And other philosophical thoughts had while painting my kitchen. White. I painted it white.
I went in thinking it would be a quick paint job. I only had to paint the upper portion of the wall, the lower part already had white bead board wallpaper.
I gathered my stuff, took off some switch plates and got to work. Painted a small section and stepped back to take it in. That was the oh crap moment. White. That white is a tricky little color. I only thought the beadboard was white. In reality, next to the newly painted swiss coffee white wall, my beadboard was gray. And not trendy, cool gray. It was dirty, dingy grey. Yuk.
Not a great picture, but trust me, it looked very dreary and very sad.
I had to remind myself, never make a decision about paint with that first swipe of paint. It almost never looks good until you get the second coat on the wall. I kept reminding myself of that as I trudged on singing oh no, what have I done, what have I done...
So I made my way around the room. One coat, two coats. It was a learning process. I learned I really need and ipod, more on that later. I also learned that your trim may be white, you may be sure your trim is white. If it has been a few years since it was painted white, it probably isn't really white anymore. Want to find out how white your trim really is, or isn't in my case, paint the wall next to it white. That brings me to my final lesson learned. Never assume a paint job is going to be quick and easy.
Know where this is going? Yep, Almost every inch of my kitchen is getting painted. Including the upper cabinets.
The house was quiet as I painted, no one home but me and Toby. In the quiet, various songs played in my head. The first had been playing for a while before I consciously realized I was singing onward christian soldiers, marching as to war...
Why? Why is this song playing continuously in my head as I paint. No idea. Seamlessly the soundtrack changed and then Bad, ba-a-ad, blood, blo-o-od, is takin' you for a ride. The only good thing about bad blood... again, WHY??? Have I heard these songs recently? I have no idea. I don't even like Neil Sedaka and though I love old hymns, Onward Christian Soldiers is not a favorite.
If this painting continues much longer, I have got to get an ipod!
Really, you had to know this was not going to be a "quick paint job"! Is there such a thing???? Just think how much cleaning you will get done with this quick, little project ;-)
Posted by: Kelli | January 20, 2011 at 09:32 AM
I just went through this painting my bedroom. I thought I could get away without doing the trim. I mean it still looks good right? Wrong! 5 year old White is no longer White! It is a slightly, sickly cream. And to make matters worse, the white trim was painted with latex while the doors were painted in oil. Great.
But loooove white kitchens, and am sure yours will look simply wonderful like the rest of your brilliant projects ;)
Lisa
PS Painted my bedroom in Borrowed Light Farrow and Ball colour and it is smashing! Have you ever tried it?
Posted by: Lisa | January 20, 2011 at 09:36 AM
Guess I'm lazy. I would have just changed paint color. But, if you had your heart set on white then best to all out and not regret a new paint color! Have fun! ;)
Posted by: Denise Fahr | January 20, 2011 at 10:20 AM
If your budget is like mine (meaning you can't spend money on an Ipod) you might want to try pandora.com. You can make your own radio station from music you like. I just turn up my desktop speakers and sing away!
Posted by: michele | January 20, 2011 at 11:04 AM
There is no such thing as a quick paint job. Not for me anyway. And I second the Pandora suggestion!
Posted by: the Iowa Expat | January 20, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Oooh; I'm feeling really bad for you right now. Yet, it will look so fresh when it's done - alllllll of it - that you will be happy. You probably just can't see that far ahead of the paint cans yet!
Jenn
Posted by: Jenn | January 20, 2011 at 01:33 PM
I was going to say the same as Jenn above: it'll look so lovely once its done, and you'll get a lot out of it. It will be worth it! How exciting :) I have to do mine, and was going to touch up the (cream) walls. However, after reading this I have made a mental note that 'touch-ups' are never straightforward! Good luck with the rest of the painting!
Posted by: Me | January 20, 2011 at 02:04 PM
You.....deserve an ipod!
Can you believe how many different shades of white there are? I found out the hard way:(
Posted by: Bridgette | January 20, 2011 at 04:49 PM