Renovating Castle Bliss
I don't know what lie I told myself that made me believe that I like painting, but it must have been a whopper. I probably wouldn't have attempted it but for the fact that my ex-husband is walking in Tuscany and not in Australia to talk me out of it. He and I renovated and built several houses between 1980 & 1992, and while the outcomes were works of art, there were moments between starting and finishing projects which I wish simply did not happen.
So why the paint-job now? It's the domino effect. Paul and I need a new bed; the old bed has been claimed by the youngest princess; the spare room (something I haven't had in a home since I started having children 25 years ago) gets the twin beds currently in the princess's bedroom...
When we signed the contract to buy Castle Bliss in June last year, Paul and I had no plans to do any renovations for quite some while. At the time, the house inspection by a building expert indicated that the paintwork, floor coverings, kitchen and other facilities were in good nick albeit a mishmash of merky colours - depression green, turquoise, sunflower yellow and glowing apricot. What no one counted on was the bad sportsmanship of the vendors who ripped shelving & pictures off bedroom walls leaving holes of up to 20mm in diameter in several rooms. Sadly, after we signed the contract, our palace was not cleaned again by the vendors. Their two small kids left marks everywhere and I'm convinced one of them peed on the carpet! By the time the property settled in August, the place was a tip!
Professional cleaning again made habitable our wee palace (pardon the pun), so why the need to paint now? Until now, the spare room has been empty of any furniture. With the youngest princess coming home after a nine month sejour in Austria and the fact that she will be with us for many years, this fore-mentioned furniture rotation means that room for movement to get in and paint easily will disappear, so before delivery of our new bed, the job has to be done.
To be honest, once I start, I DO like painting. Renovations as 'works of art' was a good analogy at the beginning of this blog. Castle Bliss has a nice structure to it. It's light and airy with room for entertaining and for off-spring and parents to visit often without being too oversized when Paul and I are home alone. It also has nice gardens. Dressing it up in colours of our own taste gives it that definitive and wonderful feeling of 'home'. It all adds to daily bliss.
The choice of colour was an epic tale of possible woe! I liked the idea of British Paints 'Crystal Blue' or a neutral all-over Taubman's 'Canvas'. Blue's calming and, like the canvas, goes with everything including pinks and apricots. When I met him, Paul lived in a house that was once the rather flashy show-piece of a builder. Said house was painted in contemporary colours with feature walls - mud oranges and purple, if I recall. When I asked him what colours he liked, Paul told me that I could choose. Then without a breath, he told me that he painted all his previous houses white.
And so Castle Bliss is gradually being transformed with Dulux 'Aran White'. Paul gets his so-called white paint and I get my neutral non-colour with some blues thrown in with the use of soft furnishings. We are both happy. It looks spectacular with our dark brown timber bookshelving and furniture, apricot tiles and Gabriella's lollypop blue, green, white and pink bedspread.
On that note, the putty is dry and ready for sanding. I'd better get back to it
Happiness and laughter always,
Bliss
So why the paint-job now? It's the domino effect. Paul and I need a new bed; the old bed has been claimed by the youngest princess; the spare room (something I haven't had in a home since I started having children 25 years ago) gets the twin beds currently in the princess's bedroom...
When we signed the contract to buy Castle Bliss in June last year, Paul and I had no plans to do any renovations for quite some while. At the time, the house inspection by a building expert indicated that the paintwork, floor coverings, kitchen and other facilities were in good nick albeit a mishmash of merky colours - depression green, turquoise, sunflower yellow and glowing apricot. What no one counted on was the bad sportsmanship of the vendors who ripped shelving & pictures off bedroom walls leaving holes of up to 20mm in diameter in several rooms. Sadly, after we signed the contract, our palace was not cleaned again by the vendors. Their two small kids left marks everywhere and I'm convinced one of them peed on the carpet! By the time the property settled in August, the place was a tip!
Professional cleaning again made habitable our wee palace (pardon the pun), so why the need to paint now? Until now, the spare room has been empty of any furniture. With the youngest princess coming home after a nine month sejour in Austria and the fact that she will be with us for many years, this fore-mentioned furniture rotation means that room for movement to get in and paint easily will disappear, so before delivery of our new bed, the job has to be done.
To be honest, once I start, I DO like painting. Renovations as 'works of art' was a good analogy at the beginning of this blog. Castle Bliss has a nice structure to it. It's light and airy with room for entertaining and for off-spring and parents to visit often without being too oversized when Paul and I are home alone. It also has nice gardens. Dressing it up in colours of our own taste gives it that definitive and wonderful feeling of 'home'. It all adds to daily bliss.
The choice of colour was an epic tale of possible woe! I liked the idea of British Paints 'Crystal Blue' or a neutral all-over Taubman's 'Canvas'. Blue's calming and, like the canvas, goes with everything including pinks and apricots. When I met him, Paul lived in a house that was once the rather flashy show-piece of a builder. Said house was painted in contemporary colours with feature walls - mud oranges and purple, if I recall. When I asked him what colours he liked, Paul told me that I could choose. Then without a breath, he told me that he painted all his previous houses white.
And so Castle Bliss is gradually being transformed with Dulux 'Aran White'. Paul gets his so-called white paint and I get my neutral non-colour with some blues thrown in with the use of soft furnishings. We are both happy. It looks spectacular with our dark brown timber bookshelving and furniture, apricot tiles and Gabriella's lollypop blue, green, white and pink bedspread.
On that note, the putty is dry and ready for sanding. I'd better get back to it
Happiness and laughter always,
Bliss
posted by Felicity | 4:22 am
2 Comments:
Hey, I found you! I've missed you alot. Lost your contact info. I really think we should grab coffee sometime soon. Contact me!
I would if I knew who you were. The contact via email is there if you wish to drop me a message that states co-ordinated. Bliss
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