Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Holed up!

I feel like one of those of embedded CNN reporters - I'm holed up in my small den. Yes the painters have arrived en masse!



There are 7 of them here working like the dickens taking things apart, moving furniture, sanding walls, and filling holes.




A few minutes ago there was a flurry of different activity and I discovered that the "head" painter had just returned with the paints. One guy has already started putting a coat of paint on in the living room.

Uh oh! I'm having "paint colour remorse" and I'm not sure if I picked the right colour for the living room. I don't think it's going to be dark enough but I'll wait until they get the first coat up and see if it dries darker.

I'm a nervous wreck and I know should stop drinking coffee NOW!
I don't want to go out and leave the dog & the painters "unattended" but I don't want to stay and keep spying on them...

Now you know another reason why we haven't painted in 10 years.
Yes I'm a bit of a control freak!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

BEFORE Photos!

I'm in the "crunch time" now before the painters come tomorrow morning AND I actually remembered to take some before photos!!

Here is where the bookcases were in the family room. This room will be repainted a similiar colour but in a much deeper tone. It's call Kauai Jungle by Ralph Lauren.

and this is how much stuff I took out of it.

Really there were more boxes but I'm giving away a ton of stuff and this is all that I am going to keep. It's hard to believe that this was all in 3 bookcases but it did take me HOURS yesterday to pack this up!


The following BEFORE photos are from my living room & dining room. I bought the little testers and put them up on the walls in areas where the light changes to help me decide which colour to paint. You can see the colour we chose on the first photo - it's the one in the middle.

Some of the features of the room are the natural stone fireplace, oxblood red leather chairs in the living room and the chocolate brown drapes in the dining room (shown in the above photo).



Here is a shot of my daughter's messy room and the colours we were debating. In the end she chose something from the paint chip fan - a nice mellow yellow.

Here are a couple of photos of the kids bathroom. The walls were stripped of the wallpaper last year but that's as far as I got. In a couple of days the walls will be a nice warm ARIZONA TAN colour. The black and white shower curtain will stay as well as the medicine cabinet.


Well I should really get off the computer and pack up the lamps, paintings and other objects d'arts (i.e., all the crap in the room that is not furniture!)
I will try and remember to post AFTER photos next week!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Getting ready for the painters!!!

I have spent this weekend getting ready for the painters who are coming on Wednesday to paint the inside of my house - 6 rooms and my entryway and hallway.

We are NOT painting the master bedroom, my son's room, the kitchen, the den, the laundry room or the downstairs powder room. Maybe I should have just said we ARE painting the living room & dining room, my daughter's room, the family room, the kids' bathroom and our master bathroom.

Now it may not sound like a big deal to you but to me it sure is!!!

When we first bought our house the living & dining rooms were painted baby pink and the entry way and upstairs hallway were baby blue. Even though we did NOT have much furniture we knew those colours would not work for us.

So we painted all of the interior while the house was empty. Most of the living area was painted a neutral Chamois colour (kind of a butter yellowy-beige).

Now this colour scheme worked for a while but fast forward 10 years and we need to not only repaint (lots of dings and scuffs) but also choose colours that compliment our furniture and artwork.

I choose some colours and then my "colour blind but opinionated" husband choose some colours . I bought the little testers and we applied them to different areas of the house. Since we were entertaining friends and family this weekend I asked everyone to vote on thier favourites.

After this complicated process we have come up with some colours.

We are painting the living room and dining room Benjamin Moore Capilano Bridge (very fitting since we live close to Capilano Bridge!). It's a dark beigey taupe colour. The hallway will be painted another shade of this but lighter - we still have to pick that colour. Yes I know the painters are coming on Wednesday!

My daughter's room is still under debate - she wants red and we want NOT RED!

The kids' bathroom will be painted Benjamin Moore Arizona Tan (tanny kind of yellow), the master bath BM Tyler Taupe (grey taupe to match our tiles), and the family room Crab Apple (very dark caramelly colour).

I purposely am picking neutrals because of our furniture, drapes and fireplace - Red leather chairs in the living room, dark chocolate chairs in the dining room, dark green velvet drapes, dark chocolate drapes, and natural stone fireplace.

So today I spent HOURS emptying out a 3 piece BILLY (from IKEA) bookcase that was JAM PACKED with books and magazines and other things. At one point I was tempted to say we'll just paint around it but I really don't like the clutter and see this as my opportunity to get rid of the bookcases! We'll see what happens when I'm done.

I still have to put away all the lamps, knick knacks, paintings, pillows, throws, dining room chairs, glass coffee table and well the list goes on. I can't even think about the bathrooms - my daughter has so much STUFF on her bathroom vanity and IN the bath/shower.

Since we are painting so many rooms at once I have to move everything to the garage and park the car on the driveway. I didn't really think out the logistics of all this very well other than the fact that I wanted the house painted and we found a painter who could do it right away.

Speaking of which - while I was unpacking the bookcases the painter called to ask if he could start tomorrow instead of Wednesday. I said NO (I'm getting really good at that) and said that I was counting on that extra day to get ready for him. I can't believe how much stuff there is to put away before we can even move the furniture away from the walls!

I'm taking a break for a cup of tea and a quick catch up on the computer but I really must get back and finish packing up.

My husband has taken my son to the garden centre (hubby's hurt his back and needs the boy to lift stuff for him) so I'm on my own with the packing up.

That's what I'm up to on this sunny Holiday Monday. What are you doing today?