Last weekend we selected carpet for the guest rooms and on Friday afternoon they came out to measure and work up an estimate. They called as promised to deliver a quote- love when things occur as scheduled. The gentleman who called was cheery and pleasant. It soon became apparent why. Should I accept his estimate, he could easily afford to put his children through college, take them to Disney, and still have money left over for a shopping spree at Reny's. Apparently I have good taste and/or I chose carpet spun with gold thread. I was stunned. Speechless. During my stunned silence the carpet magnate started mentally subtracting the embroidered mouse ears and dinner at Cinderella's castle from his vacation itinerary. When I told him I'd be in touch if we decided to proceed, he offered some suggestions that were more in the community college and camping price range. It's just as well that the hardwood floor guy didn't return my email and call from earlier in the week. I'm going to need time to research the black market to see how much kidneys are going for these days before we can discuss the staircase and hallway.
After a long walk on the beach, we stopped in to visit the rug guy and came to an agreement. Still a little shell-shocked but excited to have a plan, we head home to get ready to head to an Easter celebration with my family. My phone rings, a Maine number. Honest to God, I thought it was the rug guy saying that my credit card was being rejected. But no, it was...you guessed it- the hard wood floor guy! Apparently he did respond to my email but the address got messed up. He was close by and could stop by and take a look at the job and work out an estimate. Sure! What the hell. Why not?He was a nice guy. Local, been in business for 20 plus years. He has a website that showed a picture of him and his family. His kids look smart. I wonder what their college plans are....
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Do Thumbtacks=Happiness?
Even though I've recognized my wallpaper heritage, it doesn't really help me. Wallpaper is currently out of fashion. Once again, I'm slightly behind the trends- not a big surprise if you know me at all. As I was taping woodwork and "cutting in" near the ceiling in the guest rooms, I started to realize that I was about to eradicate the presence of the former tenants of these rooms and I didn't really know too much about the former occupants of our new home.
What I do know is that the owners each had 3 children, all girls, 5 of which are in college and one is still in high school. Six girls. According to the realtor and the tape on the basement floor; the parents used to hang curtain partitions in the basement and had cots so when they all came home from school on break they each had some "privacy"- if you call living in the unfinished basement on a cot privacy. I'm sure it was a slice of heaven.
But let's leave the basement and head back up to the second floor guest rooms and the plethora of holes in the walls. I have to assume that the parents sacrificed the thumbtack battle in hopes of winning a more significant dispute somewhere else down the line. I must have spackled hundreds of thumbtack holes between the two rooms. The walls looked like they had chicken pox when I was done. Who were these girls and what did they have hanging on the walls? We're they happy? I kind of have to assume they were because it would freak me out to have a negative vibe hanging around the place. My preference is to think about happy memories that no doubt occurred in those rooms: Christmas morning, getting ready for their first dates, studying for their drivers license, sleep overs with best friends- those types of memories. Not about the tears, fights with siblings, heartbreak, or the dart tournaments they obviously held in their rooms. Seriously, what was going on with all the holes in the walls?? So as I painted over the robins egg blue and chocolate brown I said goodbye to the previous occupants and hoped that they enjoyed their time in the house. I'm looking forward inviting family and friends to stay in those rooms and help us build our own catalog of happy memories- once their luggage has been screened for thumbtacks.
What I do know is that the owners each had 3 children, all girls, 5 of which are in college and one is still in high school. Six girls. According to the realtor and the tape on the basement floor; the parents used to hang curtain partitions in the basement and had cots so when they all came home from school on break they each had some "privacy"- if you call living in the unfinished basement on a cot privacy. I'm sure it was a slice of heaven.
