Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Greatest Gift

This week I received the greatest gift! And I happened to see the gift giver, Annette, last night at an event so I got to thank her personally.
I received a large envelope with several pieces of paper folded inside.  It was the finish schedule for my house, from when it was a model home about 14 years ago! Annette was the designer on the project, which we figured out by accident. She found this treasure trove when she was cleaning out her office!  The last page of the schedule not only listed all the paints used in the house but also had a small chip of the paint color (probably cut from the paint strip you can get at the paint store) for quick reference.

As you might know, the house I purchased 3 years ago was a foreclosure.  The finish information was the least of what was missing ( there were no doorknobs, no speakers, no STOVE, no light fixtures, no projector or screen in the home theatre, and my favorite; no medicine cabinet - just a lot of holes!) When you buy a foreclosure, there is no one to ask where something in the house came from, or how it works, or how to repair it.  There is simply a lot of guesswork. So to at least know what the finish on my cabinets is, what my countertops are made of, and what color paint was used is huge!  I especially wanted to know what the color of the trim was. (Shell White)
The form in the photo would be a great thing for you to do for yourself with every home you live in.  This is exactly how most designers keep track of the details of a room.  I have a notebook with a similar schedule, with plastic sleeves to hold the manufacturer's instructions and warranties that come with appliances, etc. It's so easy to pull out the notebook when I need to remember something.
So Happy Weekend! Go make yourself a Paint Schedule!