The Painted Walls

We have lived in our house for almost four years.  In those three plus years, I have only painted three rooms, (the three smallest.  And when I say small, I mean small: the half bathroom, the laundry and the girls bathroom.  I think I only needed a gallon per room, if that!  Well, the kitchen-family-dining area combo was in bad need of a paint job.  I had washed the walls down to sheetrock in several places, that wasn't very hard considering we have the worst builder paint EVER!

I decided on a couple of colors and brought them home.  The little paint chips are never enough, so I bought the samples at the Depot-LOVE them!  Well, everyone hated my favorite, so I went back for some different colors.  We lived like this..

 And this..

 And this...

And this..for quite a while.  I'm talking months, people!

 I still couldn't decide. There is such a range of lighting in this space, one entire wall is windows and yet, it can seem so dark in the kitchen sometimes. Once I finally decided on a color, I waited until Dee was away on a business trip.  He is a little like a cat and doesn't do well with either change or chaos, so it is best to do it while he is gone.  I did as much prep work as possible with the girls awake, but after the fourth time of cleaning caulking out from between Jensyn's fingers and out of Carly's hair, I put the girls to bed at 8:00 and began to paint.  This is what it looked like around midnight.  I HATED it!   But, I had just purchased five gallons and there was no going back.

 This is around 3:00 a.m.  I'm liking it better, but there is so much more to go.

 And this is 7:00 a.m.  I was just finishing the first coat and thought I would be able to rest for a couple of hours, not realizing the time. 

  I made the girls breakfast, took them to school and then got back to painting.  I didn't dare to paint through the night again, for fear I would fall off the ladder and the girls would find me in the morning, so I cleaned up and went to bed shortly after they did.  I was able to finish the second coat while they were at school the next day.  Dee came home that night and I finished the woodwork.  We moved the furniture back and enjoyed how clean the walls looked. 

 I started hanging some things up and was not liking my E-A-T.  I am going with a whole new scheme in the kitchen.  I am over the apple thing.   I still love apples, I just don't want them EVERYWHERE.  I have plans of painting the table and chairs black and thought maybe a change of paper to black and white. 

 That didn't do the trick, so I tried painting the shelf black.   There that's better!

Now, I just have to paint the doors, touch up a couple of places and find/make and hang up the rest of the wall decorations.  Oh, and paint the rest of the $*#%$#@* house, woodwork, doors, ceiling, outside shutters, and front door.  Tell me again why I want to own a home!?!