While You Were Out.....(my version) UPDATED

TheRogue · 02-21-2008, 05:54 AM

SEE NEW POST BELOW FOR UPDATE

We're getting close to 2 years now since we moved into our new home. For those of you who read about our nightmares with the house, it shouldn't be surprising that we've done very little in the way of decorating, besides a couple of bathrooms and my office.

My wife is not really big on "themes" which I guess you need to have if you're going to decorate in any sort of organized fashion. She also absolutely, positively hates surprises (she asked me the other day what we were doing for Christmas!!).

We have a good friend who is an interior decorator. She does a lot of higher end homes through Oregon. I've always told my wife that we need to work with her to come up with something for our house. My wife has always said "hell no".....because the person's house is about what you would figure it would look like....each room a different theme, each wall a different color, etc. I always said that she didn't do other people's homes that way, she did hers just for experimentation and artistic research, but my wife doesn't believe it.

So. My wife leaves for Denver yesterday @ 1pm. We'll be picking her up from the airport on Saturday afternoon. Last night the kids and I met in the house with our decorator friend and her husband. Started out good....the color samples she brought were very much in line with what colors my wife had been looking at. The ideas for window treatments (curtains, bunting, etc.) were beyond me, but I'm not much for decorating anyway. She'll be in the house around 9am to tackle taping, then painting today and tomorrow.

Did I mention my wife absolutely HATES surprises?

I might be asking for an Ifish divorce lawyer next!!!

TR

Flat Lander · 02-21-2008, 06:07 AM

Let the kids make the final decisions then you can blame them.

If she really hates surprises... Then I hope your boat is big enough to sleep you and the kids.

Good luck

ampersat · 02-21-2008, 06:07 AM

:lurk:
This should be good.

Bait O' Eggs · 02-21-2008, 06:11 AM

Kyle, your a braver man than I

ORhunter · 02-21-2008, 08:02 AM

I've taken on a number of projects without my wife's approval and been reamed real good for it. Much to her disapproval, I simply tell her, her opinion doesn't matter and she's got to trust that I won't screw it up. Upon completion, she always says how nice it looks. Still, she never finds it within her power to apologize for her lack of trust......or her illtempered outbursts.... We'll work on that problem another time......

CATCH AND EAT · 02-21-2008, 08:11 AM

Okay Kyle let the master of surprises help ya out a bit. Most likely you have made a couple of little mistakes here but hopefully the wife will live with it. Number one you should have suggested you were interested in painting and wondering if she would like to show a few paint samples to you. Hmmm......curtains or blinds would be nice two any ideas on fabric babe? You have to be sly about this stuff and keep your manly I'll get around to it attitude.

That said, as long as you did not paint the things Ca-mo purple like a pair of pants I remember the woman is gonna love you. You made a smart move by getting an interior decorator bud. Congrats on that move. It gives you an out in case the wife doesn't like something. I like that twist.

I pulled the same deal on my wife years ago. She decided to go on a vacation by herself back to Washington DC. I told her I might do a little painting while she was gone so she better speak up on some color issues and wallpaper and curtains and blinds so that I could have a plan for the next year or so. Little did she know I hired out the paper hanging and blinds while I did the paint work. Even the kids pitched in to paint and we had a blast while she was gone.

Cindy got in that night very late from the airport and the whole family went out to pick her up. I left a few low lights on and said nothing as she entered the house. She didn't even really notice at first that much had happened. She turned on the dinning room light and saw that I had painted and mentioned that I had done a nice job. Then she started noticing changes she had not expected. Valances, blinds and of course then she moved to the kitchen and saw that it had been painted and wallpapered and the squealing began. Let's just say she was very happy happy with the whole deal

Even better, when we went to church on Sunday she started bragging about me doing all of this and she had no idea that it was happening. I just smiled as the other women patted me on the back and their husbands scowled at me as if I had just stabbed them in the back. He he he.... News spread that I had done this and the dirty looks and the "what did you do that for? now I look bad" comments came around. I just laughed out loud and said my wife deserved it what's your excuse. All the looks and comments were in jest but I found great humor in what some of the wives said to their husbands. Plus I got lots of smiles from lots of nice people in the church. Made me feel good.

So Kyle, your heart is in the right place and if she loves it you are going to be her hero for a long time. The thought will go a long long ways and I have a feeling you will have a few buddies giving you the been kicked in the nards looks. Good for you brother!

Geemo · 02-21-2008, 08:18 AM

This is great!
Will you have before and after pictures of the project?
Mother's Day in February for your wife, PERFECT!

I'll be waiting to see how everything turns out.....

Geemo

crazyinoregon · 02-21-2008, 08:23 AM

here are a couple pics of what i got away with while the wife was out. I put up crown, chair rail and base moldings, painted, and did a wanescoat in the dining area. I did as was suggested earlier in the thread though and got some paint chip feed back.

Hogmaster · 02-21-2008, 08:42 AM

In doing a little snooping around TR's place, I found the project was moving right along.

How can she have any issues with this?

Kalamity · 02-21-2008, 09:41 AM

When my Mom was alive, it was nothing to start tearing out walls or flooring after my Dad left for work. Heck, I remember one summer our kitchen counters were 4 or 5 different colors, as she was painting them and the walls trying to decide what she wanted in the end.

The furniture was rearranged at lest once a month.... You ALWAYS turned on a light before entering the family room.

fishbait · 02-21-2008, 12:05 PM

Brave man.........

So, just not enough turmoil in your life.......

Things get boring now that you have settled with the developer..........

Did you have a bunk built into the garage (might need it)

I wish you the best

iwnnafish · 02-21-2008, 02:46 PM

Let us know how it goes TR.

byebyeducky · 02-21-2008, 03:12 PM

Oh no!

