Thoughts on Redecorating

I finally have some pictures of the apartment we've been redecorating (we have a tenant, too, so the Christmas getaway is back on!).

I spent a lot of time, as I was painting, thinking about redecorating in light of current environmental concerns, and how that's changing my thinking.

It used to be that we would move into a house and totally repaint each room - walls, ceiling, the works. I just assumed that that was How It Was Done. But even something as simple as a coat of paint carries an environmental price. And the question I always ask now is, "Is this justified?" Is the benefit worth the cost? Even, is it necessary to paint the entire room?

Instead of just moving in and taking over, I now try to do the least amount necessary to bring about the desired change.

For example...

I painted the walls and trim in each of the rooms, but the ceilings were in good shape and really didn't need painting, so I left them. This goes against conventional decorating wisdom that would have you do everything at the same time so it can all have a fresh start.

But, let's face it, conventional wisdom is what got us into the trouble we're in.

I'll show you the bathroom tomorrow, and the questions we asked when deciding what to keep and what to replace.