Kudos to YOU and My New Plan Details...

First, I'd like to give a great big pat on the back to all of you who took the impossible challenge and actually completed your projects! I did not. BUT, Karianne at Thistlewood Farms posted today encouraging us to go ahead and enter the link party anyway, so here goes nothin'.


What you see above is my current living room wall. But, first, let me back up a bit and give you some history. I moved here 9 years ago this February 14. It was a lovely valentine present from God to me. It was just what I wanted - a fixer-upper in a great old historic neighborhood. Many homes just a few blocks away sell for millions, but there's one block of small houses like mine. It began life as a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 living area, 1 car garage home - a "starter home." It was added onto and now it is 1726 sq ft. It has 3 bedrooms, 1 3/4 baths, 2 living areas and a formal dining room. It also has a 2-car garage - DEEP. More on that later.

Here is another photo of my wall - not a great photo of it, but it shows the texture pretty well. I learned how to do this hand-plastered type texture on This Old House, years ago. I've done it in two homes. It's easy, and covers a multitude of flaws. It's also very easy to cover nail holes and other things since it is incredibly easy to match. I have also loved this light beige-yellow color very much. It's been warm and cozy, and I've been able to use a variety of color schemes with it.


You may have read my whiny posts before - about my grand dog. She is absolutely the sweetest dog in the world - not my dog, mind you, but my son's. I have grown to adore her. Here she is enjoying a candy cane off the Christmas tree this past year.

I love how she runs to greet me when I come home - no one has done that in a LONG time! I love how she acts like she'll tear any strange men who knock on my door asking to mow my lawn into tiny pieces. I love how she smiles - yes, smiles. She does it often. I love how her whole back half wags when she sees me. She loves me and everyone else in our family, and we love her. She is one great dog! Except for a few small things...

See this lovely texture? Did you think I was exaggerating when I said the part about tearing strange men into tiny pieces? She hates the postman because he has the audacity to drop mail INSIDE the house!

This is my shiny oil-based Rustoleum Farm Implement Red door. I have loved this door for the past 9 years. Now, I must repaint, so I am trying to decide on a new color to paint - and I'm thinking taupe or gray...
I love my little peep door.

Here is the french window, also painted red with white trim. I like it uncovered, and she has scratched it to bits trying to get to the postman. I just reglazed and painted my outside trim a couple of years ago. That was not the most fun job I've ever done, and now I have to replace the broken pane. In case you didn't see it, here's another photo:

But even if I didn't have my granddog living with me at the moment, eating my sofa, breaking windows and scratching up my paint, I'd need to change anyway. You see, when I moved here, this house was wallpapered in original 1945 wallpaper. This living room was part faux grass cloth and part giant banana leaf pattern - reminiscent of bark cloth. It was forest green and oatmeal colored. The ceilings were light avocado green, and the trim was a lovely mint green like this:

See the interior part of the window? That's the color. Notice the lovely view. (You can see the half-eaten sofa in the reflection. Now it has a large drop cloth draped over it.) But the view...it's actually the back side of drywall board or sheet rock. There's a window like this on either side of the faux fireplace. (It used to have gas logs, but has been capped off now.) When I moved in, there were mini blinds on the windows. I upgraded to a curtain and made valances to cover the lovely oak bathroom light kits.

In case you didn't notice, take another look at those light fixtures. I imagine they replaced cute vintage sconces of some kind. I have purchased new ones and matching ceiling fixtures for the living room and dining room. I have also purchased sheet rock to patch the window holes, once I pry them out. I may do something with the windows now, or store them in my storage shed for making a future outside project like this:

 Photo via Pinterest

Now that you have the history, I'll tell you part of the reason I didn't finish my living room paint project. Since I live on a tight budget, I spread the cost of paint out over a few weeks. I purchased a gallon of off white flat wall paint from Walmart in December. 

In early January, I purchased another can of off white flat wall paint. When I mixed them in a 5 gallon bucket, they were NOT the same color! It was pretty dramatic how different the colors were. I usually mix them anyway, just because this happens frequently. I mixed them and painted a swatch next to my shiny oil-based trim. There was just not enough contrast for my taste. I added a mistint flat off white paint of another brand from another store. It was still too light. So I added some leftover "earthy mushroom taupe" from my daughter's bedroom redo last July. Still, it seemed a bit light. So I added the whole can. It was now a little too dark. I liked the contrast, but since my living room only has one window now, I don't want it to be darker than it is already. I added a gallon of white flat to it. It was still too dark. Last night, I bought another "country white" that is a warmer white. I plan to add that to the other paint and hopefully get it just right. You may have guessed - I have added 5 gallons of paint to the bucket already, so now I have to take a gallon out and add the new paint to it. Oh, well. I will use it in the little hallway off the dining room or mix it into another batch of paint for a bedroom or studio. I also bought a new roller, so I should be good to go! Now you know how I'll be spending my next Saturday or two...

I told you I have a new plan for my future mostly-white house. Here it is in a nutshell:

• Living Room - Elegant/Industrial Cottage - silver, gold, copper, vintage industrial, white
• Dining Room - similar to living room with silver, gold and white.
• My Bedroom - Modern Primitive Cottage - whites and neutrals with highly-textured elements, primitives and sleek modern pieces together.
• Guest Room - Vintage Garden Cottage - vintage feminine whites and greens with garden elements.

Soon,I'll show you some examples of the types of items I plan to use in each room!

I hope that before long, my little cottage will be renewed! My plan is to paint it all this year.

Word for the Day:

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

As you work to renew your homes and found objects, may you be renewed daily at the source of all things new!

-Revi

Linking with:

http://thistlewoodfarm.wordpress.com/tag/impossilble-linky-party/

Wednesday

http://www.thethriftyhome.com/ Penny Pinching Party

Friday

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/ Frugal Friday

Saturday

http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/ Show and Tell Saturday