Now that's a great color!

It wasn't until the last 10 minutes of the final phase of painting that I finally said out loud, "Now that's a great color!

I'm speaking of my designer house living room....

When I selected a color, I did it in a late afternoon, just in time to call in the order for pickup late that day for the painting to begin the next morning! I had been mulling over several color pallets in my weary mind, but hadn't really selected anything until forced to say, "this one".

I love color and have never been afraid of it. My own house is full of a mix of vibrant, medium warm, rich tones and a great relief with a loft in Artemisia, a personal favorite grayed robin egg color. I knew it would be difficult to top the color I selected for the Princeton Designer House last spring, but I can tell you, that right up until the last brush stroke, I was not loving this new color!

Because I seldom don't like a color that I have selected, I was quite concerned! This is not the time to try out a new color and then be disappointed!

We are using all natural linen Swedish feeling furniture for the room and I pictured a warm gray tone. I selected SW Warm Stone and SW Brainstorm Bronze to paint a wide 10" awning stripe. The first paint day, it seemed too pinky-taupe to me! Yuk! The light in the room is strange, and there are certain times of the day that I really liked it and other times that I really didn't!!

Well, today, we put the personality into the paint job as we painted the awning stripes! Yes! At the end of the day, when the last blue tape was pulled off, I loved it! I think I'm on the right track.

As I have mentioned, this entire painting project has turned out to be a hands-on, do-it-yourself project. Generally, these designer house projects are executed by my favorite subs who support the effort. This year, no such luck! It couldn't be a busier year for me, either....

So, take a look at what a dear personal friends, Sneelock, and myself can do when put to the test!

Sneelock came up with a handy invention to help me expedite the striping process! It was a huge success. Here we are showing the great idea. He cute masonite boards the exact size (actually 1/2 inch shorter) than the two heights we were marking off), added a "handle" for me to hold on to and had them ripped to the perfect width for my project. You can choose any width, I selected 10" for a wide awning stripe Place your template on the wall, using a long level every three or four stripes to ensure you end up with perfectly straight stripes. Mark the placement with a hard pencil. (Too soft a lead will make too dark of marks). We marked at the top and bottom of each stripe and several short dash-marks in between. Place your tape to make sure that you paint over the pencil marks. What a fabulously easy way to mark off the room! It was even easier than I had imagined, as Sneelock himself ended up marking the entire room in a little over an hour. Sweet! This is a really great invention and I highly recommend it for simplifying this process. Fred (Sneelock) later agreed that he could be persuaded to take orders for his new tool.
The second idea which proved so valuable for a perfect finish, came from one of my favorite subcontractor who used to do all of my painting (he's gone on to bigger and better things....like concrete design and venetian plaster!) Charles told me what kind of tape to buy-Scotch 2" blue tape with the orange center. It costs about $10.00 a roll, but claims to be safe even if left on for 60 days!! He recommended that we take the tape off immediately, however. Peel the tape off at a 45 degree angle AWAY from the fresh paint. Take care not to get the wet paint from the tape on the wall or yourself! The best tip he gave me: use a cereal spoon to press down the edge of the painted side of the stripe. It lends to a great firm seal and prevents bleeding. Great tip, Charles! It worked!

Those are the kitchen spoons that I am holding!


Here's Rita! This is the real tool that is needed in order to complete any overwhelming task. Rita has been a friend for about 18 years. We became friends when she worked for me in my millinery business, making and producing hair accessories and hats. She has the most amazing engineering mind you can imagine and is totally practical! Although Rita retired from Black-eyed Susan several years ago, I can manage to pull her into projects whenever I need to be bailed out. With my family so far away, I consider Rita and her husband, Vincent, to be my brother and sister, and they don't disappoint me. Add to all all this the supreme entertainer, and you have the perfect companion for a day of work. Let me tell you, she knows how to work! I love this woman! Thanks, Rita. (My mother is the head of her fan club)!






Third team member, Vincent, surrogate brother! With me on the ladder, Vincent was ready to trade paint roller for cutting in brush and bucket. Never a complaint as he kept track of the "light bucket" and the "dark bucket".
Both Rita and Vincent indulged me for a moment of self portraits as we finished the day.



Vincent beginning to remove the tape. The room took on a strange look with the blue tape in place. I was really happy to see it come down. Continue on.......



Sneelock stopped in to check on the crew in the late afternoon and got involved removing the tape. I'm telling you, this team of four was awesome. We were booking! (Sorry, they're not for hire)!
There is nothing finer than dear friends who serve willingly and are there to be supportive under any circumstance. They are a true blessing in my life. Here's to Vincent and Rita. I love these two!



The "big blue ball" of tape after removing!!

I can't believe that I didn't take an overall view of the room for your approval as we were leaving. Stay tuned for this.

Finally, at the end of the day, when the last bit of blue tape was pulled, I couldn't help but say,
"Now that's a great color!"

And I can't tell you how happy I was to hear those words, at last.