Precious humans,
I took the day off yesterday from all outside-world facing obligations. Built a bed for my eldest kid, and helped her move back into her bedroom. She’s been sleeping in our room with her sister since Covid began.
I took the opportunity to pull everything out of their rooms and repaint them bright white – they were this kind of depressing beige before… made all the more depressing by the fact they had painted all trims and doors in the exact same beige dullness. Plus beige tiles in the main living areas. It was a beige wonderland. I genuinely think they should call the paint sample Depression Beige. Anyways, once it was all repainted white, the kids chose their accent colour and I painted a big painting in the colour of their choice. Then we went through all their belongings, decluttered ruthlessly & organised everything that came back into the rooms. I’m happy with how both their bedrooms turned out.
There’s still so much more to do – the rest of the house needs to be de-beiged, and the bright white is surprisingly addictive. I never thought I’d be someone who was excited by the colour of white on walls… but I officially am. Plus, it makes all my wildly colourful paintings & decorations stand out.
My office/studio/quiet place is already painted – I did it last year when we renovated it and put windows in. I did white on three walls and a turquoise feature wall, with glitter paint over the top. The office is pretty much complete. I wouldn’t mind removing an old sink from in there, and an old airconditioning unit. Both are hidden by paintings currently so I don’t give as much of a fuck. I’ve been considering getting flooring installed over the black and white checkerboard tiles, but I’ll see how far I get.
The only thing with renovations is – I really don’t like having tradespeople in my house. So there’s this kind of trade-off: do I hate the tiles more than I hate the idea of someone in my space harshing my mellow for a day or two? Add on to the fact I’ll feel pre-emptively cranky about it beforehand, and have to restore my blown out energy centres afterwards. Plus I just hate having shit on my calendar. A clear calendar is a great calendar to me! So renovations end up being way costlier to me emotionally and energetically than just the invoice cost, you know?
OK, I’ve just had a random idea, kinda unrelated. Make myself a printable poster of things to declutter. Too excited to talk. Must go make.
In the meantime, here’s two things that have inspired me in the last 48 hours:
- Vanity Fair interviews Billie Eilish for a fourth consecutive year. This is surprisingly touching – especially since the pandemic.
- Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes. Just beautiful and vulnerable.
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Talk tomorrow!
Big love,