The last month has seen us
experimenting with making our own paint, falling off ladders, being nearly crushed by falling scaffolding, crying over spilt milk and pondering over how green we really are... not to mention suffering from the end of winter run of lurgies.
We had decided to paint the house inside ourselves - you see our budget was dwindling very fast and as we'd painted our flat in Glebe - how hard could it be - right? Well, we purchase many litres of eco-friendly wood stain (translucent white) for the pine ceiling boards, hired some scaffolding (our ceilings rise to 5 metres in height), enlisted the help of unsuspecting family and friends and set to the task. As we attempted to erect the scaffolding for the first time, P. copped it full on the nose and was speechless for some time afterwards! We had almost finished the entire ceiling space and I was working alone at night, with nothing but the stereo and floodlight for company. I was at the top of the ladder, at the apex of our ceiling, trying to apply masking tape before painting the corners. I gave a tug on the tape, the ladder wobbled, then the bottom fell out of the world. 'This is it' I thought as I plunged. As if from outside myself I watched and waited for an eternity until with a clang and a thud I landed upside down on the ladder which had slid backwards and come to rest on the kitchen bench (newly installed thank god) with my leg caught between the ladder and the bench. I hyperventilated for a while, moved my leg out from under the ladder, moved it around and then limped up to the other house where I was promptly ordered to lie down and put my leg up. I was very lucky to have only a few bruises and no broken bones for my troubles.
After that (and a bout of bronchitis to boot), my mum convinced us (along with the offer of a small loan) to hire a professional to finish the job. I must say I am rather relieved to say we followed her advice. I have been up the ladder again since - but not quite as high - and very slowly. And now I put a couple of cement bags at the bottom to stop the sliding...
We'd been experimenting with making our own milk paint (made with skim milk, hydrated lime and chalk) and applied the test batch to the laundry walls. I was quite pleased with the end result - authentically rustic
However the painter soon dampened our enthusiasm. Upon doing the rubbing test he pronounced it unfit to coat the walls and that it would melt off the walls once the dryer was turned on. Very reluctantly, and with much persuading on P's part, I have washed my hands of all the spilt milk. I am now racking my brains to think of what use to put 25 kilos of chalk to - any ideas?
Green-ness - how to measure it...? Actually our conundrum was somewhat more mundane in nature. We wanted a green coloured wall in our bedroom - a feature wall if you will. It is actually one of the two rendered brick walls in the house which will act as heat sinks in winter when the sun shines straight on them - for this reason it needs to be a darkish colour to absorb the maximum amount of heat. We chose a colour called 'Celuce' which looked demure enough - but really popped once it was on the wall. I thought I might just be able to live with it - but P took one look and shook his head. So it was back to Bunnings to check out the colour charts and we settled on 'Green coconut' (a nice complement to 'Watermelon' on the other feature wall). L and I had a go at painting a patch with the new sample pot and we all declared it the right green for us.
Here are some pics of how it is all shaping up. We're thinking we might be able to move in - in about about a month... touch wood!
We are in love with our cabinet maker. I think that title doesn't do him justice - he is an artist - and passionate with it. He uses reclaimed and recycled wood to make custom made furniture and in our case - kitchens and vanities. He is very thoughtful and considerate in his design work and is open to ideas, with some discussion and the tempering of fantasy with practical realities. Here is some of his handiwork. We've been told the stories of the wood and where it all came from. I can point out to you the Tasmanian blackwood (forming the drawer handles) that once graced the halls of a guesthouse in Leura, the ex-work station laminated board on the bottom of the drawers comes from Katoomba Centrelink offices and the white shelving from Leura chemist - he's based in the Blue Mountains you see. My pull out tea towel hanger once served as a tie hanger in some gentleman's wardrobe. The kitchen is just about finished - we just need to bring in the fridge and the dishwasher 
(yes I've succumbed - my fears assuaged by the argument that it can be more efficient in water use than hand washing) and then he can fix everything in place. And the breakfast bar needs some sort of paint treatment - am still mulling over that one. You'll notice our 'watermelon' feature wall which is in the centre of the open living area.
large capacity is a must.
