Painting house interior 2023

 Tech guy approached the topic of our To-Do List this week. None of which included the item I've talked about for several months and put as one of my resolutions- painting my living area.

After the house purchase, we initially painted the living area white with a wallpaper border. We wallpapered in the alcove (dining room) beyond it. I loved it. I'd nurse my kiddos, look about, and think how clean, crisp, and chic it looked. I didn't, and still don't, have a lot of faith in my decorating skills. And this was way before we could search online for ideas. But somehow, I'd done it.

Old wallpapered dining room

In 2004, and I know this via pictures because it was BTB (before the blog), I had a "decorator" friend help me redo the area while tech guy was out of town. We started by choosing fabric for a decorative window treatment made by my MIL and FIL. From there, we took colors from the material and painted. Why I allowed yellow and red, my least two favorite colors, is beyond me. But I did.

Yellow area with red accent wall

Window treatment fabric

I had tons of painting help from my gal pals. The red went on two walls as an accent (used as a backdrop in all Halloween photos) and in the foyer, where we sponge-painted gold blobs. We also used the same gold to paint my picture frames. We didn't touch the ceiling. 

Halloween photos against the red wall

It's been that way for almost twenty years. I needed a change. And I wanted the ceilings painted because we missed too many spots in our first go-around.

Tech guy argued, citing obstacles that I shot down. Eventually, he saw my side and had me pick a painting date over a weekend. Oleg's family signed up to help. I went to the paint store to choose colors.

With the help of numerous decorating sites, my first thought was gray. My family made faces, so I agreed to give the accent walls something cheerful. It didn't go well.

I suffered. I went to multiple paint stores, and then I remembered how my friend had made me take colors from the material for my window treatment. Madison and I set off one evening after dinner to look at fabrics. We both found one we agreed upon, and I purchased the last yard. 

Taking a periwinkle color from one of the flowers as my accent wall, tech guy and I headed to Lowe's. The two ladies in the paint department steered me away from gray. I got annoyed. Dammit, I wanted gray!

So, they pulled up colors on the computer and showed me how the colors that make gray are not in periwinkle. Gulp. They chose my colors, and because I'm unsure of myself, I went with the experts, forgetting how I did that last time. Remember yellow and red? 

But I did insist on bringing home samples to slather onto the walls.

Then, using the non-accent sample, we painted the hallway. I LOVED it! I purchased both colors. Then, I painted the foyer myself. It took me all day, but that night I danced because I LOVED it!

Painting weekend began at nine. I assigned tasks from the ceiling to edging to around the picture hangers (which I wanted right back up afterward), etc. 

Before

After

There were six painters, and at one point, Oleg appeared and jumped in. We worked with a lunch and dinner break until eleven that night, but we got it all done, including returning furniture and pictures to their spots.

Before with gold frames

After with new frames

The last area, turned into our dining room years ago, was painted a few days later. It took two full days. I had help at the end from my friend SueG.

Before

After

Then, I reupholstered the window treatment and my dining chairs. I bought new rugs and picture frames. Oleg's family purchased pillows, flowers, a blanket, and a colorful vase for my china cabinet. 

Everyone LOVES it. My living area is lighter and brighter. It's cheerful and happy. Ten out of ten. I returned to Lowe's and let the paint ladies know they had done a superb job. They were so right. They were thrilled.

Check off a resolution!

Back to a family of four

The youngest is officially back home. Darcy moved back in July before she left for a two-week camp counseling job. Together, with her friend, the three of us packed and loaded the last loads from her apartment, save for a few minor things. Everything sat in our garage for over a week before the hubby called foul. Then, while Darcy was off interpreting for children camping, Maddy and I went through Darcy's stuff and made a pile of things to keep, toss, and store. Tom took the last pile to our storage unit, and little by little, I moved the keep stuff into the house.

We couldn't put it into her room because we hired our neighbor to build her a closet. Her room was an add-on room by the former house owners. To get into her room, one had to go through Madison's room. We added another door when we moved in, but we solved the closet problem by ignoring it. At the time, we were two adults. How many closets did we need?

After Darcy came along, we purchased armoirs, going up in size as she grew. Now, we're to the point where she's outgrown even those. Well, that and they aren't even made anymore. Madison designed a very nice closet design, and we begged our neighbor for help in building it. He agreed, took measurements, and then got busy in his world of kitchen remodeling. We had to wait.

