Tranquil Dawn

You know that compulsive nesting thing that pregnant women do? Well mine saw me hunting for a house when I was weeks away from giving birth to my first child. I was living in an apartment in Bondi that was up 50 steps … not very practical with a pram.

We couldn’t find a house in our price range, so we settled on an ill-advised ground floor apartment in an old sandstone mansion in Hunter’s Hill. We also settled on an ill-advised colour scheme that included a pink room, a purple room, a blue room and a yellow room.

When the time came to sell, the real estate agent was horrified by our rainbow approach to decorating and urged us to repaint. We refused and ended up selling the place at a loss. The new owners painted everything white.

I followed their lead and painted my next house Dulux Antique White USA, which was widely regarded at the time as THE shade. Then I did the same when I moved into my current home.  But I look around now and it seems a bit … dirty … in the light here.

I need to repaint the living room after the renovation, due to the new doorway that’s been bashed into the kitchen from the laundry and how badly I painted everything the first time. I was particularly hopeless at doing the ceiling. So I’m getting DD’s painter over to give me a quote on a professional job.

And I’m thinking about experimenting with colour again, specifically the 2020 Dulux Colour of the Year – Tranquil Dawn (pictured main and below). The cool-tone shade of green is meant to offer an antidote to an “increasingly disconnected” modern society.

You’re probably going to tell me it’s a mistake and that white is safer. But I’m wondering if it could be quite soothing and attractive when matched with white shutters and doors and kitchen cupboards. And I think it will tone in nicely with the new grey tiling in the laundry.

I’m interested in getting your feedback on it. Hit me with it.

The youngest is VEHEMENTLY opposed to the idea. She thinks it will look like a “granny’s house”. But she also doesn’t think I need a stainless steel bread bin from Victoria’s Basement, so why would I listen to her?

In other household news, the tiler didn’t manage to finish yesterday. He still needs to come back and finish the grouting. Blimey.

He asked me if I was “in a hurry” to get it finished.

AM I IN A HURRY?

It feels like I haven’t had a bloody washing machine since COVID-19 hit … I. AM. OVER. IT.

So, yes, you could say haste is top of mind.

Deep breaths.

I also called a roofing guy about my swiss cheese gutters, which I think are original – aka 1950s era – and in very bad shape.

Unfortunately he doesn’t do gutters, but his mate Alan – who happens to live around the corner from me – does. So I’m going to give him a tingle.

Darren the roofer was keen for a chat, as he’s been laid up on the couch for a month after falling off a roof and breaking his foot. Nice bloke. I asked him about the speckles of mould I’m getting on my cornices and he was delighted to discuss his fungus theories with me. He reckons he can forensically pull tiles of roofs above speckled mould and find it’s bone dry underneath. Mould is funny like that.

I thought his confession was funny too, as it didn’t leave me feeling inclined to pay someone to take a look. I might just open my windows more often and see if that helps.

The great Australian dream is a never-ending maintenance journey.

I really need to win the lottery … or one of those prize houses. I’ve just bought lots of tickets in a few of those. Fingers crossed …

Have a great weekend and I’ll catch you on Monday.

Song of the day: Helen Reddy “Delta Dawn”