We’ve had yellow walls for almost 18 years.
Now, granted, they haven’t all been in the same house. When we first moved to Oregon in the winter of 2000, we looked and looked before finally finding the perfect home for us. And I knew exactly how I wanted to decorate it. I wanted yellow walls in all of the main rooms. I wanted to add little accents of blue and white and have it look oh so cottage-y. And I wanted the office to be painted red because I just knew that would make it seem so much more office-y.
We lived in that house for 9 years. Both of our babies were brought home to that house. I cried my eyes out the day we drove away from it for the last time. We moved into a home that I was anxious to put my stamp on but, admittedly, I was a bit overwhelmed. It was considerably larger and hadn’t been updated since it was built in 1992. AND I was trying my best to be as frugal as possible. The new house had green carpet. Lots of green carpet. And it simply wasn’t in our budget at the time to have it all replaced. So I tried to work with it. I hung up the drapes from our old house and yep…you guessed it…painted the walls yellow.
(Found an old picture of how it used to look!!)
It was familiar…comfortable. And, you have to remember, this was before the whole ‘paint everything gray’ trend had hit the decor world.
So the yellow walls made their appearance in our new-to-us house but were relegated to the living room, dining room and entry.
And there they stayed. For nine years! It was about year 4 that I realized I was really, really over the yellow. But, we had other things to do to the house.
Like a deck in desperate need of replacing. Cabinets in desperate need of painting. Flooring in desperate need of being replaced. And lots, and lots of green carpet that needed to go bye-bye.
I also tend to put off things that I know are going to cause our household to be in upheaval. Even the thought of having to move everything out of those rooms and taking everything off of the walls made me feel exhausted. But, this summer, we finally reached the point where we realized that it was no longer a matter of simply wanting a new color on the walls. After all of those years, the paint was definitely starting to reflect the wear and tear of family life.
So I made the call and as I type these words the painters are here and the new color is going on the walls.
I’ll admit, there is this little part of me that is feeling kind of nostalgic as I watch them roll the new color on top of the yellow.
But as my kids head off to school (one in his last year of middle school and the other in her last year of elementary school! #holdme) and summer slips into fall, I’m embracing the changes happening in my family and my home.
I used to be so incredibly change resistant. And honestly it’s still not my most favorite thing in the world.
But as I’ve gotten older I’ve finally learned that change is going to come whether I want it to or not. And I can either follow along behind it kicking and screaming or I can march along with it knowing that while it doesn’t always bring sunshine and lollipops, it always leads me to a destination that is better than where I started.
In the publishing world, this season is known as the “second new year” mainly because it’s back-to-school time and we are also heading into the holidays. Vacations are over and kids are out of the house giving us time to regroup and having a minute to think without being asked for a snack every five minutes. And that’s what I’m doing. I’m taking some days to really reflect and regroup and tackle some areas of my home and my heart that have been neglected
So, here’s my question for you this week my friends. In what areas of your home AND your heart do you feel the nudge to make a change? I’d love to hear from you!
And, as always, thank you for meeting me at the fence today,
P.S. The yellow paint color is by Olympic Paints and is called ‘Dusty Yellow’ 😉
i like that term “second new year”. i never heard it before. i think it fits me right now. im 68. as long as one is alive it is never too late for a “2nd new year”. i have been thru some health and other very difficult issues. now im on the other side but still in this world! lol
I’d never heard the phrase “second new year”, but I love it! The Fall has always been special to me, not only for the changes in leaves and weather, but all the new possibilities that were ingrained from starting a new school year– both when I was a student and when my children were students. There is an excitement I feel when, as you described, there is a slight change in the air that says fall is coming, and it is physically and spiritually invigorating!
Can’t wait to see your new wall color, I’m sure it will be wonderful!
Adaptability. Such as moving on to a new wall color and seeing the possibilities, like you did! I need to dive in and adapt, change, move on, don’t wait for hand-holding. Just jump right in and paint on , or click on, or study on, don’t stew or fret. The rate of change is so crazy fast in the world today, in decorating, de-cluttering, technology and at our jobs, I can always build my adaptability. Example : I sold a bunch of my most clingy treasures last weekend at a garage sale and feel so FREE this weekend !
My youngest is 32 so it’s been a few years since I’ve felt the changes of the “second New Year” hit me. But with my granddaughter entering kindergarten this year, I’m back to scheduling my days around picking up a child from school and getting home with her and snacks and homework….. and all the things that the “second New Year” entails. Hmmmm, quite a change of pace, lol!
I’ve had yellow walls for about 15 years now and I’m ready for a change to! And I’m having a huge urge to declutter even more than I already have.
Yours was a particularly awesome shade of yellow. I had it in a guest bedroom once upon a time. Can’t wait to see your new color.
We recently painted almost every room in the house – in two of the rooms I just freshened but liked the paint color so used the same, just newly painted……painted the master a few years ago and I think I am going to lighten it up soon – maybe. Our biggest changes were big things – roof, windows, doors (still working on two more) new car and new carpet upstairs. Not terribly long ago painted tv/den room and the entire downstairs, including the half bath.
SO other than finishing the landscaping, ordering the doors and possibly – maybe wait till spring – painting our master, I think I am done for a while. I change things a lot. I love change – hubs does NOT.
Putting off redoing the master bath, I cringe just thinking about it but getting a new quote from out contractor this friday. Ugh, Really love the idea of it being done when we are gone or something lol hate that kind of upheaval!
Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs.
Yellow is such a happy color for you as a very happy person….Change is good…without change we become stagnant….for both our environment and souls we all need to hit the refresh button…change is good. If it weren’t that we have the house on the market, I would be painting the walls a pretty fresh linen color…in my heart? … I need to be more accepting of things that I cannot change…
Isn’t it so hard to accept those things we simply can’t change? I’m constantly praying that the Lord would just help ME to be the one to change how I respond to those things I can’t control. Not easy for sure!
The 2 bathrooms and their ceilings need a change! I would love to have them planked.
What new color did you pick? The suspense…..