Then Darcy moved home, and she went over and begged him. Really, she only accompanied Tom to the neighbor's, but her sad, pleading face must have done the trick because a couple weeks later, he said he would do the job. And he did! 

While Darcy was away at camp. It was a nice surprise for her when she came home for all of twenty-four hours. Then she was back at her apartment for job-related things. She officially moved out at the end of the month, turned in her keys, and came home.

Darcy: "The plan is to save money for a year. Here are my dirty clothes."

It's a relief to have them both under my roof. Even though it isn't what either wants. I remember. I lived at home until I moved to Florida before I turned 26. ACK! But now, kids can't afford to live alone. Not here in Florida, where rent for a decent one-bedroom is over $1500. Not during a crazy pandemic where working in person is few and far between. For now, it makes sense they come home.

Darcy is a contractual employee with five interpreting companies. She'll be doing a lot of driving. In the meantime, she's supplementing her income by becoming a barrista. Madison is back to teaching in the classroom. 

Funny how that empty nesting thing didn't last long.

More bad news...or is it?

The day after my van died, our refrigerator died. Like my car issues, the refrigerator has always been a thorn in my side. Let me count the ways:

• Tom purchased it while I was out of town. I had no idea what it looked like.
• The seal around the freezer broke. We had it repaired.
• The ice maker kept freezing underneath the catch bin. We had it repaired.
• That repair did not fix the problem. Every week we had to take off the bin and defrost it.
• The dispenser on the front door dripped water. I always had streaks.
• It didn't hold much food.
• It was hard to clean (although that was more due to our small space than the refrigerator)

I swore I would never purchase a side-by-side refrigerator. Yet, somewhere between my old and my new one, I changed my mind. It was a mistake. Why I thought there would be more room is beyond me. Unfortunately, there isn't. Don't kid yourself.

The repairman appeared. He was a man of few words. That is until he saw the magnet on our refrigerator from Oleg's family. Then, his whole face lit up with joy.

Him: "That's Ukraine!"

I explained how my daughter was dating someone from Ukraine. He told me that was where he was from. We were buddies from then on. He first thought the problem was simple. I waged internally with this news.

Me: "This is good. We have car problems that are going to cost an arm and a leg. We can't afford another expense. But I hate that refrigerator. It doesn't work. Why can't the damn thing die? No! No! We need this to be an easy fix!"

Things like that. 

He had to pull the refrigerator out from the wall, and he wasn't keen on letting me sweep behind it. So every time he disappeared to his truck, I'd take a stab at cleaning up the dust bunnies and various nonsense that had fallen behind the refrigerator. I washed all of the internal pieces that he took out. I was quite the little helper. Meanwhile, my food, which was semi still frozen, was defrosting on my kitchen table.

Then the repairman announced the problem was not simple. He had defrosted the refrigerator to where it worked, but the part we needed would be $500, and it would take six weeks to arrive. I called the hubby and handed him the phone. They discussed it. Tom asked for his opinion. Fix or not? I crossed my fingers and internally hoped for not, and when that came out of my Ukrainian friend's mouth, I happy danced around the kitchen.

Yes, people, I was happier about getting a new refrigerator than I was about getting a new car. Ah, the life of a housewife!

I immediately jumped on researching and had several picked out to look at when we got to Home Depot. Tom had one in mind that the finance guy at the dealership had suggested. When Home Depot's employees were not helpful--or courteous--we went to Lowe's, where we had a delightful, helpful employee. In less than fifteen minutes, we were the proud owners of a new appliance. And yes, it was the one Tom wanted. But, in my defense, it was on sale and AVAILABLE THE NEXT DAY!! 

It doesn't exactly fit in our small space. It encroaches past the door leading to our garage, and despite the removal of the molding and other stuff on the wall, it is a problem we decided we could live with. We did discover that a roller was missing from the drawer in the refrigerator, but Lowe's assured us they would bring out a new drawer the following day. 

Instead, they brought us another refrigerator. I'm not kidding. When the lady called to tell us this was how they did things--and she was scoffing and rolling her own eyes at admitting this--we told her there was no way in hell we weren't just taking the drawer. 

Which we did. The delivery people loved us. And I love my new refrigerator, even though I never use the knock-knock feature for the light to come on so that I can see what's inside my refrigerator even before opening it.

