Weekend of Painting #1 - The Lounge Room
The lounge room is the biggest room in the house (40m2 for the walls alone). So we figured this is where we would start! It also helped that we had given most of downstairs a good clean with sugar soap before moving in. First up we had to pick the colors. The ceiling and cornices was easy, white! This also meant only one coat. However for the walls Ruby wanted a color that matched well with our red couch. Initially she was aiming for a coffee or a dark beige color. The closest color she found in the Taubmans range is called 'Pale Amber'. Whilst the final result is more like caramel we were very pleased with the result!
Before (taken during the painting prep. Note how nicely the Air Conditioning is wrapped!!)
After
Weekend of Painting #2 - Kitchen and Dining Room
After the success of the Lounge Room (we had forgotten how tired we were on the Sunday night!) we decided to get in quickly and paint the Kitchen, Dining Room and Stairwell. As it turned out this area was nearly as large as the lounge room so we stopped halfway up the stairs (leaving upstairs for another weekend). This time round we wanted a contrasting color to the lounge room. We wanted a shade of blue and the nearest was a deep shade of blue with a hint of purple called 'Hydrangea'. The Kitchen / Dining Room was more tricky than the lounge room. The lounge room was basically several large walls, the kitchen has many smaller walls which were fiddly took just as much time to paint.
Before
After
Weekend of Painting #3 - Laundry and downstairs toilet
To finish off downstairs we painted the laundry and downstairs toilet the same color as the lounge room.
Before
After
Weekend of Painting #4 - Upstairs Hallway
We decided to keep the same 'Hydrangea' color going up the stairwell and into the upstairs hallway. First we had to patch all the holes and scratches. Stairwells seem to always get knocks and scratches! We also had to sugar soap the walls as we had not done any of the upstairs before moving in. Fortunately most of the stairwell is brick, so there was less painting.
Before
After
Weekend(s) of Redecorating - Curtains, Couch and Picture Frames
Soon after painting the lounge room we found and bought curtains that matched the color of the lounge room walls. These, however, required hemming and new curtain rods to be put up. The hemming proved to be a big task as we didn't have a space like a dining table to do all the work on. After the first (smallest) set of curtains Ruby was adamant that for it to be finished we would need to buy a dining table. I reckoned that with the painting work to be done before our housewarming there was no way we could look for, buy and have one delivered before the end of the year. Ruby, resoundingly, proved me wrong! Within a week she had found a table on eBay, won the auction and picked up the table (well with a bit of ute driving help from me). After the arrival of the dining table we were able to get the curtains done much more easily.
For our first anniversary I bought Ruby the 'Prison' mirror she has been hinting at for a while and put it on the wall in opposite the front door. At the same time I hung a few family pictures and wedding photos on the lounge room walls.
Late in November we replaced the blinds in both the Study and Guest bedrooms and replaced the curtain in the Guest room. By replacing the worn out blinds these rooms, which get quite hot in summer, are much cooler. However the study probably also needs a new curtain, maybe next year...
Last Updated: 21st April 2004
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