a colorful weekend

last weekend was labor day weekend. and how did we celebrate? with a house full of people and plenty of labor!

saturday morning started with quiet picture rail filling and trim masking.

(left) then the plastic door went up and mathew started painting the walls. (right) mathew’s brother misha is visiting from new york! he put his clothes on inside out and helped with painting.

(left) i spent the entire day painting kitchen cabinet doors in the garage. when the sprayer noise finally stopped i ventured upstairs for a peek. i was shocked by how pink just the reflection of the wall color was. and when i walked into the room it was PINK. it’s actually darker than the photo (if you can believe it.) my grandmother loves pink. last year we painted the living room a very pale “i love you” pink. the plan was to paint her bedroom a slightly darker “valentine’s day” pink, but for some (insane) reason we decided to be bold and paint two walls “pretty pink.” my parents say that my grandmother painted a house this color years ago… we hope she likes it..!

misha’s friend aja is also staying with us and she’s a personal chef! so, you guessed it, we’ve been eating yummy food. we appreciate her sunny presence and patience while misha helps us and we work late into the night.

on sunday my parents arrived. my mom was raving about the new cabinet color and wondering if they needed sunglasses in the pink room.

(left) my dad sanding the wood surface in the built in hall cabinet. (right) mathew priming the picture rails.

(left) while laughing uncontrollably i took this photo of my mom, amazed at her dedication to the project. i certainly hope no one will ever lie down and check to see if the underside of the swivel cabinet door is painted, but if they do, they will be impressed. (right) painting the cabinet doors with a roller and latex paint (instead of oil paint and a brush) makes the project fly by! i even felt a little guilty for keeping this fun and easy project all to myself.

(left) my dad admiring our new porch lamp. (right) here i am painting my “sistine cabinet.” it was now my mom’s turn to laugh at me.

(left) misha, back with inside-out clothing to give the cabinets a second coat. (right) mathew cleaning the shower tile, prepping it for grout sealer. another late night.

(left) monday morning. my mom, up a ladder painting picture rails with semi-gloss. (right) my dad touching up trim paint while enjoying a cool breeze.

(left) mathew and my mom attaching the bathroom vanity door after it has been painted. (right) misha and mathew carefully moving the (HEAVY) glass shower walls and door up from the garage.

(left) my mom chipping away at thick ugly grout where it shouldn’t have been. (right) here i am continuing the painting of the picture rails where my mom left off.

(left) misha installing the window hardware. (right) mathew and the completed shower enclosure. it was another late night. i was in the garage giving the cabinet doors a second coat and then stripping paint off the bathroom door. for the first time in the two years since we’ve been working on this house, mathew came down to tell me he was done for the night while i continued working.

i hope everyone had a nice long labor day weekend!