Thursday, February 28, 2013

Hemming and Hawing

Behind the scenes I've been repainting the inside of several rooms in our home. It's taking me much longer than I expected for many reasons. First I was having a hard time deciding on a paint color. I detest painting but necessity and budget dictate that I do the painting myself. Have you noticed fuel prices have gone up 52 cents a gallon in one month? Gary isn't a very neat painter. More paint would be on the floor than the walls if he painted, so that leaves me as the painter.

Over my lifetime I've painted every home I've lived in, both inside and out, and I'm just plain tired of painting. I think this is the ninth place I've painted and some several times over. When I get finished painting though I think the results are well worth the effort. For example the first photo is what the kitchen dinette area looks like now with a gray shade of paint. The photo just above is what the kitchen looked like with the coral color I painted when we first moved here. We had to paint the kitchen because we removed wallpaper and that left the walls all scratched and ugly, you know what I mean. Now removing wall paper is probably worse than painting, but once it's done it doesn't have to be done again.

Just above is what the kitchen dinette looked like when we moved in. Quite a transformation isn't it. The other reason I am really disliking painting this time is it's taking me three coats of paint to cover the coral color. I thought two coats would do it. But no it's taking three coats and that's for a good quality paint. Maybe I should have primed the walls and then painted, but then I'd have to buy primer as well.

Which brings me to the another reason I hate painting. Going up and down the ladder is very tiring not to mention difficult for me with my tired old bones and bad back so I can only paint so much in one day and then I have to rest up. I painted one wall of the living room a white sandstone color which looks real nice. I thought it would only take two coast over the pale aqua color. No, that's taking three coats too. Now I'm wondering now why I decided to paint that room too. If only I could find a painter who wants some pottery.

By now you may be wondering about the title of this post. We decided we wanted a different dinette set for the kitchen dinette area. There's that budget thing cropping up again. I would love a rattan (click the link to find out how rattan is now being made into artificial bone) set like the one above, maybe a lighter color. They're very popular and cost an arm and a leg even for used. Perhaps not the best choice with three cats though. Anyway we've been looking on Craig's list and in second hand stores and just couldn't find anything we both could agree on or could afford. Finally Gary suggested we go to the Habitat for Humanity store. There are two in this county and the first one didn't have a dinette which was small enough to fit.

Yesterday we went to the second Habitat store and there was the oak pedestal table (in the first photo) but no chairs. It had a price of forty dollars on it. Neither of us could quite agree if it would look good in our dinette area. We also wondered if we could find some chairs which would go with it. We looked around the store for a while but kept coming back to the oak table. One of the guys who works in the store noticed us hemming and hawing over the table. He came over to see what our discussion was about. We chatted a while, still hemming and hawing, voicing our hesitations and indecision.

Finally the guy says to us, how about thirty dollars? That settled all our hemming and hawing, we took the table home. When we got home we started looking for chairs. Of course there were none to be found we could afford or that we thought would work with the oak table. We started wondering if we'd made a mistake buying a table with no chairs. As I was painting the wall in the dining room it dawned on me. We have a table we rarely use with six chairs in the dining room. I looked at the chairs and thought two of them would look just fine with the dinette table. What do you think? Sometimes (I think) hemming and hawing really pays off. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

21 comments:

  1. I really admire you doing all that painting, I've managed to mostly avoid doing it myself but we are starting some renovations and I can see a paint brush coming my way later this year :(
    I really like that first image which I think is the new table and your own chairs?

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  2. Hi Anna, thanks, yes that is the new table in the first photo and two of our dining room chairs. If you do paint be sure to use painter's tape and mask off the ceiling and around the door jams, it saves a lot of touch up later on.

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  3. I hate painting. The smell makes me sick, even though we used odorless or low odor. : ( Topaz the dog scratches the doors and box window. Mike refuses to re-paint until she is gone! She is not going soon. She is very healthy 9 year-old! ; )

    The table and chairs look lovely! Now you can enjoy all your hard work!