I also did not hug my old refrigerator like I did my van. I shouted good riddance and then happy danced all around the house.

But that's it. Nothing else can break. Seriously.

Bathroom remodel - check

Madison and I got the finishing touches for the bathroom. We masked up and entered more stores than we wanted on the weekend, but we avoided crowds since we left the shopping to late afternoon. In Lowe's, we spent the most time studying lighting. 

I hate the lighting in my rooms. Our fan lights are the old fixtures that resemble flowery petals, and our bathroom lights are big chunky canister fixtures--all dust collectors. The consensus is to remove the fixtures and wash them, but who has time for that when cleaning? 

So, in choosing new lighting, I told Madison I wanted lights that were swish-swipeable. 

We found several modern vanity lights that fit the bill. They were all over the place in prices, but our main concern was whether or not they would put out enough lighting to actually see in the bathroom. Madison began Googling reviews on the lights we really liked, reading them aloud. A man and a woman walked past us, and the man stopped.

Him: "Which one?"

Me: "The one on the right, second from the top. We're just wondering if it will put enough light out for us to see in the bathroom."

Him: "It's won't. It's a decorative light. Crap. Don't waste your money."

Okay, then. Why we took his word on that, we have no idea, but we moved on, leaving the area to focus on our other items. As if this guy was the lighting expert of our county! 

Eventually, we came to our senses and headed back to the lighting area. This time, we found lights like the ones we liked, only these were directed vertically instead of horizontally, and as this was a main gripe in the reviews, we Facetimed our resident lighting expert.

Tom: "I don't care what you get. LED is the best."

Madison: "The one concern is that these lights are heavy."

Tom: "How heavy can they be?"

Madison: "We need to make sure they go on a stud. That's what the reviews said."

Tom: "It's fine. I'll make it work."

Then, just to be sure, we asked the Lowe's employee in the lighting department. He assured us the LED light was a good one and would put out enough light. That was good enough for us, and we purchased them. Unfortunately, by the time we got home, it was too dark to mount them, so we had to wait a week until Tom could get to them. 

Tom: "These are awfully heavy. Much heavier than the lights that are in there."

Madison and I somehow managed to refrain from uttering aloud the comments that were raging in our heads. And Tom managed, with our help, to replace the old lighting with the new. It does put out enough lighting. We love them!

Other than a new mirror and maybe a new paint job, this project is complete, and it makes my heart happy every time I pass by the room. 

Bathroom remodel days 3 and 4

 

Day three began with a request to get into the back of the tub wall. This is done through a boarded-up hole in Madison's closet. To get to that entry, I had to rearrange the furniture just to get into the closet, and then I had to remove hanging clothes, six plastic bins full of crap important things, a sewing machine, and several other various baskets and bins. By the time I was finished, I was drenched in sweat, and Madison's room was cluttered. 

It was a good thing they needed to get into that hole because when they did, we discovered the previous day's flood had also gone into the closet and soaked the carpeting. I retrieved yesterday's now clean towels and proceeded to dry the carpet. The guys set up a large fan, and that sucker ran for thirty-two hours, kicking Madison from her bedroom that night. 

Also, on day three, we discovered that the backing of the new vanity didn't line up with our sink piping, so my guy added another repiping project to his list, and I did everything possible to see that they were comfortable, offering sandwiches and drinks and a few stories every hour or so. 

By day four, the three of us were good friends.

They really kicked it up a notch on Friday. Then, the problems were minor ones that we solved together, and by five-thirty, the job was complete. They made me go back through the bathroom as we had done the first day, and I couldn't contain my excitement. He had sloped the window ledge so that water wouldn't pool and mold, and he hid the piping (that used to collect dust between the toilet and sink) in the wall--little details for sure, but very important ones to me that he did on his own.

Me: "Wow. I can't tell you how excited I am at this bathroom. Mainly for the angled window ledge, but also for the finished room. It really looks awesome!"

Him: "So, now you're going to tell your husband he was right?"

I conceded that one. 

Tom was right. The bathroom needed to be redone, and it looks amazing. Madison and I will add the finishing touches with a shopping trip because, as I told Tom, if we're going to do the job, it should be done right, and we need new lighting and a new mirror, and new wall plates, and new towel bars, and a new shower curtain pole and hooks, and...

