This weekend (Monday through Thursday!), amongst doing other things, I started to prep Miranda for the installation of her new floors. Now, I had just about decided to put in the rustic flooring, which is on major sale at Home Depot, but a reader really made me second guess my decision. My timing sucks, as usual, and my first choice, country pine, is back ordered indefinitely while there are new choices available. I’ve decided that soon as I’m ready to buy (could be as soon as tomorrow, but probably won’t be till Tuesday), I’ll go to Home Depot in person and buy six boxes of whatever looks best from what’s available there. It could still end up being the rustic since I do love that flooring!

Prepping the rig for the new floors is proving to be a logistical nightmare. I don’t want to take apart storage systems without having the furniture to replace them, but I don’t want to get the furniture until I have new floors to put it on. Moreover, the weather hasn’t been cooperating for the removal of the bucket chairs in the lounge, the bolts for which are only accessible outside.

Once the new floors are in, though, things are going to move quickly. I’ll be able be able to start looking for good deals on the items of furniture I want and do a major reordering in the study.

The next step will be painting. I went to a paint store yesterday to discuss my options. My preliminary research was confirmed; I’ll be going with a bath & kitchen paint containing a mildew-resistant agent. One thing I did not expect was to get talked into using a water-based Kilz primer. Everyone has told me to use oil-based. The tech told me it will cost me a fraction of the cost of oil, be much easier to deal with, and provide the same results provided I let it cure. He recommended that I paint the whole rig, cabinets and all, with the Kilz primer and then wait a full month before adding paint over top.

I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to try to get all my painting done by May or not. The damp climate makes me leery of jumping into the painting project here in Campbell River. I might do one small room, see how I like it, and then do the work this summer in Dawson’s wonderfully dry climate.

As to paint colours, I’ve decided to be bold!!! I have the luxury of having four rooms and six separate spaces total to play with, so I do not want a uniform look throughout.  Since I do want the rig to coordinate, so I will be relying on fabrics to tie the thing together. Once I have my fabrics picked out, I will be able to confirm my paint choices, but the general colour I’ve picked for each room is pretty much set in stone.

Study:

kiwi

A study has to be green, it’s the colour of money! Oh, and it’s my favourite colour. I had a dark green bedroom growing up and a dark green study when I had a house, so this time I decided to punch up the colour a bit.

Now, displaying colours online is always tricky. Even if this is the official virtual paint chip, it’s not quite right. The real colour has a touch more blue to it, much more like a muted version of the real colour of a kiwi fruit.

Toilet Room:

tyrian

I knew the minute I first saw Miranda that if I ever painted her insides, the toilet room would be lavender. Miranda was built in 1996, which was just about the time my dad was renovating one of the apartments in his triplex. What he had done was rent out the not-so-bad units and live in the one being renovated. Anyway, the linoleum in the kitchen was the exact same linoleum in Miranda’s toilet room!!! I came to stay with my dad one weekend in this apartment and discovered that he had painted my bedroom a grayish lavender colour that he knew I’d love.  Long story short, taupe and white lino + greyish lavender paint=happy memories. Not sure yet if I’ll leave the lino in there or cover it, but the lavender will be a tribute to my dad.

Onward…

The dressing room:

sherbet

I used to think that I hate pink, but I actually just hate baby pink. Deeper pinks, like rose and this colour, are perfectly lovely. I thought that a shade like this would add a feminine touch to the dressing room and complement the lavender in the toilet room and the green in the study. The two skylights in the dressing room allow it to take a darker shade than one would think.

The kitchen:

rubber duck

Kitchens have to be yellow. In my case, the kitchen is just two small walls, one above the sink and the other above the stove. A brighter colour will therefore work.

The library:

Verdict

The lounge needs to be a colour that will coordinate with the dressing room, the kitchen, and the loft. It was therefore the perfect place to put the vibrant orange I’ve been craving. The actual shade I’d like has a drop more black in it, making it just the weeist bit less bright.

The loft:

smalt

I’m one of those rare folks who loves the combination of blue and orange. Even though most people would never realise there’s a blue room next to an orange one, I would. 🙂 Painting the loft would be a low priority since you can’t see the walls in there, but I’d like to do it because of the mildew-resistant agent in the paint.

Finally, the cabinets, doors, trim, etc.:

biscotti

This is the colour that is giving me the biggest grief and which I won’t settle on until I have my fabrics. I want a neutral ‘cream’ colour, but not something that will seem washed out against the bright wall colours. It will be the most visible colour in the rig so it needs some punch of its own, even if it’s a neutral. I plan to ‘antique’ or ‘distress’ the cabinets for a more cottagey look. My reason for painting the woodwork is that while the doors are all solid wood, the cabinets themselves are laminate and starting to show their age. I’m also starting to have a mishmash of finishes, so a coat of paint will unify everything. Painting the cabinets is going to be a huge job and is the last one of my makeover list.

Tomorrow, I’m going to continue my fabric shopping. I’m looking for plaids and checks that combine the colours I’d like to have in my new home and which will coordinate between themselves. I won’t have a lot of fabric in the new Miranda, but there will be enough to tie in the rainbow I’ve selected.

As for the sewing, I have an aversion to sewing machines, so hand sewing my new curtains and coverings is going to be an on going project for some time.

While the makeover will in no way be complete by the time I leave Campbell River, I will be very satisfied to have my new floors and some if not all the new furnishings I want as well as the fabric and paint so I can continue on this project later. The smaller touches that will be purely decorating can wait. However, the carpentry that’s missing, like finishing the dishwasher counter (a subject of a future post) and putting new doors on the wardrobe can’t. Soon as the floors are done, they’ll be my next project.

How much I get done will depend on time. Time is precious now that I’m so busy with my 33 hours at the convenience store, 10 hours at my analysis job, and 10 or so hours for my writing contract. Plus, I’d like to get some more exploring done!

At least, things are finally coming together and my dream home is within reach!