Did you paint the town red this weekend? Party hardy? Maybe you painted the baseboard trim instead?
Given the toss up between movies and digging out the glossy Glidden, I went for a mini-marathon of film faves on Sunday to unwind. It was great!
I also did a little puttering around the house, pondering the touch-ups that would perk up my thresholds, and make the walls pop.
Red red red!
Doesn’t a little bit of paint perk up your interiors, and your mood?
Don’t you find the calming effects of dipping and brushing to be incredibly soothing, once you get into the rhythm?
I won’t say I’m beyond imagining kicking up my heels (Bonjour, Air France?), but a few months back I handed one of my teenagers a can of paint, a packet of brushes, and an armload of newspapers to use as drop cloths. In two hours, he had freshened up a small hallway and a few doors. He may not have been impacted, but it was a huge mood enhancer for me.
And a little stroll through my place has me thinking about that. And the benefits of brightening – with a fresh coat of paint.
The benefits of brightening
Whether it’s your teeth, your make-up, the color palette in your bedroom, or a little trim – literally for a few bucks and a few hours – brightening up your space (or your face) is an easy pick-me-up.
Don’t we all benefit from a little external electricity that oozes inward and affects mood, confidence, and energy level?
I am a big believer in our interiors affecting our… interiors. And I for one adore red, and have plentiful bursts here and there. While I may not take the horse hairs (or synthetic ones) to ruby red for a wall, I’m definitely considering washing the wintry doldrums out of my hair by lightening and brightening something around the place.
Red hair or red chair?
Have you ever chopped off all your hair on a whim, or maybe taken to a box of Clairol to change things up? I admit – I’ve done the former but not the latter, though I indulged in temporary hot pink hair in my twenties – with the operative term being temporary.
And it was fun!
Now in this lightening and brightening mood, would I dare to add flair to my hair? Hmmm. I do love the ample audacity that seems to inherently belong to the redhead, but I don’t know that I could carry it off. And I already have chairs covered in a fiery hue.
Does that mean I’m back to walls and baseboards? Something to make the reds pop and the entire environment seem fresher?
Hot hair?
Back to that red hair… would I dare?
I’m not convinced that blonds have more fun, but I do recall a red-headed friend who had many an adventure. I blush just thinking about it. (Yes, I blush.) Perhaps a few streaks of red in the long locks after all? A little flash and splash?
Or should I just stick to white trim, the hypnotic motion of the brush moving back and forth, back and forth, and the pleasure of accomplishing a task that is strangely satisfying?
- What do you do when you’re in the mood to brighten and lighten?
- Do you go for interiors? Hair? Face?
- Do you paint the town red?
- Or is it shoes, shoes, shoes?
I am an aging red head; many of us go blonde naturally, though the blonde is often strawberry. When someone refers to me as blonde, I remain so surprised. If I do what my relatives did: red, strawberry, blonde, then WHITE. I can see some white hairs but I am now blonde with hints of strawberry.
No grey, just Kris Kringle white….my father was thusly white-topped at my age but his mother did not go white until her high seventies. Will I be in between? White at 60 or so?
My favorite interior house paint is Pratt and Lambert’s blanc mange. This white is barely yellow. Not cream but more heading toward clear primrose, yet white. In the winter — now — the light reflected is more spring like than wintery. I use fabric — slipcovers, pillows, curtains — to make the color changes.
@NoName – I bet your hair is lovely! And probably looks beautiful in that Pratt and Lambert blanc mange. (It sounds edible.)
@Bruce – You managed a nice little wolf chuckle out me with your color (a)musings.
@Jane – You need that Saint Bernard sent your way! With anything 40 proof, and probably a babysitter to give you and your hubby a break. Oh right. You have a teenager. Um, you probably need an escape hatch to disappear for a few days. Somewhere warm, where you can kick up your heels! (Red of course.)
Makes me think of Sam Spade asking the red-haired femme fatale if her name is Wonderly, LeBlanc or O’Shaughnessy. Colors influence us greatly, but partly by being screens onto which we can project our own unconcious aspects. Be it the shoes, the hair or the hood, Little Red seems to be a powerful attractor of the wolf indeed—it’s realizing that we are the wolf, big and little, that may free us to integrate the eternal child and her wise old grandmother.
Speaking of painting those baseboards…I started downstairs and before I knew it, was up the stairs and onto the first floor! I had to force myself to stop for the night! One thing just leads to another. And…BTW…I love red. Especially in shoes.
Sounds like you’re a pro when it comes to painting trim! 🙂 And what’s not to love about red shoes?
This weekend? Still iced in. So no painting the town red here. Incidentally, red is my lucky color. When I was in school I always wore red on test days. Gave me good luck… most of the time.
I do think change can be invigorating… And color is powerful. Our new home is full of color and I think it’s a very happy place. I am reasonably cautious with my hair, but I did chop a lot off this fall, so maybe I’m loosening up in my old age 🙂 Love this post as it is both playful and purposeful…
I love a new paint job. Feels like a new house, on any budget. I have never gone too wild with the hair color, but played a little as I have been complete grey since my early twenties. Miss Clairol and I are close friends.
Red is bold. Maybe too bold for me. I cant even do the red nails or shoes.. I need to get out more.
Yes, a little change in the home decor can certainly make a change to our own interior. Just a few weeks ago, we bought all new bedroom furniture, bedding and curtains. It’s something that should have been done LONG ago (picture white-washed, pinkish-coloured dresser with attached “seashell”-shaped mirror and curved, gold handles – UGH!). We spend so much more time in the bedroom now. It is a sanctuary. I just love it. No red (although that is my favourite colour), but still lovely.
I have had reddish highlights in my dark hair, but found it didn’t really go with my eyebrows! And I’m just too chicken to go for it and REALLY chop it all off, although I’m in desperate need of a haircut right now…. hmm, something to think about! 🙂
@ShannonL – Try bangs!
@NAS – Red is certainly not for everyone. We all have colors that make us feel good. (But switching things up certainly adds energy, doesn’ it? And give Miss Clairol my best.) 😉
My ensuite bathroom is a deep deep red. And I LOVE it.
And guess what…I was painting this weekend. We are deep into finishing our basement which involves more painting than I care to divulge or even think about. I am so tired of painting.
Also…just before Christmas I went for a MAJOR cover change. Chopped off my hair and now I’m sportin’ a brand new short do. And I love it. Feels fresh. Just what I needed.
Hooray on all fronts, Christine! (Pictures of your red walls? Your new do?)
We did paint my daughter’s room, a deep pink and lavender. She loves it. I was a little hesitant because painting a room seems like such a committment, but I have to admit it does look very nice.
As for hair, I am risk averse. I usually stick to the same hairdo. Maybe, just maybe, next time, I may do something completely different.
No, not hair, definitely, I’m not the type of a person who just keeps changing hair color all the time. Painting interior certainly helps, though. It’s relaxing and if the result is nice, it’s satisfying as well. The brighter the colors are, the better, too. For our mood, at least.