It all started when I had little ones on my lap. Sitting on my rocking chair, I would look at my bare, white walls and wonder what it would be like to paint them a fun color!
But, I've never lifted a paint brush.
And money has ALWAYS been an issue!
So, I would stare at my white walls and wish I could paint them. I had no idea how to start such a project!
Then, my kids grew up, and I decided that developing some new hobbies was in order. I decided I would paint a side table I bought at a yard sale.
Being the incredible novice that I was, Steve guided me through the process. I really like a gray and cream color, and here is the finished product:
I think it turned out well! Thanks to my darling hubby, who taught me how to strip, sand, and stain wood this table turned into something that I really enjoy. Oh, and those blocks of wood with pictures on them was a creative project I got into, also. LOL!
Last week I shared this statement from the "Proclamation on the Family"
"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."
My husband's guidance and tutoring was, to me, a large measure of respect and compassion, and love. I felt so good about being able to do this! I've actually gone out and picked out a few more side tables to refurbish, and I have taken on small projects too, to enhance out home. I made a Welcome sign to hang over our front door, and a "No Soliciting" sign too.
I respect my husband's abilities, so I'm just going to brag a little bit here! 11, 12 years ago my mother went through cancer therapy for laryngeal cancer. I spent over two months with her while she went through the treatments. We had purchased our house in 2001... September 2001! The basement was unfinished, so during this time my hubby did THIS!
Sooooo.... what exactly has this got to do with marriage? Well, in that statement in the Proclamation, it states that "wholesome recreation" and "work" help families and marriages stay strong! My hubby-wubby is GOOD at this stuff, and I want to learn. So, he is taking the time to teach me.
Now, we are working on projects together. He could see I was serious about wanting to redecorate the house. And, I've been complaining that I can't stand the "orange" tint in our oak cabinets. I really wanted to paint them white. I was ready to run out the front door, buy a can of white paint, and start slathering it on! I wanted my cabinets to look like this:
Rather then a green wall, I've been experimenting with some online tutorials with blue paint. I wanted light blue walls, with black countertops. Also, our floor is cream tiles with gray grout.
However, Steve said he didn't want to paint wood cabinets, he'd rather stain them. So, off to Home Depot we went! He truly wanted to help me get the kitchen look I wanted, so we picked up some white stain.
In case anyone wonders... you can't stain the natural oak wood white! LOL! So, back to the Home Depot we went, and picked up gray stain. And, that didn't work either. We both agreed, we didn't want the 1970's look of dark cabinets. So, we gave up for awhile. I was bummed.
One day, I was wandering my favorite aisle at Walmart. No, NOT the chocolate aisle! I was wandering the paint aisle and saw this:
Honestly, I just couldn't deal with orangey cabinets anymore! I brought it home and showed it to Steve and he LOVED it! He went to work immediately testing it out on our cabinets. It worked! No more orangey cabinets! We worked together, with him leading the way!
I told him I wanted to paint the walls white, thinking "antique white". He was thinking pure white! So, he brought home a gallon of pure white paint. We painted the walls by the cabinets and I discovered he was right. It made a nice contrast. Here is a collage of the work. I sure am proud of my husband, and for being willing to entertain me in this venture. We are almost done. The kitchen is an utter mess, but I am rearranging the cabinets. They are up, but not finished yet.
Steve painting Erin and Steve as we stained Going up!
In the last picture, you can see that the cabinets are not even. That is by design. Steve thoughtfully lowered what he could for me. I'm pretty darn short!
I'm going to lighten the counter tops, and Steve wants to tile the backsplash area. This has been a fun work/wholesome recreation project for both of us!
I can say this has been so much fun to do with my hubby! We've had so much fun looking at ideas and going to the Home Depot to look at different colored stains and such.
And I'm grateful for a husband who's been willing to work so hard to help me with my goal, take the time to teach me how to do things, and put his expertise to work for me. I love my hubby!
No comments:
Post a Comment