I didn’t intend it to be but this is fast becoming my outlet for home improvement adventures. After all, if we’re not living in a small space, then I don’t know who is.
It’s been about four months since we moved in and we’re making fabulous progress with operation “Historic Paint Palette.” I’ve not only picked out colors since the last issue of RowHouse Magazine but we’ve managed to actually paint some of the rooms. Until the master bedroom, I was loving the low ceilings that didn’t require a ladder to reach. However, it is not easy to paint a dormer ceiling. Add a whole lot of furniture into the center of the room and high temperatures and it becomes purgatorial.
I didn’t paint myself into a corner but I sure rearranged the furniture into a nearly impossible heap in the middle of the room. Because of the stairs, most of the furniture was built in the room and cannot be removed. This meant everything had to be shoved to the middle and covered with plastic. I used to watch a show called Dexter on Showtime about this serial killer who would wrap the crime scene in plastic. For a moment, I wondered about the correlation. Prepping a room for painting is mindless work; tape, cover, tape, cover. Some people daydream about nice things…
After I finished prepping, I was left with a tiny crawl space in which I had to maneuver a roller and brushes. I spent a good deal of time crabbing and sliding on my stomach. Half way through we realized that perhaps there is something to the game Twister after all. Faced with the alternative, a lovely combination of tangerine orange and lemon yellow, there was nothing to do but try our best and press on.
We painted in hot silence save for the occasional curse uttered when we’d hit the walls as we tried to squeeze through the space. I am pleased to report a happy ending. Despite the trouble and effort, the result is exactly what we wanted. It is a calm oasis of blue and a most peaceful white ceiling.
Row House Living 