I Want to Paint it Black

I spent the holiday weekend getting a root canal and taking on a difficult home improvement project that involves some pesky walls. The walls are, after much difficulty, finally primed with white paint. They will eventually be a very pretty cream color with white trim. The combination that reminds me of English row houses and is very calming unlike the painting process to date.

So why the pictures of black walls? The whole time I've been sanding, scraping, stripping and washing down these hard-to-tame walls, I've been dreaming of painting them black. Well actually just one of the four. I think it's a good thing the cream paint has already been purchased, because while I like black walls, I don't think the house needs any more character at present.

Photo 1 via Four Walls and a Roof
Photo 2 via Just Beautiful Things
Photo 3 via Artnlight

When Life Gives You Lemons

That saying was running through my head all day today. Not only was I painting walls which I do not enjoy, but it wasn't going well. I managed to paint the first coat of the powder room just fine, despite the space being so tiny that it was hard not to bump the walls with the ladder let alone my own body parts.

The really lemony part of the day kicked in when I tried to prime the laundry room walls. I have worked so hard to get those walls ready to paint. I sanded them for hours to get off wallpaper glue and rough spots from the old wallpaper being removed. I finally decided good enough, they will never be perfectly smooth. I started to paint and the paint bubbled. I had to scrape it all off. Whatever kind of paint was originally put on the walls nothing wants to stick to it. I was beyond tears.

Sadly, there was no gin and tonic waiting to nudge me away from the edge. Happily, I happened upon this poster tonight which brought a smile to my face if not a return to sanity.

Via A Cup of Jo