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Yellow!

I have been suffering from low motivation, and an inability to accomplish much of anything that feels really satisfying lately.  I think that winter is to blame.  Obviously I do a lot, but sometimes I really need to tackle a fun project to completion in order to feel like I am not just spinning my wheels.  That’s why we craft, right?  Because so much of of mama’s life involves doing work that will be quickly undone in a seemingly endless cycle.  That work is good and important, but sometimes I need something more.  When I make or re-make something, it usually stays that way for a little bit longer than the floors stay clean after a good mopping.

I decided to fix up this little crappy bookshelf that I must have picked up off a curb or something years ago.  I’d add a curtain to hide the mess of homeschool books, and paint it a fun color.  As I contemplated my options, I quickly descended into Crazytown.

“No, wait.  I better just paint it white.  That would be safest.”

“Life’s too short to play it safe and neutral all the time.”

“Aaaah–but too much color can be so distracting!  White would be soothing.  But…white would show dirty fingerprints!  Yellow, golden sunny yellow.  That would be just the thing to perk up my February.  Quick, go buy the paint before you change your mind, Ginny.”

I did just that.  I drove downtown, parked nearby, and walked in the freezing coldness to the cute shop run by fun painting ladies.  Seth was with me, the knees of his pants freshly muddied from metal detecting.  I did suggest that he change his pants before we left.  “They’re all dirty, ” he replied.  I’m getting used to being in public with a dirty teenager, and it doesn’t embarrass me anymore, though I do continue to make gentle suggestions.  At any rate, the key to getting in and out of the store as quickly as possible, before I could change my mind about the color,was definitely having Seth along.  He has no patience for shopping, unless we’re in an antique mall.  I bought my yellow paint, and then popped downstairs to see what the ladies were painting down there.  There happened to be a piece of furniture painted in the shade of purple that was my second choice.  I carefully studied it, and decided that I had made the right choice with my yellow.  I wasn’t even tempted to change my mind.

Later that night, I began to prepare my little shelf for painting and as I did so, I panicked.

“I should have bought the purple!!  Yellow is so harsh.  The lines on the road are the same shade of yellow!  So are school buses!  What was I thinking?  That soft gray-purple would be so soothing.  I’ll just wait.  I’ll take this paint back tomorrow and maybe they’ll let me swap it.”

And on, and on and on.

It’s not easy being so nutty.  And this is exactly why I haven’t been accomplishing anything.  Well, my crazy, plus all my kids.

Sometimes you just have to cut it out and do something.

“It’s a little shelf, Ginny.  This isn’t exactly a huge decision.”

I decided to put a stop to all the nonsense, and I painted the silly-little, not-worth-obsessing-over shelf, yellow.

It’s pretty!  I love it!  Yellow is so happy!  I finished a project!

p.s.  The paint is Annie Sloan’s Arles.

p.p.s.  Here is another photo.  The room is dark, so it’s hard to photograph things.  The color is most accurate in the photo above.  It’s an orange-y yellow.

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Filed Under: home improvement, memoir · Tagged With: furniture redo · 60 Comments

Ginny

I believe that when you slow down and savor the small things, you don’t have to wish for a different life; you can discover beauty in the life you already have. {Find out more here...}

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TarynKaeWilson @ WoolyMossRoots says

    February 11, 2015 at 10:19 am

    Ginny,
    I have a story that will make you laugh. I LOVE that bright color yellow. I got a wild hair in the middle of winter and decided to paint the walls in my craft/art space that bright yellow. I thought it would be like a bit of sunshine, brighten things up, and motivate me. I did like it for awhile, but an entire room that color eventually got a little overwhelming and I painted it a soothing robins egg blue. That being said, I think furniture is the perfect thing to choose bright colors for and I love your yellow bookshelf. 🙂

    Love,
    Taryn

    Reply
  2. Gail says

    February 11, 2015 at 6:20 am

    I like the shelf, and the fabric for the curtain. Its nice to hear someone else’s conversation with themselves. I am doing that all the time. 😉

    Reply
  3. Stephanie in Germany says

    February 11, 2015 at 5:26 am

    Oh, how I know that kind of crazy! So much so, I was taken aback when I read your expression of it…

    Reply
  4. Amanda says

    February 10, 2015 at 9:14 pm

    I just LOVE yellow. It is so underrated. 🙂 Way to go!

    Reply
  5. Ruby says

    February 10, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    It looks adorable, Ginny. I like to pair yellows with grey, too. I have wanted to purchase some Chalk Paint for far too long & need to just do it, but I’m worried I will also need all the other accessories that she sells to go with the paint–the brushes, the wax, etc. Do you think I need all of that to create a pretty piece? Or could I get by with just a can of her paint and my own paint supplies?

    Reply
  6. Valerie says

    February 10, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    Haha. I am definitely the same way with projects! I love the color and the fabric you chose though, good decision. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Donna says

    February 10, 2015 at 10:36 am

    It looks great! I love how you finished it. I find myself with the winter doldrums and struggle to find motivation. Glad you found some!

    Reply
  8. Isa says

    February 10, 2015 at 10:33 am

    What a nice combination of colors you chose! I love it! Greetings isa

    Reply
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Hello! My name is Ginny. I believe that when you slow down and savor the small things, you don’t have to wish for a different life; you can discover beauty in the life you already have. {Find out more here…}

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