Friday, March 22, 2013

When You've Made a Mistake {A Nursery Update}


I really thought I could make it work.  I had inspiration and I could envision how it would all come together.  But the more I worked at it, the more I realized...

...the blue walls just had to go.

I dreaded this.  Hubster had made his opinion loud and clear at the outset that he really didn't want to repaint the nursery.  I was sooooo confident that I would make it work and be happy with the results.

But the more coral, citrine, gold, white, and Tiffany blue we brought into the room the more busy the room became.  It wasn't a quiet and restful nursery.  It was a circus of color.  It was unfocused.

It was driving me crazy.

And yet, I kept trying to make it work.  "One more project and it will feel so much more feminine in here" I would say.  I was lying.

So, 33 weeks into this pregnancy I announced to the Hubster that we were changing the main paint color in the nursery.  I announced that I was fully aware he was not on board with this change, and I announced that I would be doing all the painting.  Myself.  No assistance needed.

Really.

I packed up the Kiddo and together we trudged off to Lowe's and bought a gallon of Valspar's Woodrow Wilson Putty and a new drop-cloth.  And I lugged that gallon out of my car and into the garage, where it sat while I tried to summon the energy to start my project.

All this either thoroughly amused or thoroughly annoyed my dear Hubster.  Either way, he waited exactly one week before he quietly moved all the furniture to the middle of the room, taped off the walls, and began painting.  His only request was that I edge in the tree, which I did.  He even remeasured and repainted the stripes on the striped wall.  What was once a labor of love for his son, he now made a labor of love for his daughter...and for his wife.

We are so blessed to have him for a husband and a father.

But, if I had been honest with myself in January, when I had that brief burst of energy before I came down with the shingles, I would have planned to re-paint all along.  I'd even confided to close friends that if I could do anything, I would paint over the blue with either a grey or an ivory and keep the tree, flowers, and stripes.  But I "knew" that was crazy so we were going to make the blue work.

In my obstinate endeavor to make it work, I kept us headed in the wrong direction for two months.  For two months I could have been painting without it exhausting my body.  I told myself how innovative I was being by working with what already existed.  But I was wrong.

I love C.S. Lewis' quote from Mere Christianity.  I have found it to be true over and over.  When you realize you've gone in the wrong direction, the sooner you admit it and go back in the right direction, the sooner you will make real progress.  

Here is a glimpse of our little girl's nursery now.




It is not perfectly staged.  There are still many, many projects which are undone.  And the hinges for the closet doors have gone missing!  But this room is more restful, and now the colors give pops of life to the room instead of competing with one another.

I am so glad we made this change.  The reality is that I might not be able to carry this little girl all the way to our planned c-section date.  I have been ordered to rest every chance I get, which doesn't leave much room for design projects.  It is such a joy to have this one thing done.  I know everything else will fall into place over time.

2 comments: