So, we bought this house...
Yes, it has a purple door. Not for long.
I admit, on the outside, it looks well, a little eh. It's plain and needs a coat of paint, but we realized during our great home search that what we really needed--more than anything else--was space. Inside the house. I work at home and let's face it, we're homebodies, so we need space.
We're moving in June, so we have a few weeks to whip our space into shape. At the risk of becoming like those poor do-it-yourself-ers on TV, who find new problems every time they walk through the door, we've decided to do most of the work...well, ourselves.
And we're starting here...
and here...
Our kids have been through a lot this past year or so. Uprooting your family and moving to a new state, away from family and friends is a really scary thing...and I'm shocked at how well they've adjusted. In the fall, they'll go to yet another new school, and in order to help with that change, we're getting involved in the new community and involving them in this big house transformation.
This goes against every perfectionist bone in my ever-lovin' body.
But, it's important, I think, for all of us, to do this together.
Saturday, Sophia and I went to Home Depot for paint...
The sneaky salesman talked me into this all-in-one paint plus primer.
I gotta tell ya...don't bother. We didn't feel like it covered our dark walls well enough and ended up having to go buy primer anyway. (Lesson learned.)
We spent the day prepping the space for what would be our first "paint day" (of many, I'm sure.)
This included taking off all the trim, which we intend to paint white.
He may not look it, but my husband is darn handy. And what he doesn't know, he's willing to learn. He's more than a pretty face, that guy.
The trim removal was moving along swimmingly and then we hit a snag (or four.)
It was pulling up the drywall...and cracking in pieces...
So, it went in the garbage bucket and we had our first "happy mistake." We decided we'd purchase white trim at least 3 inches wide, which is what I wanted anyway. That way, we'd cover the problem areas and it would save us from having to paint at least these two rooms worth of trim.
Sophia was itching to paint, so we got out the sample of "darker" paint and let her go to town.
Ok. That's not entirely true. I had the sample out and did a big patch and then got a firm reprimand from my husband to "release the paintbrush" and "let the girl paint."
Nobody thought the dark gray was dark enough. The saga of picking paint colors continues...
But in the meantime, we had to get it primed. Our moods on Sunday afternoon were, let's just say...less than pretty.
But we were all ready to work.
Yep. About that ready.
If you want to involve your kids in any kind of renovation project, be prepared. They will whine over who gets what roller. They'll fight over who gets to paint what wall and chances are, they're high-pitched voices will get under your skin like an unfortunate sliver.
Prepare yourself now to avoid things like unnecessary sarcasm, which I seem to be mastering quite nicely.
Think about how happy they're going to be...
...when they stand back and look at what they helped accomplish.
Somewhere along the way there will be moments of pure bliss...when everyone is happy and getting along...
Mark these moments in your memory, the first memories in your new house.
The moment the oldest took the youngest under her wing and showed him how to help.
The moment he shouted "I can do it!" at her and she didn't even get upset...
The moment your husband waged paint wars on both older children...
...but ended up getting creamed himself.
I admit, the priming process was a bit long and tiring. At one point I thought maybe we'd bitten off more than we could chew (given that we want to pretty much paint the entire house before we move in...)
But we're doing it, little by little, and our kids are along for the ride.
It wasn't always smooth. There were globs of paint I had to smooth out (namely from my husband who kept insisting "it's just primer" and "it doesn't have to be perfect...")
Which may have annoyed me a little until I saw how dedicated he was to this cause...
It's coming along nicely, and already the space feels so much brighter. Overall, a productive weekend...
We'll make this our home yet. It's just going to take a lot of hard work.
...to be continued...