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  4. Hi Midori, thanks, I actually think the old non odorless paint was better smelling than the new paint. What kind of dog do you have? One of my cats actually scratches on the door jam. Ugh. I still have the living/dining room to do and if I had the energy I'd do other rooms, we shall see. Ha.

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  5. It all looks great, and I love the table!

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  6. I think *your* chairs look great with the table. And IMO you were wise in not going rattan with cats (I have several chairs with rattan seats that have seen the results of cats' claws).

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  7. Looks good.Primer is cheap and goes on fast.

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  8. That's a great table, and your chairs couldn't be a better match. Even have pictures hung again! GOod for you!

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  9. Painting is so much better when it's done. And yours does look really nice.

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  10. There's one thing about painting your home, it really makes it YOUR home!

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  11. A great solution to use two of the chairs from your dining room. They look great with the table. It goes along with down-sizing too, why buy two more chairs when you already have 6 really nice ones?!

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  12. After you do your house, you can come here and paint our house in Hawaii. I am impressed with your dinette. Lucky you to have space for furniture in your kitchen. We don't.

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  13. I like the new color and the table and chairs. It all looks very calming. How great to see a case where hemming and hawing (procrastination? ) paid off so well!

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  14. Such a timely post as I too am suffering the aches and pains from painting the inside of our new house. I've never had so much problem going up and down the ladder...but I guess being almost 50 does have something to do with it. And you are right. The best part about painting is when you are finished. Everything is back in place and you can admire your work! (And I think the table and chairs work perfectly!)

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  15. I think it looks great. I have always been a fan of mixing things up. Our dining table has 6 chairs too, and I use the ones with arms in other parts of the house. I used to paint and wallpaper too,and have moved as much as you have. With my bad shoulders, It's all I can do to paint a small bathroom these days. Hubby is not as good a painter as I used to be..but he does okay, and I can still do the trim work.

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  16. Rian made a good point about cats and rattan.
    Painting used to be a favorite chore for me. What else can you do that makes such a dramatic difference in your home.
    This last time however, I hired it done. He used no tape, just held his breath and did an amazing job.
    I like the brighter look.

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  17. Looks like you have a new kitchen dinette. I love Habitat for Humanity.

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  18. Oh wow. You are inspiring. I hate, loathe, despise painting and the preparation work sends me bonkers. And I am a dripper of paint on places where it shows and doesn't come off easily. Soooo, last time we had it done we hired people. Much expense, but a better job than we would have done. And now, it really needs doing again.

    Kudos to you - and the parts you have done look BRILLIANT.

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  19. Hi Carole Anne, thanks, we really lucked out on that table.

    Hi Rian, thanks, I looked on the web images and saw other tables paired with non matching chairs and then decided to try them, a lucky move.

    Hi Dennis, thanks, I may invest in the primer as my labor isn't cheap with the resting I have to do in between, thanks for the tip.

    Hi Barbara, thanks, I think they look great together and the table is really growing on me, can't believe we hemmed and hawed on it even at forty dollars.

    Hi Lori, thanks, yes when it's done, more to do though.

    Hi Ms. Sparrow, thanks, yep it's mine alright. Ha.

    Hi Michele, thanks, yes that's what we were thinking, why get more, sure don't need it.

    Hi Gigi, thanks, I'll come to visit and let Gary do the painting. Ha.

    Hi Suzi, thanks, you caught me, yes it was definitely procrastination. Ha.

    Hi Anna, thanks, good luck with your painting, it all seems daunting doesn't it.

    Hi Barbara, thanks, yes I think mixing up is in fashion anyway.

    Hi Patti, thanks, my cats would have a hey day on that type of chair, oh well just a dream.

    Hi Joanne, thanks, they do a good service that organization for so many reasons.

    Hi Elephant's Child, thanks, we had hired one person when we first got here but they did a worse job than I could do. Ha.

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  20. wonderful transformation...good color choice and a thirty dollar table...what a find.I am a sloppy painter...I think I am to heavy handed. :)

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  21. Hi Dee, thanks, and that table is solid oak too, amazing, it used to have a leaf but no longer but no matter we only needed a small table for that space.

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