But let's leave the basement and head back up to the second floor guest rooms and the plethora of holes in the walls. I have to assume that the parents sacrificed the thumbtack battle in hopes of winning a more significant dispute somewhere else down the line. I must have spackled hundreds of thumbtack holes between the two rooms. The walls looked like they had chicken pox when I was done. Who were these girls and what did they have hanging on the walls? We're they happy? I kind of have to assume they were because it would freak me out to have a negative vibe hanging around the place. My preference is to think about happy memories that no doubt occurred in those rooms: Christmas morning, getting ready for their first dates, studying for their drivers license, sleep overs with best friends- those types of memories. Not about the tears, fights with siblings, heartbreak, or the dart tournaments they obviously held in their rooms. Seriously, what was going on with all the holes in the walls?? So as I painted over the robins egg blue and chocolate brown I said goodbye to the previous occupants and hoped that they enjoyed their time in the house. I'm looking forward inviting family and friends to stay in those rooms and help us build our own catalog of happy memories- once their luggage has been screened for thumbtacks.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Wallpaper- It's Genetic
Growing up we were a wallpaper family. My mother wallpapered and I'm fairly sure her mother wallpapered. I don't recall a room in our house without wallpaper- flowers in the kitchen, historical minutemen in the finished basement, ballerinas, hearts and flowers in the girls bedrooms, sport themes in my brother's basement bedroom, something fancy with stripes in the parlor and the list goes on and on. We'd spend hours pouring over the big wall paper books you borrowed from the store. Those books were better than a Sears catalog at Christmas. I would choose paper for each room in my imaginary house. We always has extra wallpaper hanging around and occasionally my mother would let me cover my text books in wallpaper instead of brown paper grocery bags. Man, I was so proud of those gaudy book covers!
As I was removing a hideous dark brown and silver flowered wall of wallpaper from our upstairs guest room, another wallpaper memory hit me. My parents were no fools, they enticed my young neighborhood friends into helping with a wallpaper removal project by dangling a forbidden treat before us- permission to write on the walls! Once the paper was removed there was always a lag before the new paper arrived and all the kids that helped were allowed to use the bare walls as a canvas for whatever our brains could come up with. This was long before computers and printers and an abundance of scrap paper. The walls were the ultimate sketch book! We'd put our thoughts, dreams, artwork, grievances & tic tack toe games on every possible surface and then eventually Mom would cover it over with paper, creating a time capsule just waiting to be discovered. As an adult, I was given glimpses into my pre-teen self when my parents redecorated various rooms.
Writing on the walls and flashy book covers. My paint paralysis makes complete sense to me now. Like my ancestors before me, I'm a wallpaper person!
As I was removing a hideous dark brown and silver flowered wall of wallpaper from our upstairs guest room, another wallpaper memory hit me. My parents were no fools, they enticed my young neighborhood friends into helping with a wallpaper removal project by dangling a forbidden treat before us- permission to write on the walls! Once the paper was removed there was always a lag before the new paper arrived and all the kids that helped were allowed to use the bare walls as a canvas for whatever our brains could come up with. This was long before computers and printers and an abundance of scrap paper. The walls were the ultimate sketch book! We'd put our thoughts, dreams, artwork, grievances & tic tack toe games on every possible surface and then eventually Mom would cover it over with paper, creating a time capsule just waiting to be discovered. As an adult, I was given glimpses into my pre-teen self when my parents redecorated various rooms.
Writing on the walls and flashy book covers. My paint paralysis makes complete sense to me now. Like my ancestors before me, I'm a wallpaper person!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Making This House Our Home
In December 2012, my husband and I took a big step toward our retirement and purchased what we hope is our northern retirement residence. We bought a house in a coastal town in southern Maine, about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house in Massachusetts.
We have spent the weekends of the past three months learning about the house we bought, purchasing essentials, entertaining a few friends and family, and shoveling- oh god don't forget to mention the shoveling. We live in New England, we get snow but boy has this been an interesting winter. All of the storms have occurred on the weekends. Every. Single. Weekend. My husband has become a pro at loading and unloading the snowblower onto the back of his truck. But despite the snow and occasional blizzard, we are starting to settle into our house in Maine.
It's been interesting seeing this town in the winter rather than summer. We're learning which businesses stay open for the winter and which ones take advantage of the season to take a much deserved break. We're exploring the beaches and wondering if the town will clean up the mess Mother Nature brought to the shore. Restaurants are beginning to reopen and construction is getting underway at different locations. Spring is coming! But wait, Spring and Summer mean beaches, vacations and relaxing and the house isn't ready to host anyone unless they want to sleep in sleeping bags on some clean but questionably stained guest room floors. Hmm... We need to get moving if we want to enjoy the house and summer season.
