Order Amidst Chaos

The painting process has begun, and Duloc Manor is in chaos. We timed it so that my husband would be out of town for most of the process, since it drives him crazy when his habitat is disturbed. I compromised and allowed him to choose orange for his office walls as long as we switched the color of the adjacent bathroom. Originally it was going to be a very pale shade of green, but in my mind I kept picturing a pumpkin stem. Now it will be a very, very light shade of peach...nice and neutral, with no clashing.

So far, our formal room is done, as well as part of the entrance foyer and the first coat of the powder room. Originally I was thinking of pale yellow for the formal room, but since the powder room is an eye-searing shade of neon lemon, I decided to go with something different. Thus, the formal room ended up a subtle shade of green. The foyer is light purple on two walls; the other two will be an even lighter shade, with just a hint of color. It should go nicely with my Figment collection, which is on display as you walk into my home.

The painters are fitting us in around other jobs, so they won't be back for a couple of days. Thus, the house is looking rather cluttered, with the wall hangings, knick knacks, etc. all scattered around the family room. Even though it's a little hard to picture, images of a freshly painted home with colors breaking up the white monotony are dancing at the corners of my mind. A week or so from now, everything will be back in place, and the house will look even more like a home. The original white was neutral but also bleak and sterile; colors have so much more personality.

It's nice to work primarily on my laptop because I can take my "business" with me. The painting process won't be too much of an inconvenience because I can simply move out of the way and work from any room. But it has addled the cats, or at least two of them. Stitch loves it when anyone new is in the house because he figures that a) they will pet him; and b) he can sneak out the door when they leave. Farquaad and Tooncinator hide upstairs when strangers come calling, making occasional secret sojurns to the top of the landing. They like hiding under the bed, so I'm not sure what they'll do when it's time to paint the master bedroom.

Actually, Quaad is getting more social. The other night, we had friends over, and he finally came downstairs after figuring out that they wouldn't kill him. Toonce came down, too, but just long enough to eat his dinner before heading back to the safety of the bedroom.

Once the painting is done, we won't be out of the woods yet. Our other major project for 2005 is the hot tub. We wet tested the second model this weekend, so now we're trying to make our final decision. Meanwhile, I've got my fingers crossed that the Architectural Review Board will approve my plans at their next meeting, and I'm waiting for an estimate on a concrete patio. It's going to take some coordinating, but hopefully soon will be luxurating out back in a sea of soothing bubbles.

The hot tub purchasing process has been interesting. I never would have dreamed of climbing in and testing out the tubs if I hadn't done my internet research. Sure, when we first started looking, we climbed into dry models, but the feel is totally different when they are filled. Water adds buoyancy, so you have to make sure you'll fit in the seats comfortably without floating right out.

I'm not particularly shy, so it doesn't bother me to romp around in a public place in my swimsuit. It was amusing to see the odd looks on the faces of other customers as we soaked and played with the various settings.

By the end of the year, Duloc Manor will be quite a different place: multi-colored rooms inside and a spa with multi-colored lights out back. I'm not sure what we can do to top all that in 2006!

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com