This may get interesting.

May I request photos of the initial reaction (within 5 seconds of entry)
and Secondary reaction (after 5-30 minutes, and when all non-family and other family members are gone except you)

I know how this stuff works.

On a side note-
My wife has a small amount of OCD, and no matter what I work on or purchase, it is never right. It may be something she picked out, but NO MATTER WHAT, there is something wrong with it. I now will bet her (usually a small bet) that she will be dissapointed in whatever it may be. It is a win/win, she wins something small (I meet her for lunch

, etc.) and I don't have to hear her complain

It sounds weird when I explain it.

Fshklr · 02-21-2008, 03:34 PM

Remember that guy....TheRogue wasn't it?? man we'll sure miss him!!

Goodluck..it's all in jest, I bet she will be very happy....

and kudo's for the thought and creativity....

Repeat after me........"But the designer said"....

Bloom · 02-21-2008, 03:55 PM

You might consider a re-model on the dog house so you can tuck your feet in at night if things get ugly.

Bait O' Eggs · 02-21-2008, 05:03 PM

you might also find the old baseball cup for when she returns, ..............just in case

fishkisser · 02-21-2008, 08:00 PM

Hope She has a sense of humor ...

Paddlefish · 02-21-2008, 10:49 PM

Just be vewy, vewy careful . . .

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthrea...ghlight=swishy

TheRogue · 02-22-2008, 04:59 AM

Finished painting last night. An awful lot of white walls to cover. We went over it twice....but of course when the sun shines in this morning there willl be all sorts of obvious missed spots!!

Not sure about some of the candle bases and other things the decorator bought, but my daughter thinks they're great. Curtains and valance material look good, they'll go up today after the touchup paint dries. Decorator has figured out how to arrange our hodge-podge of prints and paintings into something organized. Have to send in a bunch of family pics to the online 1-hour photo place for printing for a couple of collage frames she wants to do as well.

And in case you didn't know......something I remember everytime AFTER I start painting......blue painter's tape SUCKS on textured walls!! You can never get it stuck tight enough to prevent bleed-by, better off just cutting in.

I think I'll survive this.....if not, I've slept in my boat before (just not in the driveway)

TR

Spindrifter · 02-22-2008, 06:59 AM

:lurk:

Trick · 02-22-2008, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRogue

I think I'll survive this.....if not, I've slept in my boat before (just not in the driveway)

TR

Be a shame to check out just before springer season....good luck with that!

Post some pics.

fishbait · 02-22-2008, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRogue

I think I'll survive this.....if not, I've slept in my boat before (just not in the driveway)

TR

You can borrow my RV if you want.

Brave, brave man.

TheRogue · 02-25-2008, 04:43 AM

Well, I survived. Got my wife home from the airport, she walked in with her head down and wanted to know what the heck the new rug was in the entry way. The kids and I were standing there waiting for her to put her head up.......when she did, she said, "wha.....thi..........uh.....wha......" or something very similar.

We knew when we were doing good when we pulled a picture off the wall on Thursday and found almost the exact same color we chose "test painted" behind it. Then, we hung up the weird dark copper square thingies that my wife had bough a while back and tried to hang up on the uncoordinated white walls...I of course promptly pitched a fit at the time because it looked wrong.

To make a long story short, she loves it. The only thing she complained about was the color of the two candles on the wall sconces. Below are some very cruddy before & after pics.....not very good photos, but you get the idea. It's tough to tell how different the paint color is (Taupe), untill you look at the white trim to see the contrast. Still don't have those darn barstools replaced, but I'll get there.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

RidgeRunner · 02-25-2008, 05:34 AM

Glad to hear you are not sleeping in the boat in the driveway. Looking at the pictures, you and the kids did a great job. Glad to hear the wife likes it.

StickFish · 02-25-2008, 06:10 AM

Looks good - I never lived down the sofa and love seat I bought while my wife was out of town. Well not till we hauled it away to the dump that is.

I was sort of disappointed that this wasn't more eventful - after all Tom H hasn't been around in a few days for my daily dose of harlequin tales of whoa. Was hoping this would be a good substitute - darn it all to heck

Kalamity · 02-25-2008, 06:31 AM

That's GREAT! Glad she liked it.

Looks good too...

TheRogue · 02-25-2008, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StickFish

I was sort of disappointed that this wasn't more eventful - after all Tom H hasn't been around in a few days for my daily dose of harlequin tales of whoa. Was hoping this would be a good substitute - darn it all to heck

Sorry to disappoint you!

CATCH AND EAT · 02-28-2008, 06:38 AM

Stickfish I was thinking the same deal. Tom H stories are funny stuff. Was hoping for more from Kyle but....... glad you are still in on piece. Amazing what a little paint and a few pictures will do to liven up and warm up a room. Good for you and I am glad she likes it. You are a hero now.

Chromaflage · 02-28-2008, 07:07 AM

Yeah, but did you install that Royal Flush XP?

Looks good Kyle!

wapiteaser · 02-28-2008, 07:56 AM

Geez, I thought we were all going to get to divide your stuff up and rent you an apartment. Great job. I couldn't get away with that. Glad you had the love and courage to take on that project.

Jeremy · 02-28-2008, 09:50 AM

did she notice the new TV yet? nice move to sneak that in there!!!

TheRogue · 02-29-2008, 05:38 AM

actually the new TV has been around a while beforehand, the "before" pictures are old pics; nothing had changed much (except the new TV).

problem now is she wants to paint more walls........I don't want to even SEE another roller for about a year or so.

TR

crazyinoregon · 02-29-2008, 08:33 AM

hopefully she is into just the regular paint out of the can and not that faux stuff. you have to admit, for the money, a quick paint job can give you the most bang for the buck as far as remodeling goes.
good job....good luck