What I've Been Doing

My first summer project began last Saturday when I put the first coat of paint on my dining room walls. It all started because I wanted to redo the parquet floors, which were in dire need of refinishing. But of course since I had to move all the furniture out of the dining room anyway, it seemed logical to repaint the walls, as well. It's been eight years, after all.


When we first moved into this house nine years ago, the dining room had a hideous vertical-striped wallpaper on the top and something else on the bottom. Peeling wallpaper and painting was chore, especially with a newborn. My friend Tracy did most of that work while I watched all the kids. I'm not sure who got the better end of the deal, but that was eight years ago. I'm tired of green.

Look at this floor! Okay, this is after I sanded it, but it really didn't look much better before sanding. I was somewhat intimidated by the thought of sanding, staining, and polyurethaning a hardwood floor. I read a few websites and got the general idea, and then I sent the kids to day camp and worked my heinie off.

And here it is four days later. The first day I sanded and stained. The next day I rested. The third and fourth days I put coats of polyurethane on and made everyone stay out of the dining room. That was tricky, since we have to go through the dining room to get to the kitchen. But the kids were great, and we enjoyed eating out!


And here are the new wall colors. The photos isn't terribly representative of the "sauteed mushroom" and "Belgian chocolate" combo, but it is fabulous. Now I just have to paint the trim and buy new switchplates. And new picture frames. And a clock. And paint a chest. And most importantly…

move the very large dining room table OUT of the middle of the living room and back into the dining room!