Bathroom remodel day 2

Nothing in remodeling ever goes right--at least not in our household. On the first day, the water pipes leading to the tub had to be redone. This was due to a remodeling project years ago when pipes in our bathroom floor burst, causing us to repipe the entire house. The plumbing company took the easy way out and added more lines until we had a puzzle of pipes.

These bathroom guys, AWESOME by the way, didn't like the maze of pipes, so they redid it all, spending time not allocated for that. When they left for the day, the head man told me to periodically check the new piping--just in case. 

I did. Periodically that evening, I checked the bathroom and the new handiwork. However, I did not check it that morning before I left for my exercise routine with the neighbors. Anyone guess where this is going? I'm definitely a foreshadowing expert. 

I returned from the walk, the bathroom guys showed up, and my bathroom was completely flooded. NOT from the tub pipe job, but from a clog in the sink. Our sinks almost back up to one another in the two bathrooms, and when Tom shaved that morning--major water waster in the a.m.--the clog caused the water to exit through an exposed pipe in the second bathroom. It completely flooded the room and the construction guys' leather tool bag, containing fifty-seven hundred tools that then had to be dried and oiled.

More time spent not allocated to the job.

It was a nightmare for them. I only had to take towels and mop up the water, and thank my lucky stars that they found it and not me. I'm not sure what I would've done had I opened the door that morning. I thought about doing so but was too concerned about meeting my exercise walking buddies on time. Whew.

I had to call the Big Guy to update him on the problem. He was nonchalant about it and told me to call a plumber. I did and was told someone would be out later in the afternoon. From there, it just went bing, badda, boom. My house was a beehive of activity.

There was the inauguration, which I watched with the construction guys.

There was an issue with Grammy that required multiple phone calls back and forth between family members. 

There was Madison bringing me lunch because she had to take half a day off for a dental appointment. 

Off she went with instructions to pop in on Grammy afterward.

There was Darcy showing up from college because she, too, had a dental appointment.

There was no water since that had to be shut off for the workers to work. 

I mean, it was one thing after another on Wednesday until I didn't know if I was coming or going. 

Luckily, my neighbor offered her toilets and sinks for use, the plumber appeared and pulled out wads of red curly hair from the bathroom pipes, and dinner was a crockpot meal already in and doing its thing. 

When quitting time rolled around, the three of us--the two bathroom guys and yours truly--looked like we had been run over by Mack trucks and hung up wet to dry. Our celebration with the neighbors and bottles of champagne to toast the Biden and Harris administration's beginning was quite welcomed by five o'clock.

There is no way this job will be complete in three days.  

Good thing I never expected that it would.

Home improvement quarantine project #4

Tom's bathroom renovation has finally begun! He started grousing about redoing the hall bathroom many moons ago, and after finally taking the plunge and hiring the same company that did our master bathroom, he had to wait. 

Due to COVID, construction is hopping, and we were told the end of December. That really meant January, but when we got the call that we were good to go, I vetoed it. Or rather, I put it into terms that I knew would force Tom to reject the date.

Me: "Darcy and Oleg will still be living with us then, so you will all need to coordinate your morning bathroom routines for those three days, keeping in mind that you and Darcy work and Oleg has interviews scheduled."

Tom called the company and pushed it back for two more weeks. Last weekend, knowing construction would begin today, I asked if he would be there when the worker bees arrived.

Tom: "What for?"

Me: "To make sure that the job is done right, unlike last time."

Monday afternoon, he took me into the bathroom to explain in detail what was to be done. 

Me: "So this is your way of telling me, no, you will not be here to make sure the job is done correctly?"

I was on a deadline and didn't have time for his simulation games, but since I know how to manipulate guide him, we got through the run-down in five minutes, and I was prepared when the gentleman arrived this morning. 

Head Guy: "Let's go into the room and discuss what we will do."

Me: "Let's. I'm more than prepared."

Head Guy: "We will--" he proceeded to go through the details until he got to the toilet. "We have a problem, here. The toilet is against the wall, and I need to get the new wall behind it. We have a problem."

Me: "There is no "we" here, just to be clear."

He moved on, giving me more details. 

Head Guy: "We're stopping the new wall here?"

Me: "Correct."

Head Guy: "Why aren't we going to the door frame?"

