It's Worth the Can of Paint

When we moved in, we knew we were going to be in this house for a while. We bought it in 2017 and it was at the very top of our budget but a fantastic starter home. A 1960’s split level with three bedrooms, two bath, semi-finished basement. A block from the elementary school, surrounded by trees and a small-ish manageable yard. Perfect for two kids just starting out. With a generous amount of help from our parents and the blood sweat and tears of my husband, we made the upstairs look pretty spectacular if I do say so myself. There are still a few things that need to be worked on but none that really demanded my attention. That was until about a week ago.

This year was a rollercoaster and this summer was definitely not ideal. I loved the family time and having everyone so close but the reason for being there still laid heavy with me. The strength of my family is very apparent, but I hate that we need to be strong right now. I also just started work as of today for the first time in 19 months. So I felt as though I was being compressed by all that was behind me and the unknown that lay ahead. So as I sat there staring at the walls of my bathroom pickled in panic, I began to feel an intense dread roll through me. The previous owners had painted the bathroom blue. It was a rather.. Intense blue. However, we had also tested out not one but two different purple samples on the walls and had gotten impulsive and painted almost an entire wall peach. In a single layer. Over top of the very vibrant blue.

I began to hate the room more and more and honestly, I really think it was just the anger from the grief and anxiety that were driving the feeling but it was there nonetheless and i needed to find a healthy or productive way to use the energy that wasn't going to result in me accidentally taking a sledgehammer to a load bearing wall and knocking down my house. My original goal was to just find a can of the miss-tints from the hardware store but I ended up just buying one of the limited tints you can get from Canadian Tire. I absolutely hate how they display their paint now but that’s a whole other discussion. I got the gallon of “Pistachio Gelato” and a few new rollers and got the Bean home for her nap. As she was falling asleep, I TSPed the walls and got set up. It really didn't take me long and I was surprised how quickly I got to cutting. Within 45 minutes I had the room completely cut and one wall almost completely rolled before the Beans woke up and I had to quickly wrap up and grab her. It only took two days and I had it completely painted (double coat)and got the shelves in. I painted the old silver hardware with antique bronze spray paint and replaced the old shower curtain with a nice beige cloth one my mom gave to me.

I don't think it was the paint that made me feel better. The colour has definitely made me happier and I'm glad I did it. But I also think it was the need to make something better for myself when I felt like there wasn't a lot else I could control or do to make my situation different. I'm still grieving and I still have to go to work but now I have a bathroom that I'm no longer hating. I put the negative energy into making something more beautiful. All I have to do is replace the flooring, add trim and get new lightning. Haha... But those can wait.

I got the thing done, I got the energy out. It wasn't the whole project but it's a start and it made me feel good. So it was worth the can of paint