Monday, May 10, 2010

I'm still redecorating






In an effort to make over my house, I have decided (as I've mentioned) to banish the Tuscan colors--except for the gold. I love my gold kitchen, and I don't mind it as an accent color. But I have cranberry everywhere (mostly on the upstairs carpets, and elsewhere as accent color), and I've decided to do away with all the cranberry paint on the walls.

So in my living room, I painted all the cranberry in a lovely soft green shade. And I thought I'd cover up the fireplace surround with a nice darker green, but my ceilings are 23 feet tall. I had a hard time painting the light green on the little fireplace niche--I had to climb to the top of my 20 foot extension ladder, and then I was hanging on so tightly that I could barely use my paintbrush and handle the container of paint!

But I started by painting the bottom of the fireplace surround because I was eager to see what the color would look like. I painted as high as I could go in my stocking feet, then stood on a chair to paint a wee bit higher. Then, after living with it half-painted for a couple of days, I brought out the five foot ladder and painted a wee bit more. At that point I decided that I was too chicken to paint all the way up myself, even if I rented a scaffold, and it seemed silly to hire someone just to paint a single fireplace surround.

So I stopped painting, drew a tape line, and wrapped up the job. I call this design, "I'm too chicken to paint all the way and too cheap to hire someone else." :-)

Enjoy! Photos are before (gold) and after (hodgepodge).

~~Angie

10 comments:

Kathy Cassel said...

Wow. I am not good at that kind of stuff.

Anonymous said...

That's an interesting effect. I vote that you say, "I intended it to look like that." Clyde

Mocha with Linda said...

It looks great! I heart those bookshelves.

dellartist said...

Love it! Isn't it amazing what a difference just a little bit of paint can do? You have changed the whole look of the room. I don't do ladders myself so everything I do alone will always be only as far as my arms can reach.

Unknown said...

What a bright and beautiful living room!

Virginia said...

I think it looks lovely!!

Anonymous said...

It looks great and there is no way that I can stand on a ladder to do anything. I get shaky on the step-stool!

Anonymous said...

Angie, I think it is lovely and agree with Clyde's comment. Set a new artistic trend. That is how faux and marbling painting began.
Miriam

Angela said...

Thanks, everybody. And yes, after a couple of days I DID intend for it to look like that. :-)

And I love the built-in bookshelves, too. I was lucky--there are three sets built into the living room, but I could still use more. I'm planning to call a carpenter later in the month to see if we can carve out some more space for bookshelves under the stairs. After all, that is a LOT of wasted space . . . might as well fill it up with books!

Angie

Lydia said...

"I call this design, "I'm too chicken to paint all the way and too cheap to hire someone else." :-)"

Haha, I love it. :) And actually, I really like the green at the bottom and gold at the top! A happy accident. :)