A Touch of Paint
I come from a very creative family, which is something that I am eternally grateful for. My older brother is the author. My younger brother is the electrical whiz. My mom is the baker and the curator all things inspiring. And my dad - he is the carpenter, and old homes are his canvas.
The house I grew up in was built over a hundred years ago. When my parents bought it (I was just three at the time) it was…rough. The previous owner, an older gentleman who had been a roofer by trade, had kept everything - and the only way through the rooms was to navigate between towering stacks of old tools and furniture, boxes of skeleton keys and burnt out lightbulbs. As my mom remembers, there was even a garland of wishbones that hung in the kitchen - simultaneously greasy and dusty. After the sale of the house went through, he took some clothes and a few plants - and left the rest behind.
The ongoing renovation of that house is intertwined with my childhood - I cannot remember a time when there wasn’t a project in progress. And it’s for this reason, above all the others, that I think that I’ve been waiting my whole life to get my hands on a house of my own. I’ve been itching to get to work - to add polish and elbow grease and love to a space and see it come alive and take on it’s own spirit. So to be here now, making the lists and finally (finally!) getting to try this for myself - it just feels right.
The house Eric and I ended up buying is nowhere near as old as my parents’ - but it has sixty years of quirk and personality which is plenty for me. The entire main living space is clad in pine panelling - which is beautiful and woodsy in its own way, but also dark. And if there’s one thing about myself that I know to be true, it’s that I’m all about finding light and letting it in! So, we decided that project number one was to paint the ceiling white. By the time we were finished, after standing on ladders priming, caulking, spackling, and painting for four days, my arms were about ready to fall off…but it was more than worth it. Already, it's a completely different house.
Sprucing up workspaces is next on the agenda, but the next few days are just about unpacking and exploring the neighborhood. Meeting my best friend for scone breakfasts (this one was strawberry basil - so delicious!) and enjoying finally being here. Already, I think I’m settling in.
