One thing that was very important to us throughout the moving process was that Ellie felt at home and involved. So way back in July we told her she could pick out whatever color she wanted (within reason) to paint an accent wall in her new room.
We had to run to Sherwin Williams to purchase some paint for our old house as part of the selling process and while we were there, Ellie busied herself looking at paint samples. I thought for sure she would reach for a bold pink, maybe even teal, but the first paint swatch she picked up was a friendly lavender named Forever Lilac. And that was it. She didn’t have any interest in any other color at all.
Ellie treasured that paint swatch for months. She even made sure it was in her overnight bag for the first night we moved in.
Ellie’s room is in the front left corner of the house as you face it. It almost has a bay window except where the center window in the trio should be, it’s just a wall. The shape of the room is darling, but when we moved in, the design left something to be desired. The walls were a pukeish/baby-poop brownish yellowish greenish tan. The windows were weighed down with heavy drapes. And above the headboard of the furniture set we inherited with the house was a print of Thomas Gainsborough’s Blue Boy. I swear it was like he was spying on us. Totally freaked me out.
In the weeks before we moved in, when I was granted access to the house for cleaning, putting Blue Boy face down on the bed was one of my first tasks. And then I was given permission to remove the drapes, and all of a sudden, the pukey tan room was a lot more inviting.
While we kept the bedroom furniture, it wasn’t quite right for a seven year old girl’s room. When we moved in, Ellie got upgraded to a full sized bed from her previous twin, and the black iron headboard fit perfectly between the two *not* bay windows. Honestly, just filling the room with Ellie’s things was such a decorative upgrade that we considered waiting a while to paint. But we wanted her to feel at home, to hang her own pictures on the walls. Anything to make the move to a new school less scary. So in the midst of the other construction going on (the roof and some exterior work) we decided it was time to paint.
Except there was a paint shortage.
So what should have been a $30 can of paint for an accent wall, turned into an $80 can of paint…and for 80 bucks we were painting the whole room.
I don’t think Ellie has been more excited or proud of herself than when she got to help paint. Taking ownership of her space definitely helped soften the blow of having to change schools. In addition to the paint job, Trey also installed a new ceiling fan. Other than scraping the popcorn ceiling (which we hope to do over spring break) and patching the wall where the old air vent used to be, Ellie’s room is the ONLY room in the house that is “done.”
I just found out about your blog and thrilled doesn’t even scratch the surface of the way it makes me feel to read your posts and see the progress in this house. Tim is my Uncle and Cagey was my great uncle. Cagey was such a humongous part of my life because of the closeness between him and my grandfather. Cagey and Ann didn’t have children so they just borrowed us to spread their love on. After he passed, am I wanted for his beloved home was someone that would breathe new life into it and love as they did. As I read your words, I see that love and that breath of life in your posts and I smile (big!). I also share your love of old houses and my heart sings to hear you excited about some of my favorite features of that house. I live just down the road so I pass it multiple times daily and my daughter fondly waves and says hi to “Cagey’s house”. Thank you for the love you are pouring in! Welcome to the neighborhood!
Oh this makes me so happy! Tim told me so much about Cagey in the weeks before we moved in. We can tell this was always a house that was full of love. We hope to do our best to honor this old house and take good care of it!