Me: "That was the Big Guy's decision. Big Guy meaning the husband. I have no idea why he stopped there. Maybe because it was too expensive?"

Head Guy: "You see, I have to chip away here, and when I do, the tile over here might start breaking."

Me: "In which case, you will fix your mistake by going to the door frame with the new wall?"

I winked. Head Guy laughed. His assistant chuckled. Head Guy moved on, tapping the cabinet hanging over the toilet. 

Head Guy: "Do you want this to remain here?"

Me: "I do."

Head Guy: "We--this might be a problem. I'll have to take it off the wall, and it might be tricking to get it off in one piece." 

Me: "Okay, I get that, I really do. Do what you can. If it doesn't come off easily, then the Big Guy will just have to buy me a new one."

Head Guy: "So, no problem, then. I'll break it as I take it off the wall."

Yep, we're going to get along just fine for the next three days!

Home improvement quarantine project #2

Simultaneously with my painting project, Tom jumped on the fence project. 

Years ago, we installed a fence around only two sides of our property because our neighbor Howard asked us not to erect slats on his side. Now that Howard lives in Texas, Darcy and I voted to enclose the rest and add two matching gates. Tom was not a fan of the fence idea until he went outside one day to see our neighbor's overgrown hedge poking through the chain-link fence on to our side and way over the association's six-foot requirement on top. 

It took him an hour to cut it, and by the end, I had him on board the fence project. 

Unfortunately, no local fence company wanted the job because it was too small, and most companies had a backlog in ordering the fences. The materials were just not there. Even getting a response to our inquiries was a chore, but finally, my friend gave us the name of the company who put in her fence, and when Tom called, they were very helpful.

He drove to Tampa that day and ordered the fence and parts--the downside, he had to install the fence. It took a week for the materials to arrive.

First, he removed the chain-link gates we had on either side of our house, installed not long after we moved in. I was thankful I was on the painting project because our weather was in the low 90s and the poles were set into the ground with concrete. It was sweaty, dirty work, took him two days to accomplish, but he did it. 

The accompanying fence instructions and YouTube helped assist Tom with the rest. Every night, he skipped working out in the gym to come home and dig a hole or two, using a shovel and his gloved hands. 

Me: "What you need is a post hole digger."

Tom: "I'm impressed you even know what that is and that you know the terminology."

Me: "Please. My father taught me more than how to get along with people. If I weren't so busy on this other project, I'd have that fence erected!"

We both knew that was a lie, but I took the points on knowing tool terminology, and he took the satisfaction of having a wife that was not only gorgeous, smart, and handy but well versed in most subject matters.

Over the weekend, he really went to work. Borrowing a post hole digger from our neighbor down the street, he dug the rest of the holes and set the poles in concrete. I assisted in making sure the poles were straight, he second-guessed me and brought out the level, and it proved I knew my shit. Once the poles were ready, I hauled the slats from the driveway to Tom, who put them together like a puzzle until we had ourselves a fence line!

The gate took longer than I anticipated and required some assistance from me, but by the time Tom was finished on Sunday night, I was damn impressed. My man can put up a fence! He had to cut some slats when he got to the end, but getting to wield a power tool made that worthwhile. In the end, Tom was filthy and covered in dirt, but the fence looked great!

The next week he started on the opposite side because while we have a fence there, it ended at our neighbor's fence, so that every time her lawn guys came to mow, they could see us in the pool. There wasn't a lot of privacy, and I convinced Tom we might as well finish the job correctly. Out came the chain-link fence, and Tom extended the line to go past our pool pump with added slats to install a gate.

 

Maddy and I helped with the gate today, and the project is now in the books. Look at us, go! 

Project #3 is Darcy's closet. We found a guy, who showed up Friday to check the area, but he wanted too much money and wanted to use pre-fab crap that wouldn't allow us to do exactly what we wanted. 

Him: "The height is 87, but I can only go 84 or 79."

He also didn't quote doors in the price, and when those were added, it was $700 more. I kept texting my cousin, who has mad skills in this department--well, actually, I was corresponding with his wife--and we all agreed this was a no-go. 

I suggested Tom discuss it with our neighbor across the street--he who we really wanted for the job--and when he heard the news, he agreed he could get to it maybe next week.

Fingers crossed! Project #3, coming!