The Eldon desk

The “Eldon desk” is a little wooden desk that Don’s dad made for Sami. He had previously made one for each of his grandchildren. Sami really liked the desk’s simplicity so Eldon surprised her with one the next Christmas. The desks were made of scrounged material and Sami’s desk has a piece of wood on the underside that must have come from an old phonograph cabinet. Eldon painted around the 2x2½ inch RCA logo of Nipper the dog listening to “his master’s voice.” Of course the little picture will be preserved.

 

The Study

The room we call a “study” is continuing to get its face-lift. Twenty years ago, when we moved here, it was Carl’s bedroom. The walls were paneled in dark wood. After he moved, it acquired a hodge-podge of furniture; a hand-me-down futon from Emily, two file cabinets, two giant wood desks, both discards from our respective work places, two computer desks, cheap bookshelves and, on the walls, a variety of artwork and calendars. Somewhere along the way it got painted a bright blue. A while back, Don switched out his big oak desk for a small roll top desk that had been his father’s. As part of our remodel, to make the room more coordinated, we got Don a new computer desk and both of us new matching bookshelves. We have been wrestling with what color to paint the walls. We want a color that will help bring everything together and create a quite, calm mood. A tall order for a room that still has seven different oak tones (including furniture and floor), five different desks and two different filing cabinets, plus five different electric lights, and two big windows that cast all kinds of light and shadows on the grooved, angled, sloping walls. Oh yes, we want it to coordinate with the other rooms.

Obliterating the blue took two coats of white paint, using a narrow brush (because of the grooves). Here are three Benjamin Moore colors we are considering:

Rich cream – exactly what it sounds like

Amulet – a low-intensity, creamy gold

Dried Basil – a soft, dusty green, tending toward a khaki color

Everyone says the green is best, but my senses respond most positively toward the other two.

Progress

Slow... but we are making progress. Don spent much of the last five weeks recovering from a nasty flu. That slowed his garage cleaning down to a weak crawl. Instead we have been focused on our study. No actual remodel in there, but we have added a wardrobe, to fill-in for the big closet on the main floor that will be demolished and moved. We added new, bigger bookcases and a new computer desk for Don. All surfaces must now be cleaned and painted. Good-bye blue!

 Everything we do is inspected by Simon. He does not approve of changes in his house. We are thinking of giving him cat Valium to calm him down.

Daphne, on the other hand, is fine as long as the food dish remains full and her basket is kept warm.