Living with Swine
In keeping with the 2011 Home Goals I mentioned last week, I wanted to share a few before photos that show how many “swine walls” I still need to repaint in my house. Yes, it’s a thrilling Monday topic — but perhaps seeing the photos will either motivate me or make me feel appropriately daunted.
So, what exactly is my swine dilemma?
In the photo above you can see I recently painted the dining room, but stopped midway at the wall that connects to the living room. Once you step into the living room, it feels like the painting has to continue forever. Painting one room means committing to repainting the adjacent spaces, and that decision has left me stuck.
Decision-making is not my strong suit.
The sheer amount of swine to cover is overwhelming. Photos rarely capture the real effect — on camera the walls might even look acceptable — but in person the swine color casts a sickly mauve glow that undermines the warm, inviting atmosphere I want. Below is a clearer before snapshot from my family room that illustrates the point.
I’m absolutely ready to get rid of the swine, but it’s not something that will happen overnight. It will require steady progress: one wall, then another. And another.
Look up, look down, look left and right — the swine seems to be everywhere.
Another collision of new paint and swine.
Swine occupies so many surfaces: the living room, the entry, and connecting walls that rise to very tall spaces upstairs and down the hallways. Those tall expanses make the project feel even larger.
Can you see why I feel overwhelmed? Some days I’d rather hide under a pillow than tackle it. But each morning it’s still there, reminding me what needs to be done.
And this isn’t even all of it. Every single bedroom, bathroom, office and even the laundry room are still covered in swine. I won’t show every room here — that would make this post far longer and even more depressing. I’ll save those spaces for another post, when I can summon the energy to face them.
That said, I have made progress in the Great Swine Cover-Up over the past year. Even though I haven’t yet posted a recap of my top projects from 2010 (a gap I fully admit), I did manage to make noticeable headway on painting several rooms during the year.
Small victories count. One freshly painted wall at a time, the house is gradually moving toward the warm, cohesive palette I want. It helps to remind myself of that when the full scope of the work feels discouraging. I’ll keep chipping away — and someday soon these swine walls will be behind me.