This house project is moving soooo slow. It’s partially because there are things I don’t want to do until after closing — and there are things that aren’t moving forward because of all the other little things that require attention. Like… cleaning the green off the north side of a huge white garage door and landscaping/mowing tasks that had been neglected all summer.
That’s why it feels like one shelf on an unpainted wall is a huge accomplishment.
The tiny kitchen had one wall with nothing there. It just didn’t look balanced. (Please note — that decoration is only in that position to temporarily cover a huge hole before repair/paint.)
I thought open shelving would be an improvement, so I enlisted the help of two amazing men who have near zero carpentry skills. This experience is likely why I had vertigo the following night. 😉
The final result.
Rather than two shelves I’ve decided to stick with just the one. Old barnwood boards aren’t exactly flat and I’m afraid adding another would be too risky… and too much. But don’t hold it against me if I change my mind!
On to choosing paint colors and lunch at Pho Shiki!
TIL (Today I Learned): William Stoughton, the chief judge of the Salem Witch Trials, sentenced 19 men and women to death during the trials despite not having any training, or education, in law.
After painting the kitchen chairs, I decided to paint the pie safe after all. The chairs were a drastic change — white to black — and I thought going with black also on the pie safe would simply be too much dark for a kitchen. I surfed over to Magnolia to see what Joanna might recommend.
I chose what I thought was a creamy taupe with a bit of gray. The paint name is “Gathering.” I expected it to be MUCH darker than the white destressed paint I decided on a few years back. More like the background color here on whatifitdid.com only darker.
Joanna’s got some ‘splainin’ to do…
That’s what I call a color match FAIL! The pie safe is no longer distressed and it has more of a slick “furniture finish” now. It looks like a clean antique as opposed to something I brought in from the barn. 🙂 I like it alright, I guess, but it’s just not what I expected. You can’t tell by the photos shared, but I painted the inside black (like the chairs) and the white dishes from my Momma really stand out now.
So I went from this…
To this…
I’m in this creative painting mode now and not sure what will get hit tomorrow… but I’ll find something in here I can slap some paint on. Too bad I can’t paint some neutral color on that darned red couch that Ben picked out!
TIL (Today I Learned): Letting a wolf population recover, traffic collisions caused by deer are reduced by nearly 25%; the reduction is not based as much on the decimation of the deer population but on the “landscape of fear” created by the wolves.
On this day 13-years ago, Sherry was at my house in Crothersville helping with a bridal shower. When looking at my “on this day” photo reminders, I realize that for all my complaining about Ben making a face in every photo — he got it honestly.
An on this very day 5-years ago, Dharma was born! Happy birthday, you wonderful (albeit husky) girl!
And two days ago from this very day I finished painting the kitchen. I’m now in recovery mode.
Daily new COVID-19 cases (7 day moving average): Indiana-12.8 (down); Jackson Co – 14.2 (same); Florida 26.0 (down); Nevada – 23.2 (down)
TIL (today I learned): The most extreme case of sexual size dimorphism found in nature is… the blanket octopus. Females can reach over 6 feet and the males are the size of walnuts. The reason the males remain small isn’t understood, but some feel it’s because they spend their energy looking for other females instead of growing. (I’m trying not to apply this to humans.) Don’t believe me? Read about it here…
Because those pesky non-neighbors hated the blue paint my son picked out for my kitchen SO much — this post is dedicated to them. 🙂
I think green is my least favorite color. How my kitchen migrated to a green color scheme I have no idea. I can tell you that without painting the cabinets, this is as good as it’s gonna get. I still want white Corian® countertops, but it was past time to wave goodbye to that blue.
Dharma photobombed the above image. If I would’ve noticed her there, I would’ve tilted the lens down just a bit.
Dharma made it in this photo — and obviously is as thrilled with green as I am. Still, there’s something about it that I like. It coordinates well with the tile, the cabinets and furniture.
Photography note:
It’s a real challenge to capture inside photos with a backlight and still keep colors true. None of the standard rules apply when there’s so little control over the light (no blinds over that door and I was too lazy to go out to close off the patio room light) — results are that you typically end up with either completely over exposed photographs, or a dark and indefinite shadow.
NOTE TO SELF: Advice is great but you don’t always have to take it.
I let my favorite son pick out a color for my kitchen. He talked me right into it! I went from a light, neutral taupe to some sort of electric blue called ‘C’est La Vie.’ I know that translates to ‘that’s life,’ and therefore, the name is appropriate.
I’m not a fan.
When I told my son I didn’t like it, he suggested I now paint the cabinets white. NO! I said I thought I could paint two accents walls (behind the cabinets and tile) a neutral color to tone it down. He explained that “accent walls” are no longer stylish. That’s when I decided I need to stop right now taking advice from my son.
Next week, I’m going to pick out some other color that I like and repaint.
