A Fresh Coat of Paint

A fresh coat of paint. That was how this adventure began - it sounds innocent enough doesn't it? My thought was to finally put on that fresh coat of paint our front room and living room had been crying for, but as you will see my single thought grew, and grew and grew!


I went to Lowe's by myself to pick the paint. I had an idea in my head and knew I would meet resistance from Brian if I picked anything not in the "white" family. Caribou is the color I decided upon - it is a warm brown - looks a little like chocolate milk - like the good kind - Shamrock Farms (hey a selling point to Brian - he loves chocolate milk!). I find a neutral off white color for the doors and trim - bread dough (again another selling point to Brian - likes the bread too!). As you can see I was gearing up to break the news to Brian that I had bought 5 gallons of Caribou and 1 gallon of Bread Dough. I have to give him credit - he indulged me and just shook his head and smiled - gotta love that guy! He did express concern just about the time he helped me by painting the ceiling in the front room - but I'm pretty sure I heard him muttering under his breath, "It does look like Chocolate Milk. It does look like Chocolate Milk."



While helping me paint the ceiling, he (wonderful intuitive guy that he is) said he thought we should pull up the ugly linoleum and carpet and price tiling the floor. It seemed out of our budget, but then Chip (a friend from church) gave us an estimate that was within the budget. This was what I had hoped for - new flooring - but I had been pretty sure Brian would not go for it, so I didn't even bring it up. We picked out some really pretty tile and Chip began the job of laying it. We opted for the hallway, front room, nook, kitchen and Arizona room to be done. We asked him to lay it diagonally.



Painting was halted until the flooring was done - oh how pretty the tile looks. It is a few shades lighter than the walls with grouting just about the same shade. It looks good! Painting resumed and was coming along pretty good and I sprung my idea of crown molding along the ceiling/wall seam in the front room. Brian thought he could do it since he was already planning on replacing the base boards where the tile was laid. I have to say he did a wonderful job on both jobs. It has made such a difference in how the room looks.

Next we decided to buy a new couch (thank goodness for 18 months same as cash at Sam Levitz). We picked an off white sectional - oh so comfortable! We then painted our old entertainment center - well actually Brian did that! It really stands out in our Caribou room!

Brian redid part of his arrowhead collection in new frames so that each display matched. I arranged his insulators atop of the bookcases and his bottle collection on the entertainment section. It looks good - I am thankful he is a collector! It sets off the room very nicely. I made a few floral wreaths - purple for the front room and an off-white one for the livingroom. Then we added a couple of red throws and I did a fresh coat of red on the front door and I think we are done.

God was so good to us during this redo - everything working out like it did. We pray that this makes our home a warm, welcoming place for the people God brings our way - family, friends and friends to be.