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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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September 6, 2017

Saying Good-bye to Yellow Walls

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.

shutter doors as backdrop for french country decor

 

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’ 😉

9 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Good Ideas Tagged With: decorating

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Comments

  1. diane says

    September 6, 2017 at 5:03 AM

    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

    Reply
  2. Shelley says

    September 9, 2017 at 6:08 AM

    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!

    Reply
  3. Andrea says

    September 9, 2017 at 6:33 AM

    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 !

    Reply
  4. kddomingue says

    September 9, 2017 at 8:40 AM

    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.

    Reply
  5. Michele says

    September 9, 2017 at 1:44 PM

    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.

    Reply
  6. Shirley @Housepitality Design s says

    September 9, 2017 at 4:32 PM

    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…

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      September 11, 2017 at 9:12 AM

      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!

      Reply
  7. ROSE says

    September 10, 2017 at 10:42 PM

    The 2 bathrooms and their ceilings need a change! I would love to have them planked.

    Reply
  8. Chanele says

    September 16, 2017 at 7:58 PM

    What new color did you pick? The suspense…..

    Reply

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I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
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Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
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What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
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Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

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