It's Only Paint!
It took me fifteen years to paint this hallway. Well, that’s not quite accurate; let’s say it took me a couple of days but close to fifteen years to correct the error of my ways!
I originally painted this tunnel with its five doors in colours intended to complement the rug I’d bought. But, from the moment the paint dried, I knew I absolutely hated the peachy upper part. However, the experience of painting it was still fresh in my mind and my body and I couldn’t summon the energy to re-do it. Instead, I settled; I told myself (and others who needed to hear) that I loved it and thought the pseudo-wainscoting was such a good idea … ‘it helps bring the ceiling down’, I’d say, ‘so it doesn’t feel like such a narrow passageway’. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, was it? And now, finally, it’s gone and I can breathe.
It never fails to amaze me how long we will put up with something simply because we don’t want to admit we made a mistake, or the thought of prepping, undercoating, taping and repainting is just too much to contemplate ... more time spent dreading the task than actually doing it, of course! It wasn’t a challenging space to paint (other than the nuisance of five doorways to trim) because there was no furniture to move, minimal disruption to daily living and the ceiling wasn’t part of the job.
Procrastination is so much more of a burden than the task itself. This time I am genuinely happy with my hallway … and I’m so pleased that I finally got around to ‘impeaching the peach’.
Read more about our design foibles in my book, Nestbuilding: A Guide to Finding Your Inner Interior Designer (http://katebridger.wixsite.com/kbbooks).
