Seeing Red
If I blink twice, it will have been a year since we moved into this house. In the eleven months since we tripled the amount of space we had to live in, we've tried to make a little headway in cleaning up the disaster zone that came with buying a foreclosure. First we focused on the kajillion plumbing issues, then some of the landscaping, and then we set our sights on the painting. OH, THE PAINTING.
The painting is still very, very, very far from done and likely will stay that way until the weather turns miserable and cold again. We did, however, manage to kick some ass in the room that mattered most--the master bedroom. In case you weren't around when we moved or you have forgotten, the master bedroom was half painted in dried cow blood when we moved in.
I wish I were kidding. I'm not.
It's a huuuuuge room and the painting was so horribly randomly awful, I couldn't even be in there for five minutes without getting a serious case of The Rages.
It took three gallons of paint to cover the walls and since there was tons of that awful red splattered on the ceiling, we had to paint that, too. That took another two gallons. It wasn't the worst painting task we've taken on in this house, but that's probably mostly because it was easily the most rewarding. See? MUCH BETTER.
The walls are off-white while the ceiling and all of the accessories are robins egg blue. I have a plan that I need to execute for getting some art on those walls, but that's not what is currently bothering me in that room. What's currently bothering me in there is that there is a spot, next to the TV, where the soothing whitish color has chipped off, revealing the anger-inducing red beneath.
It. drives. me. batty.
I notice it daily, but never at a time when I could go dig up a can of paint to fix the spot. It'll take ten minutes, tops, but I have to actually start in order to get it done. In fact, I would go fix it right this second, but Alexis is sleeping in that very bed, and you are out of your mind if you think I'm willing to risk waking her up in order to put an end to the madness that is that red spot.
It taunts me. It mocks me. It tortures me. I'd still rather look at it than deal with a cranky 4-year old.
Earlier I was helping Alexis with the nightly tooth-brushing/pajama finding/book reading project when I noticed Ali acting crazy in the bedroom. She was leaping into the air and attacking the wall. Nay, she was attacking the spot.
With a chuckle, I listened as Mr. Husband told me that she tries to attack that spot all the time. It's a little too high for her to reach, but apparently she leaps into the air and smacks at it wildly before crashing back to the floor. I picked her up to show her it wasn't anything worth having a fit over, and she went BALLISTIC.
People, she had a full on temper tantrum as she tried to murder that one inch chunk of awful red paint.
Somebody please invent a paintbrush a cat can use. Ali spends her days in that room and it sure would be handy if she would touch it up for me.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Reader Comments (23)
LOVE the new colors of the bedroom! Looks really relaxing.
I'd be tempted to never paint over it. Seeing the cat go ballistic would be way too much fun.
Oh wow. Love the colors. Like love love.
Hate painting but love the big pay off when it is such a great difference.
LOVE the room! It looks sooo very relaxing! Love the chandelier, too! And the exclamation points!!!! :D
Have you seen the little rollers that have a canister that you fill with your paint color? It comes with a lid, so you do your touch up, cap it, and put it away ready for the next touch up. No clean up. You need one, to place in your bedside draw, so next time a peice of paint chips off you have your paint right there.
It's so soothingly peaceful looking in there. And I love the ceiling.
LOVE the blue and Ali is awesome.
We have two cats and they would gladly help Ali murder the offensive spot. Then they'd invite her to our house to help in their on-going attack on the plastic screw covers on our refrigerator door. I'm pretty sure they have plans for a coordinated offensive scratched on the inside of the litter box.
I love that light! Where did you get it? I also love that shade of blue. How did you guys paint the ceiling? My neck hurts just thinking about it!
Hahahhaaha! It must piss her off, too! When she gets a little older and can reach the spot, you should just dip her paws in the white paint and every time she jumps up she can make a little white spot!
@Jen--The light is from Overstock--http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Iron-and-Crystal-5-light-Chandelier/3285774/product.html/. I painted it copper to be a little more matchy matchy with some of the other stuff in the room.
The ceiling was easy to paint. Just a roller with an extendable rod. The walls on the side where the ceiling is really high were the real pain in the ass, but even that just required about 23562 trips up and down a ladder. Behr paint that already has the primer in it is MAGIC.
I absolutely love the way you redecorated your room- the painting color on the ceiling and white on the walls is genius! Works so well with the super-high ceilings you have. And that light is fabulous.
Does Ali have a fee schedule for her painting service? I have a few rooms that need some attention...
REDRUM! REDRUM!
That cat's just dialed into the bad mojo there...
@Jen--I stole the paint scheme idea from some architectural magazine. I wish it were an original idea because it was a FANTASTIC idea.
Ew. I had forgotten about the dried cow blood until this post.
Now? It's beautiful! I'm all about simple and soothing and that's what your room is!
(Unless, of course, you happen to wake said sleeping child. And then? Simple and soothing aren't words that come to mind. ;) )
Either the red paint really is dipped in rage, or else Ali knew you'd written about how calm she was. Either way.
I (hand painted!) vertical stripes in our 1st floor bathroom. It was before I had a child and therefor had LOTS of free time. Anyway, there is a small chip in the paint that the door handle took out (I've since installed a door stopper) that of course removed about a quarter of an inch of both colors. I only notice it when I sit on the commode -- obviously not a convenient time to repair. Like your chip, the repair will only take 10 min (well maybe 20 because of both colors) but I know what you mean!!!
Gorgeous! So soothing, with a simple elegance. A far cry from the crazy, blood-red, half-a$$ed paint job!
Spots like that drive me crazy too. But it might be worth leaving there to see the cat freak out! Ha!
I love white walls, but never ever thought to paint the damned ceiling. Brilliant.
The things I learn on the internet! Such a magic place...
I did that in one of my bedrooms too, lighter walls, darker ceiling...loved it. My latest paint trick is a 2 toned bedroom. Its cut up funny because one of the walls used to have a fireplace in it ages ago. So I used a sage & pale yellow and alternated them on the walls with a off white trim & ceiling. It makes the room look a lot airier. I have high ceilings too, so I can use the deeper colors...but the final product makes me think of gerba daisies...and i LOVE them. Painting never ends...but I really dont mind it at all!
Side note: I havent owned a cat in years...got sick of litter, but your Ali looks EXACTLY like my most favoritest cat ever and your stories about her make me almost forget how much I hate litter. Well that and my husband might actually kill me & i think the puppy might have a seizure. But if I do go adopt a kitty...im totally blaming you.
The square of red on the closet door still cracks me up! What did you do with that? Leave it for nostalgia? Love the new look. I've lived in this house going on 7 years and have never really decorated. I stink at it so nothing ever gets done. You'd think we just moved in. It's pretty sad.
I stayed up past 1 am painting two nights last week. I hate painting with the red hot passion of those cow blood walls.