We recently refreshed our home’s exterior paint. The garage doors and shutters look neat and refreshed with their new warm brown coat. The light post that has bugged me for years finally matches the rest of the house’s color theme. Even our mailbox got a new layer of the same shade. But the very best part of the paint job is our beautiful yellow front door. Yes, our front door is now yellow as evidenced by the photo that accompanies this piece. I knew I wanted to do something different as it seems doing so is a “trending thing” on HGTV. When I asked Steve what he thought of the color he was not too excited. It is my hope that it will grow on him.

In my father’s early years he was a painter by trade, as they say. He painted houses in Philadelphia. As our family grew he parlayed his trade knowledge into paint store management. He worked for a few different paint companies and eventually retired from MAB Paints.

My dad doted on my mother in many ways. One of those ways was to paint the house frequently in whatever shade she wanted. I can still see him in his white painter’s pants on his well used ladder, holding the brush quite properly with his pinky in the air, whistling away. In hindsight, I think he thoroughly enjoyed doing the work.

My mom picked out her desired colors from the precious fan deck. A fan deck is the collection of color samples all lined up on cards that swing out like a fan. When I saw my dad come home from work with the color cards I knew my mom was hankering for a change.

When the opportunity presented itself, dad painted using a “mistake” color.  Mistake colors happened when the wrong color pigments were accidentally used and then shaken together. My father had nicknamed one of those mistakes Shitty Shrimp. I remember that one because I could say shitty and get away with it.

Sometimes dad wallpapered. I loved to watch that process. It was quite messy and seemed like an astronomical task. In the end it amazed me because he always lined up the patterns perfectly and the seams were barely noticeable. I think he took great pride in his work.  I know that his beautifully crafted rooms always did and forever will make me proud.

Steve and I are going to have the inside of our home painted in the coming months. I am counting on the spirit of Bill Monaghan to guide me to the right colors. I’ll think of him and it will make me smile seeing the drop cloths, hearing the tap of the brush of the side of the paint can and the sound of the paint being rolled onto the walls. I can’t wait to see the results and enjoy the feeling of a newly painted room.

If you get a chance, swing by and check out our yellow front door. I think it’s beautiful.