Monday, August 2, 2010

The Domino Effect.......

Domino effect - from Wikipedia



The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear ...
 
 
The last four days I have been working hard in my kitchen.  Not cooking but painting.  Not just painting, but painting with oil-based paint.....which is painting at a much higher level.  Because so many more products are involved and ruined as a result.  The most expensive brush is worth throwing away because cleaning it with Mineral Spirits or Turpentine is way more trouble than the cost of the brush.  And then there's the fact that I get the paint all over me and ended up practically bathing with Turpentine...which can't be good for me.  And every cute kitchen towel I owned was grabbed and now ruined.
 
I painted my lower kitchen cabinets.  They were once white and pristine but after years of wear and tear, they were nicked and dirty.  I think crumbs from meals from the turn of the century (2000) were fossilized in the ledges of the trim on the cabinet doors.  No amount of bleach or Spic and Span could soften that crud and get it clean.  So, I decided to paint only the lower half of the cabinets a gray color.  Why?  I don't really know.  It just struck me one day and I actually sat on the idea for over a month.  I try to do all major projects only in the summer....when I am off from work.  Because, honestly, I don't have the time or energy during the school year.  So...part of the reason for painting was like a last minute urge to do something around here that needed doing.
 
 
Well, then the red painted island looked stupid.  Because white cabinets on top.  Gray cabinets on the bottom, black fireplace, black desk, black screen door....and then RED? Even me...who loves color...knew it was too much.
 
 
  Count the colors.
1. Black 2. Gray 3. Yellow
4. Red. 5. White 6. Green
7. Brick (that's a color in here.)
 
So I painted it black.
 
And now I hate my wallpaper....
but I have window treatments that match it.
They were made for me by my friend and neighbor, Peggy,
who is a wonderful seamstress.
 
Gray floors.......and gray treadmill. 
Which is really what I was trying to match.
Not.
Although it is the biggest thing in the room. 
It's upright now because I moved it to vacuum
 and couldn't get it back down.
Oh, I could have but I'm sure I would have broken it. 
So I thought it was wiser to wait for Chuck.
 
 
 
So I could paint over the wallpaper.....
 
But then I would want to paint the ceilings.
 
And of course, then I'd have to get new window treatments.....
 
But one day, in the far future, we want to get a new sink.
 
So if we get a new sink, we will get new counter tops....
and because this will be a huge hit in the wallet
....it's far, far away. 
 
So maybe I should paint my walls now.......
 
 
Or maybe I should just go back to work and quit staring at my four walls. And quit reading all of those decorating blogs where everything is neutral, neutral and did I mention neutral? 
 
But if I did paint my walls a cream or ivory or khaki color...
then I might make some window treatments from this...
 


or this...






or even this.



It's highly unlikely any of this is going to happen
....but I've never been known to wait patiently
so there's a slight chance it might.


Let me make one thing clear....  I know there is nothing really wrong with my kitchen.  And I know that if I don't change a thing, the earth will still revolve around the sun.  But I love change.  LOVE it.  And I've had this wallpaper and window treatments
 for almost 8 years which is a long time for me. 
And I painted those dang cabinets gray.
And now my wallpaper looks ridiculous
and.....thus

....the Domino effect.




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I do want to show you one really cute thing
that came out of this painting adventure. 
 Chuck made a cute dog bed for Dixie and Sadie to share.
I had to rush him to finish it while I had all the paint out so I could paint it to match.



                                             16" wide by 36" long
 
 
It's long enough for them to share but today, when I was getting them to try it out....they were not going for "sharing." 
So I threw the old bed beside this one for now.
  If I told Chuck we need to make another one,
he might just get a little bit fussy.
Wait 'til he hears about my plans for the walls....
(then making another bed will seem like a cakewalk.)

14 comments:

  1. I like it... but the first thing I thought of was, "New wallpaper!"

    I got your gene.

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  2. Can I paint a giant mural on the walls!?

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  3. This is what keeps me from starting projects around the house! I always enjoy reading your blog, (can't remember how I stumbled on it)! Loved the previous ironing post, hysterical!

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  4. You should write a book titled "If you give Julia a can of paint...."
    ......If I have said it once, I have told you a million times, YOU should write a blog for a living!! Thanks for the adventure.
    Debbie C

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  5. After reading this post, I developed a nervous twitch... Can't imagine why.

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  6. Beautiful! Just a year and a half after we redid our kitchen we moved:( I like my new kitchen but I loved my old one.

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  7. Do you watch Design Star? I'm just realizing that I missed Sunday night's episode!!!! Yes, I love your kitchen.....you exhaust me tho.

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  8. Ah, the domino effect, I'm familiar with it! LOVE the gray cabinets, and your idea of the neutral paint with those pretty fabrics is perfection!

    Wallpaper always seems like a great idea when you're putting it up, but years later, oy vey!

    Good luck with whatever you decide to do, your kitchen (whole house for that matter) is charming!

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  9. Girl, you've been busy! Looks wonderful ... love Chuck's post!

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  10. Julia- you absolutely crack me up!!! I love the new grey cabinets and black island. I think it looks great! If you are looking for a space to decorate, you are more than welcome to come over and do some magic on my WHITE walls. We moved in our new home almost a year ago and the walls are still white...urgh! Anyway-I admire your love for change....frankly, it stresses me out.

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  11. P.S. I just had a piece of the last fabric sent to me from Calico Corners to perhaps coordinate with my new wallpaper-sorry.

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  12. P.S.S. I love the dog bed-kudos to Chuck. Also, you are into the monochromatic thing these days so go with that...too much patter and color in those swatches, imho.

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  13. Hi,

    What color gray is that? LOVE IT =)

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  14. Michelle, It's Sherwin Williams Thunderous. I needed a greenish gray to work with my "slate look" tile. J

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