This Old House

Any room in my house is a prime candidate for any room makeover show on TLC or HGTV. I thought of this last night as I painted the last coat on the wall in the den downstairs.

The house is about 40 years old, and the previous owners never updated anything. When we moved in, there was still Brady Bunch wallpaper in the kitchen and bathroom. And nothing matched. There wasn't a "set" of anything. They must have gone into a bunch of different furniture stores, picked out a piece of furniture from each, and then put it into the room that needed a chair/table/couch/etc. Like the equivalent of throwing pick-up sticks into the air and letting them fall where they may. That is what the house looked like when we moved in.

Little by little, we updated. New couch and table in the living room. Paint instead of wallpaper in the kitchen and bathroom. A new table and chairs for the 3-season room (handed down by my aunt - thank you!!) New furniture for the bedroom. Candles, picture frames, wall accents!

The downstairs has been my project for the past year. Little by little the ugly red shag rug was pulled up in the den, entryway, and bathroom and it was disgusting. I wanted to quit many times but knew we didn't have the money to have it done professionally. And part of me loved the challenge of doing it myself - making it my own. And so I did. The fireplace was painted white. Personally, I like my fireplace to have unpainted bricks, so I went and spent wasted time and money on paint remover that didn't work. Of course brick is porous which means I would never get it completely off, which I didn't think of until after my last attempt. I gave up on trying to remove it and found a brick-colored paint (Mexicana by Benjamin Moore) that covered it. My next obstacle was the wood-paneling which walled almost the entire basement. Instead of removing it (I was afraid of what I'd find underneath), I primed it and painted it (October Mist by Benjamin Moore) and it looks okay. Finally after cursing the roller, paintbrush and myself (for getting the October Mist on the Mexicana), the last coat is on.

There's still much more to do, but the house is coming out quite nicely. And I don't have to welcome everyone who comes into the house for the first time with, "Don't laugh when you see my walls."

And I'm even thinking about getting myself a tool belt. No, really I'm not. Just the image of me wearing a tool belt is enough to make me not buy one.

Oh, and as a side note: Benjamin Moore paint removes easily from skin.