How I got distracted with home projects and forgot to write this newsletter
Accidentally putting a hole in the wall, setting out on a tear of tiny improvements, and 10 project ideas that are filed away in my brain
PAINT PROJECT TURNED WALL REDO
My mom came over this weekend to help with a project and we caused a little trouble in the process…
Halfway through a Saturday afternoon painting project, I looked over at my mom — who was splattered in paint, standing on the other side of my bedroom — and said, conspiratorially, “Since we’re already here, what if we just replaced this door, too?”
I had called my mom early that morning to ask her if she’d be willing to help me paint my bedroom. It was a caffeine-fueled and somewhat manic idea and I knew she’d probably be up for it. That’s how — after moving furniture out of the room, tacos for lunch, a trip to the paint store, a drop-by visit from a friend, and two hours of painting — Mom and I put a hole in the wall while trying to pry a piece of wood off the sheetrock.
The door I wanted to replace led to my en suite bathroom and was this noisy barn door that drove me crazy because it looked out of place in our 1930s cottage. When we started the painting project, the plan was to simply paint the barn door to match the walls and wait until a later point to find a replacement. But I didn’t want to put the door back up. So, the project expanded a little to include a new paint job for the bedroom and a new door for the bathroom. Naturally.
And this is what my husband calls, “scope creep.” It happens when you start a project and then think of ways to improve the project while you are at work. Inevitably, you make your project more elaborate and challenging than what you first set out to do. Often, you cause problems for yourself along the way.
One thing led to another and this is what I can say about the project: The hammer went through the sheetrock, we created more holes in the walls in the process, and we eventually called my dad. He came over and pried off the board in seconds and then went to the store to find the tools we needed to patch the wall. My Father’s Day gift to him was the comedic entertainment Mom and I provided when we FaceTimed him from atop a too-tall ladder pointing to the hole we had created in the wall.
It only took a few more hours of painting work and some patching to finish up the space. After the big mistake of the hole through the wall, the smaller painting imperfections seemed less problematic. The last hour sounded like this:
Mom, under her breath, “Oop, I got some paint on the window.”
Me, in response, “It doesn’t matter, no one will see it up there.”
And then, again, two minutes later, me to Mom, “Eeesh, I got blue on the door trim.”
“Ah, no one will notice it.”
And repeat, until the room was done.
To be fair, I do notice the comically imperfect line of paint when I’m laying in bed staring up at the base of the crown molding. But I sleep just fine.
The satisfaction of the project, of the happy-but-calming blue on the walls, was overwhelming. I’ve wanted to paint a room in the house for months now but I have put it off and put it off again. It is not a complicated or costly project, but I have delayed it time and time again for fear of choosing a paint color I regret or wearing myself out on a weekend. These are the small fictions I allow myself to keep from making a decision or settling on a choice. Saying “yes” to something, and reconciling the “no” that it means for another opportunity, feels too costly some days. I guess it’s safe to say that I prefer endless possibilities over limited actualities. But that is not how life goes.
The thrill of the finally-painted bedroom sent me on a tear of minor home improvements. I rearranged the furniture, sourced art from the antique store, and purchased a new duvet cover. Each time, I wondered: Was this the right choice? Do I really like this art? Should I just put the furniture back? This was a small thing, not a major life decision, I know. But when faced with any option, any choice, I want to choose the right thing, the best thing, the most important thing, the prettiest thing, and the superior thing. I mull things over until I mull myself over, and then the stakes seem higher and staying stationary seems better.
But I had fun starting a project, derailing the project, causing a problem, fixing it, or rather, calling for help. It was good to go for something, to be impulsive in a small way, and to see that even if you cause bigger problems for yourself in the process, it’ll all sort out eventually.
10 THINGS TO DO FOR FUN
Just my running list of project ideas
1. Buy a bunch of magazines (old and new), cut out pictures that you like, and tack them up to a corkboard to display somewhere that you see often.
2. Paint a room in your house a bright, happy color that seems bold to you. (Check!)
3. When you visit your family this summer, collect old photos (or have copies made) to display at home. Frame them and hang them up in a group or get small prints to set out on a tabletop in a vintage mail holder or a toast rack.
4. Bake this confetti cake.
5. Rearrange the furniture and swap seating between rooms.
6. Do like you did in elementary school and write a name poem, or an acrostic using a favorite word. Tape it to the wall in your closet or onto a mirror.
7. Create a tiny herb garden using terracotta pots.
8. Make lemonade. This is the best recipe I’ve tried.
9. Hang a handful of decorative plates above a doorway or window.
10. Cluster a few wooden shelves together on a wall and place items of the same kind on each shelf to showcase a collection (like these pitchers).
GOOD CHOICE
For your next painting project
I learned this weekend just how many paint types there are to choose from when you’re painting your room. It’s overwhelming. I went with Sherwin Williams’ “Cashmere” line in eggshell, because it had good reviews and we have a store down the street. I matched it to a Farrow and Ball color called “Lulworth Blue.” The blue is rich and the light bounces off the walls perfectly because of the paint’s subtle sheen.
NEXT WEEK
Notes on this old house
Let’s discuss old houses that I love, historic preservation, and life in old, creaky homes that are full of character.
All the best,
Mary Grace