what we had, but I’m still not all-in with the blue paint. It always looks so good in photos but maybe I’m stretching my palette a little too much? In the master bedroom and kitchen, I’m still not sure.  I may change it down the road. We’ll see.

We’re pretty pleased with the results.  Besides the water logged wall in the kitchen, that is. But I consider ourselves lucky we moved forward with having the wallpaper removed so early in our renovations, as we may be able to salvage more than had we waited.  And if all else fails we’ll save up our pennies and remodel the kitchen a little sooner than expected.  Sorry, wood floors you might have to wait. Here’s to the positive!    

I’ll leave you with a picture of a man starving. As I was taking the last progress pictures in the kitchen, this little man hadn’t had dinner and judging from his wrinkles, he’s really worried everyone forgot!   (We didn’t).

I hope everyone has a fabulous-relaxing-long weekend!