House Excavations, green border
family home projects work in progress

More Painting, Plus Electrical

Work on the house to get ready to sell feels like it is speeding up.

During the last blog post, I left off with the red kitchen ceiling being primed by Erik. It did, indeed, need 3 coats of primer to cover that very deep red.

We chose a new yellow for the walls. It’s a bright yellow that reminds me of lemons. The original yellow we used for the walls looks almost peach in comparison.

The red kitchen ceiling is now white. Here you can see where Erik has cut in the new yellow around the top edge of the wall and how it contrasts with the almost peachy yellow we are covering up. July 26, 2022.
The red kitchen ceiling is now white. Here you can see where Erik has cut in the new yellow around the top edge of the wall and how it contrasts with the almost peachy yellow we are covering up. July 26, 2022.

We’re using white, the same white as in the dining room but in semigloss, for the trim so the kitchen has a crisp look.

It’s also hella brighter. Like someone hung the sun in the room.

A wide angle view of the west wall of the kitchen with the new yellow paint. July 31, 2022.
A wide angle view of the west wall of the kitchen with the new yellow paint. July 31, 2022.

Not only are the new white ceiling and yellow walls contributing to the brightness; Erik also found a few extra track lights at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to add to what we already had. (Btw, we can’t recommend the ReStore in Brainerd, MN, enough. We have found some wonderful furniture, lamps and light fixtures there over the years.)

We have one corner of the kitchen left to paint, the green area behind the stove.

View of the southeast corner of the kitchen, showing the green area behind the stove that we need to paint yellow. July 31, 2022.
View of the southeast corner of the kitchen, showing the green area behind the stove that we need to paint yellow. July 31, 2022.

Once that area is yellow, the stove will be more visible.

In other home renovation news, the electrician and his assistant returned this past week and finished the wiring in the dining room. Yay, working outlets and lights!

The light fixture is one that was salvaged. Erik picked it up for $10 somewhere. It’s a super cool modernist fixture. (One of the bulbs is burnt out, which we didn’t know until it was hung. We’ll be replacing that.)

Salvaged modernist light fixture with 5 large bulbs hung in the dining room. July 27, 2022.
Salvaged modernist light fixture with 5 large bulbs hung in the dining room. July 27, 2022.

We also now have a light fixture in the closet. Hallelujah, let there be light!

Flat rectangular LED light fixture in the dining room closet. July 27, 2022.
Flat rectangular LED light fixture in the dining room closet. July 27, 2022.

Painting and electrical work are magical in their ability to transform living spaces.


In other news, two baby robins hatched in the nest next door. You can see one of them poking its head out of the nest here.

Baby robin poking its head out of the nest. July 18, 2022.
Baby robin poking its head out of the nest. July 18, 2022.

As of the end of this past week, the babies were gone. They seem to have grown and flown the coop rapidly. Bet they didn’t have any painting or home renovations to do. 😀