Here's what our dining room looks like at the moment. Pretty much every plant, picture and tchotchke we own is crammed in there, out of the way of the painters.
As I write I am lying in the middle of our very blue bedroom, where the bed is still far from the walls as they dry. Weirdly, I don't smell paint very strongly, but I think that has more to do with my nose than the room. I really should have my sinuses looked at. I can't smell anything anymore, but in this case it's probably just as well.
Here are some "before" shots. Above, our old gray/brown paint, with most everything cleared out of the bedroom. This has all been painted over now. Dave expressed doubts about the blue paint last night. "I hate to say I told you so," I said -- and he replied, "Did I choose that?"
Ummmm...yes. Yes, you did.
The funny thing is, I actually like it, though the darker blue does make the room look smaller. Maybe when we move everything back in again it will look more normal. Photos to come.
And here's our mostly cleared-out living room, awaiting repainting. We eventually rolled up the rug and moved that big yucca into...
...the hallway, along with the fiddle-leaf fig. These plants are so big and heavy we couldn't get them any farther than that.
We moved our Dracaena forest temporarily into the front hallway.
I will be so glad when all this is over and the house is put back together. Having everything topsy-turvy makes me tense. And to make matters worse, the tree guy is coming today to remove our fallen branch and kill the ivy growing up the elders at the back of the garden. I have a real sense of dread about losing the ivy but I suppose it has to be done.
I know what you mean! The problem with loving one's surroundings clean and tidy is that one really suffers when everything has to be moved around. When I swapped my bedroom and living room in 2016 plus had both rooms redecorated, it all had to be done while I was living there. Only when in 2019 I had my bathroom makeover, I had to move to my sister's for three weeks, since I could not stay in a flat without a toilet. Living on my own and not having a cat anymore made things somewhat easier, but I was VERY glad when I was finally able to move everything to its proper place.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you about a disorganised home. It makes me stressed and I just want it all back to normal. Your before bedroom photo shows a lovely room for sleeping. I can't see why it needs repainting. All in all, your home looks very nice in spite of being disorganised.
ReplyDeleteAn indoor garden is exciting but, perhaps you have too many plants. But chaos must reign if you want the place painted.
ReplyDeleteHope that you will show the new blue bedroom. I thought I had a lot of plants but you win by a long way......you will have to raise your ceilings soon to accommodate some of those tall ones!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness it's only for a couple of days. My stress-o-meter would have been through the roof.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the end results.
It's sad to lose the ivy at this time of year as it will be full of bugs, it's much needed shelter. We had a dark blue bedroom back in the 80's, I disliked it at first, but soon found it was very calming to sleep in.
ReplyDeleteI hate topsy turvy but it is a good reason to look at all you have, if you want it and if you want it where it was. At least, that's what I keep telling myself as I try to look at all that needs to be done here and trying to deal with it one step at a time. Actually, your place looks great but I know how disconcerting it is to be in chaos. It sounds like the work is being done fairly quickly, though. Too bad its tree stress as well as painting stress on the same week.
ReplyDeleteI always feel unsettled when we have tradesmen in our house. Maybe it's a primeval territorial instinct. Get out of my cave buddy! Perhaps Dave should stick to music and leave appearances largely up to you. I would hate to have dark blue in our bedroom.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of stuff makes us feel unsettled, too. What a lot of work you had to prepare for them. We had a smallish dining room in our house in Connecticut with big, old dark dining room furniture -- large table and 6 chairs, sideboard, China closet. We painted the walls dark teal green and the dark furniture retreated into the dark walls and the room actually looked bigger. When we see you, we’ll tell you about our batik blue hallway in San Diego.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing the bedroom. I am one of those people that believes dark colors make a room appear larger because the corners recede. We have a few dark rooms in our house and they don't feel small.
ReplyDeleteI do like your Dining Room Garden Center™ though.
I would feel unsettled myself with everything askew. I am looking forward to seeing the new colors!
ReplyDeleteToo much stress! Also, Steve, I will be completely honest with you- if I had a brown bedroom I would die of depression. DIE! I tell you. I do want to see what the dark blue looks like.
ReplyDeleteI sort of love your house-jungle but it is disconcerting to live in a topsy turvy world. I hope all will be settled down and put right soon.
Paint has come a LONG way in how many Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) they contain these days. I don't know if that is just PR or laws, but it is welcome on my part. I remember in the good old days having to vent rooms for several days after painting to rid the VOCs and now, I don't even wear a mask when painting anymore.
ReplyDeleteI think this is why we've never had anything painted or rugs cleaned in any of our rental homes - we can't handle the chaos! Well, I'm pretty lazy.
ReplyDeleteDon't think smaller bedroom...think cosy...
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel about having everything out of place. That would find that uncomfortable too. Good luck with the rest of the job.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter painted her small bathroom dark green and it looks great. Is it just the brown wall that is blue or all the walls and ceiling? And you have a regular forest in your house! Doesn't seem like so many they're all spread out.
ReplyDeleteHope the painters are quick and everything is back in place soon. Looking forward to the photos of the new colors...
ReplyDeleteThat looks like our house all of the time...Always in a state of maybe this , maybe that? Chaos is our comfort zone i guess. Change of color takes a while to settle- you will probably love it when all is done and you are moved in with your blue bedding and blue pajamas.
ReplyDeletePainting rooms in a house is a challenge. Moving all our stuff takes time.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing the blue!! I'd be ready to have them out of the house and everything back to normal, as well.
ReplyDelete