I have just finished priming and painting 6 large pieces of furniture. One is a very big old hutch, which I turned into a coffee bar and the other 5 pieces being our entire bedroom set. Uggg, talk about tons of work, and yet, so satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. As I primed each piece, a vision began to take place, and then when applying the final coat of paint, wow! I absolutely loved the outcome. Everything turned out as expected, which, when you think about it, doesn't happen very often. There's usually some tweaking to do, but not in this case. I'm in love with everything I painted. And, I'm ready for more. I've decided that a furniture hunt might be in my future.
I have also tiled a kitchen backsplash and a bathroom floor, and we put in euro-style shower doors. We're now refinishing our hardwood floors in the family room. And, in a month or so, we'll be replacing the carpet in the living room with new hardwood flooring. So many changes, so much fun. Most we do ourselves, some we have done. professionally. Fortunately, we know our limitations.
During my adventure in painting, my mind wandered and wandered far. I had many hours to daydream, which by the way, is one of my favorite things to do. I thought about where this furniture might end up in 100 years. You see, I took perfectly good solid wood pieces that were to the normal eye, in great shape. However, I was tired of it. The bedroom furniture had been in my possession for almost 20 years. I needed a change. I could either sell it as is, for pennies on the dollar or I could paint it. My choice. So, I did the latter.
As for the hutch, I bought it from a private party. She had had it for years and just wanted to get rid of it. She needed a change also. I understood. So, I brought it home and proceeded to prime and paint her. I separated the pieces and affixed the upper part of the hutch to the wall as if it were part of my kitchen cabinets and then put the sideboard part underneath for all my coffee needs. It's amazing. Did I mention that I painted her red? Yep, I did. I don't have what you'd call a normal kitchen. I don't like the same old-- same old. I personally like to add a twist. Sometimes more twisty than others. For example, my Boos butcher block island has red legs. I could have chosen black or white legs but no, I wanted red. I purchased it with the pure intention of building my new kitchen around it. I also have Mexican tiles for my backsplash. Bright? Bold? Different? Oh yes. And now a bright red coffee bar that takes up most of one wall. It houses all things drinkable in my kitchen. From coffee to tea to hot cocoa to carbonated drinks--there's even a cupboard for wine. It's awesome. It was a little country-looking when I brought it home, so I de-countryfied it by removing some bric-a-brac and adding a feature or two of my own. I love it. It's perfect for me. However, one day, say, in 100 years--it might not be perfect for the next person who owns it. They might look at it and think--who in their right mind would paint this beautiful hutch red? Well, I would, and I did.
I was a little more subtle in my paint choice for the bedroom. In the meantime I have been antiquing away and had purchased several Frenchy-looking items--a chandelier, some brass, a few (yes, more than one) mirrors, and so I decided to use a quiet soft color for my bedroom furniture. I chose a darker gray. I started on one nightstand to see if I liked it and boy, did I! It was beautiful. It took me the better part of 2 weeks to complete 5 pieces of furniture, but now that it's all done, it was well worth the work. Our master bedroom looks amazing. The dark gray with blue, gray, and beige accents look good together--all the items meshing well, with the room coming out even better than expected.
The things we've done to this older home astound me. We've worked hard. For almost 3 years we've put in hours upon hours of sweat and hard work. We've put in a new kitchen and bathrooms, and we've painted everything. We've rebuilt the front porch, put in a pantry where a hallway existed, put in a fancy "mudroom" area, and generally, have redone every room. And then some! I've loved everything so far. It makes me happy to walk through the rooms and think--we did this. We are DIYers for sure. We have a lot more to do. And it's so fun to think about. However, I also want to enjoy our downtime. It gives me time to think (daydream) about future ideas for this house. I'm thinking a screened-in sunroom might be in our future. Don't tell my husband. He needs time to recuperate in-between my projects.
So, all of this got me thinking. In 100 years, well after I'm dead and gone, long after my kids and grandkids have decided that they have absolutely no interest in keeping grandma's old (solid wood, remember) furniture--who will buy it? Most likely it'll end up in some old barn sale. Someone with a wild imagination will see that bright red hutch and think--oh, I know what I'll do with that! And they'll take it home and most likely strip the paint and restore it to its intended color or stain. They'll take my personality right off and apply their own. And that's ok. I understand. It's just that I'd love to be there to hear their thoughts and ideas as to what to do with it next. I'd love to be that proverbial fly on the wall--I want to hear them exclaim--who would do this? Who would paint this red? Who? She must have been some wild old lady!
And I wonder (in 100 years) as people walk through our home in anticipation of perhaps purchasing--what will they think of my choices? Will they undo the pantry? Put the doors back on the entry closet? Remove the hutch from the wall? What colors will be trending then? What colors for tile will they choose?
Yep, in 100 years, someone will have a new and better idea. Someone will buy these old pieces of furniture and give them new life. Someone else will love them the way I do. Someone will paint these old walls new colors, change my tile and put in new floors. I think about things like that when I buy my little treasures--my little decorator pieces, antiques, and whatnots. I think about all that. History moving through our lives in the way of furniture, living in different homes, with different people, changing colors, and living new lives all over again--in 100 years.
