Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Paint the halls


What do sensible people do a week and a half out from Christmas Day? They don't get the builder in to rip out the verandah lining boards, tile the verandah roof, replace sections of the back fence and panels beneath our deck that effectively create a shed for us.

Removing the verandah lining boards revealed the house's original 90-year-old slate roof along with the accumulated 90-year-old dust. (I'd save the slate roof if I could but it'd be as effective as standing under a deciduous tree branch in a winter's storm.) The front of our house looked as if we were having a white Christmas - that's if white Christmases were black.

Even though this doesn't sound like much fun, it actually is for me. Out come the paint charts and off to visit my favourite paint shop, Annandale Paint and Wallpaper, personally run by a husband and wife team just down the road. It's a double win with them as they stock my favourite paint brand, Haymes, another family run all-Australian company. (I see Haymes is running ads in all the major magazines announcing being given a gong by Choice magazine for having the best coverage. Good for them.)

Anyway, while many of you may look at my paint choices and see sludge, I see a lovely mix of naturals that will have parts of the work disappear into the garden while others just blend in with it. And the charcoal trim colour isn't even there yet. (Dulux Malay Grey, Whisper White and Linseed, for anyone interested.)

Best of all, though, Rob the Builder will also perform a little Christmas magic, by completing all the work before disappearing on the 23rd just like a jolly toy-making elf.

And Santa will have a much better roof on which to park his sleigh on Christmas Eve.

5 comments:

  1. I love your colour choices Vera, not sludgey at all in my opinion. I hope Rob the builder lives up to his promises and finishes the job before the 25th x

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  2. I've never heard anyone who actually got renovations done on time. Good luck! I like your paint colors. Your hubby's camping post was a hoot. And the fabric hearts you sewed up are so pretty. I've made similar ones in the past. Must get back to making more as gifts. Have mostly been doing crochet of late. Happy holidays! Tammy

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  3. I do hope Rob the Builder manages to pull his magic trick out of the hat on time for the turkey to emerge from the oven (or barbie, perhaps!). There's never a perfect time for having work done, so you may as well go for it. Far from sludgey, I LOVE your paint palette, they are definitely my colours.

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  4. That will be the best Christmas present you could have if your builder works his magic in time. I hope it happens. The colours look perfect together and I can just imagine them in situ. Our painters finished today and I am now trying to put our house back together.

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  5. I'm looking at your colour palette - love them ! These are my colours ! I'm looking to paint the inside of our Federation style house in a pale grey but looking for a warm pale grey - it seems everytime I make a grey paint lighter it loses its warmth - would Linseed be a good option for this ? Thanks Nikki

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