Red Hot Weekend

Sizzling, RED HOT weekend!  Temps 95 and above every day, but I loved every minute of it!  Having a long stretch of four days off (Friday was a vacation day) gave me plenty of time to get my back porch floor repainted.  With no rain in sight and four straight days of hot temps, we had just what we needed to get this project accomplished with no interruption.

Sitting on my porch a few weeks ago, I was contemplating what color to go with.  This was my inspiration piece:

RED.  Of course!  I wanted an impact.  Something "saucy" and a little daring.  Vibrant.

After all, I tend to have "red taste" in many things.

Oooh, yes, I'll have red, please!

The Color Red Is...

Not just warm and cozy…

It’s brave.

It’s bold.

Hot

Intense

Exciting

Stimulating

Empowering

Competing

Dramatic

Dynamic

Red is a symbol of passion—

RED IS … A STATEMENT

And I wanted to make a statement.

Friday began with power washing the entire porch to remove loose paint, dirt, oil, and mildew.  I had to first remove ALL the porch furniture, the grill, trellis, plants, flowers, pots and other decor to the patio.  All that weight training has paid off -- that was some heavy-duty lifting!   This was pretty much an all-day event.  Things worth having take time, they say.   And patience.

"No great thing is created suddenly."

~ Epictetus

Saturday:  The base coat...x 2

Sunday:  Faux finishing begins.

... black, then dark golden glaze.

Actually, I would love to have left it solid red.  I loved the vibrancy of the red by itself, but being a

 high-traffic exterior surface, I knew that it would show EVERY footprint, scuff mark, and scratch that will inevitably happen.  

So all that's left to do:  

• Seal it with clear-coat, x 2 -- this will both seal it and add that wonderful "wet" look to the finish.  
• Wait 48 hours (at least) 
• Replace the furniture, grill, flowers, plants and pots  
• Add a few candles and collectibles
• Rehang the black/charcoal cheetah-print sheers
• Restring the lights along the dried honeysuckle vine (can't wait to see the reflection of the lights against the sheen of the red at night!)
• Then sit back and enjoy the new look.  

A week-long project, but worth the time and effort.

Painting and projects and designing and decorating and refinishing and building, rebuilding---it's all so rewarding to me, the creativity a rush of lifeblood to my innermost sense of contentment.  It's just another one of my passions.  Too bad I don't have the resources to FUND this passion more often and to a greater extent.  I do what I can.  And what little I do brings me happiness.  

And that's rewarding enough. 

"Create your own visual style...

let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others."

~ Orson Welles