Living with Swine
Referring back to my 2011 Home Goals, I wanted to share how many “swine walls” remain to be painted in my house by showing some before photos. Yes, it’s a Monday morning update — thrilling, I know. I’m not sure whether these photos will motivate me or make me feel defeated.
So let’s dive into the swine dilemma a little deeper.
The photo above shows the dining room recently painted, but I stopped partway between the dining room and the living room, leaving an awkward transition. Once you step into the living room, the painting would have to continue. If I painted the living room, it felt like I would be committing to painting indefinitely, and that made me freeze.
I’m really bad at making decisions.
The amount of swine left to cover feels overwhelming. Photos don’t always capture the true effect — you might even think the walls look okay. But the swine color casts a sickly mauve glow that replaces the warm, inviting atmosphere I want. Here is a clearer before glimpse of the swine in my family room.
I’m so ready to kick the swine to the curb, but it won’t happen overnight. It will take steady progress: painting, painting, and more painting.
Look up, look down, look to the right and left — swine is everywhere.
Another collision of new paint and swine.
Swine appears on so many walls: the living room, the entry, and on walls that rise into very tall spaces leading upstairs and down long hallways. Those high walls add scale and challenge to the project because they feel like they never end.
Can you see why I’ve been overwhelmed? Sometimes I’d rather hide under a pillow than face all the swine. But each morning I wake up and there it is, a constant reminder.
And this is not even all of it. Every.single.bedroom, bathroom, office and my laundry room are still covered in swine. I won’t show every room — that would make this post much longer and considerably more depressing. I’ll save those for another post when I can summon the energy to face them one room at a time.
Still, progress has been made with the Great Swine Cover-Up over the past year. Although I haven’t done a full review of my top projects from 2010 yet (yes, that’s on my list), I did make steady headway on painting some rooms last year. Small victories add up, and that gives me hope as I work through the rest.