First, let me say that the house we bought is beautiful and for the two of us, fully functional. We have bedroom and living room furniture, a dining room table and the kitchen is fairly well equipped. The first floor is "fine." Our guest bedrooms on the second floor have nothing in them. Nothing except some horrific paint colors on the walls and some sketchy carpet. OK- we're going to get serious and tackle the upstairs and that means paint. Oh crap. I get a pit in my stomach when faced with a wall of paint chip samples- it's absolutely paralyzing. Serious anxiety. We lived with white walls for years because I couldn't bring myself to pick a color. It is a stupid thing, I mean it's a paint color for goodness sakes. My anxiety is compounded by my husbands color blindness. He has a hard time distinguishing shades of color and colors look "the same" to him. Sea foam and lime green are pretty much indistinguishable.
OK, deep breath- I can do this. But Sand turns out to be boring beige, Frappe is a dark brown with green, and London Coach is PURPLE! I can't remember the names of the other two samples we put on the wall but one was orange and the other tuned out to be a deep brown. How can paint chips look like one pretty, soothing color on the sample card and turn into a disaster on the wall?? We were trying for a sand color- a slight cliche but we don't want seashells and light houses everywhere, we just wanted bring the colors of the beach to our walls. Easier said than done. At this point I need help. Someone at work mentioned she just painted her family room a gray with light blue tones in it. Wonderful! Perfect! Forget the sand, we'll go with sky and water instead. Actually I would have went with just about anything at this point. Off to Home Depot I go and I come home with sample jar #6. Please God, let this color look halfway decent. And guess what? We have a winner!! AND, while I was at the store, I found another color that could work in the other guest room. I'm practically dizzy with excitement or is it paint fumes?
Welcome to our home Sterling and Desert Spring! Believe me when I tell you that you are a much anticipated addition to our home.
We have spent the weekends of the past three months learning about the house we bought, purchasing essentials, entertaining a few friends and family, and shoveling- oh god don't forget to mention the shoveling. We live in New England, we get snow but boy has this been an interesting winter. All of the storms have occurred on the weekends. Every. Single. Weekend. My husband has become a pro at loading and unloading the snowblower onto the back of his truck. But despite the snow and occasional blizzard, we are starting to settle into our house in Maine.
It's been interesting seeing this town in the winter rather than summer. We're learning which businesses stay open for the winter and which ones take advantage of the season to take a much deserved break. We're exploring the beaches and wondering if the town will clean up the mess Mother Nature brought to the shore. Restaurants are beginning to reopen and construction is getting underway at different locations. Spring is coming! But wait, Spring and Summer mean beaches, vacations and relaxing and the house isn't ready to host anyone unless they want to sleep in sleeping bags on some clean but questionably stained guest room floors. Hmm... We need to get moving if we want to enjoy the house and summer season.
First, let me say that the house we bought is beautiful and for the two of us, fully functional. We have bedroom and living room furniture, a dining room table and the kitchen is fairly well equipped. The first floor is "fine." Our guest bedrooms on the second floor have nothing in them. Nothing except some horrific paint colors on the walls and some sketchy carpet. OK- we're going to get serious and tackle the upstairs and that means paint. Oh crap. I get a pit in my stomach when faced with a wall of paint chip samples- it's absolutely paralyzing. Serious anxiety. We lived with white walls for years because I couldn't bring myself to pick a color. It is a stupid thing, I mean it's a paint color for goodness sakes. My anxiety is compounded by my husbands color blindness. He has a hard time distinguishing shades of color and colors look "the same" to him. Sea foam and lime green are pretty much indistinguishable.
OK, deep breath- I can do this. But Sand turns out to be boring beige, Frappe is a dark brown with green, and London Coach is PURPLE! I can't remember the names of the other two samples we put on the wall but one was orange and the other tuned out to be a deep brown. How can paint chips look like one pretty, soothing color on the sample card and turn into a disaster on the wall?? We were trying for a sand color- a slight cliche but we don't want seashells and light houses everywhere, we just wanted bring the colors of the beach to our walls. Easier said than done. At this point I need help. Someone at work mentioned she just painted her family room a gray with light blue tones in it. Wonderful! Perfect! Forget the sand, we'll go with sky and water instead. Actually I would have went with just about anything at this point. Off to Home Depot I go and I come home with sample jar #6. Please God, let this color look halfway decent. And guess what? We have a winner!! AND, while I was at the store, I found another color that could work in the other guest room. I'm practically dizzy with excitement or is it paint fumes?
Welcome to our home Sterling and Desert Spring! Believe me when I tell you that you are a much anticipated addition to our home.
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