Downsizing strikes home

Add paint to the list of items that manufacturers are now downsizing.  Taking their cue from other manufacturers, Sherwin Williams redesigned their new paint container to have a twist off lid, a convenient built in pour spout, and 3 & 11/16ths quarts of paint. It's not a gallon anymore, it's 92% of a gallon.  

Next time you order a gallon of paint at Sherwin Williams, ask them where the other 8% of a gallon is when they hand you the redesigned container.  I tried calling their customer service number to ask, which provided a different phone number, which didn't work. Sherwin Williams, if you are reading this, email me.

This past weekend was spent painting the family room and kitchen. We completed the family room and also painted the main color in the kitchen. The two kitchen cabinet walls will receive a different color later.  The plan is to paint the two story foyer this coming weekend.  

One additional bummer is that the Sherwin Williams paint didn't cover near the estimated 350 - 400 square feet that they quote on the container.  We'll have to buy another 3 gallons for the foyer at the rate it was used up.  Between the missing 8% and the missing coverage, I'm pretty disappointed with S.W.

On the positive side, it feels really good finally de-white-ifying our walls.  You don't realize how sterile things are until color starts to get added. A before (actually during painting prep) and after painting pic:

Color choices and Basement Cleanup

Our paint color consultation on Friday was everything we had hoped it would be. We went from room to room, picking colors and ways to improve each of the spaces. By noon, we had gone through all the rooms on the first and second floor. Starting from scratch like this, the designer was able to pick colors that would flow from room to room. Here's some of our picks, all Sherwin Williams colors:

Ligonier Tan - Family Room / Kitchen / Foyer

Sierra Redwood - Two Kitchen Walls with cabinets

 

Green Sprout - Study

Master Bedroom - Restrained Gold

Friday afternoon we went to pick up the paint for the family room, foyer, and kitchen, seven gallons in all.  The plan is to start painting this coming Friday.

One of the problems with buying new construction is that there is no shelving or defined storage in the basement.   Consequently, we still have a myriad of boxes down there, which makes finding things near impossible.  As I couldn't find some of my painting tools, I figured this would be a good weekend to create some shelving.  I had purchased the supplies earlier this week, which consisted of a couple of sheets of plywood (ripped in half) and some 2 x 4s. By noon, I had 3 shelves twelve feet long and two feet deep.  By two o'clock, we pretty much had all the shelves filled. I still haven't found all of my painting tools, but I did find tools that I had written off as being stolen in the move. 

Two million colors is way too many

Home Depot was having a sale last week on paint, so my wife and I started to look at colors to paint the interior. Both of us are pretty much color blind - not literally mind you. We just have no sense of what color will blend with what, what matches with what, etc. We painted the family room of our last two houses Sherwin Williams Cameo Beige only because our furniture guy (Mario DiSiena of the Furniture House in Malta, NY) loved it. And it worked for the last two houses. By the way, Mario, we miss having you nearby.

But I'm sick of Cameo Beige. And that still creates a problem with what to paint the rest of the house. As we stared at the myriad of colors available, we realized that we were in way over our heads. If we wanted to get anything painted before the holidays, we needed help.

We're having a designer come by this Friday to give us a quick color consult.  

The deck is done!

Friday consisted on buttoning miscellaneous things up on the deck: Caulking screw holes, cleaning out the wood scraps underneath, putting away tools that had filled up the riding mower's trailer.  This project is done!

Harp in the house!

For those of you who know my eldest daughter, you know that she has been saving her money to purchase a harp for several years now. Yesterday we took the plunge and picked up a beautiful Lyon and Healy Troubadour VI harp at the nearest harp store which is an hour or so away.  She starts lessons this Friday and is very excited.

Steps Done!

We wrapped up the steps yesterday and no one is happier about it than I am.  These steps mocked me, taking way longer than I had estimated!  I don't remember the steps taking as long on my last deck, but then again that was a while back.  There are a lot of little details that all take time on steps.

The white railing and trim really pops in the sun-light.  

What's left on the deck?  I have to caulk the white fascia joints / screw heads, clean-up under the deck, and put the tools away.  After that, the next project will involve painting some rooms downstairs.
I took this picture (below) this morning.  A hot air balloon flew over our house and landed in our neighbors yard.  I hadn't realized it until I looked at the picture, but the chase van is driving past the barn.

Go Phillies!!!

One of the senior managers with the company I work for called me in to his office today and asked if I could work overtime today for a "special project."  When I told him I could, he handed me a ticket to today's first game of the playoffs between the Phillies and the Brewers.  I like these kind of work assignments!

I went down with a co-worker who also received a ticket.  We arrived before the start of the game at 3 PM, watched the end of batting practice, then got to our seats.  Despite some light rain, we had an awesome time, particularly because this is the first post-season win the Phillies have had in 15 years.  Go Phillies!