Deep Brown is the New Dull Grey.
Paint. Just paint. It changes everything. What once was a dull, dingy, mottled-grey deck is being transformed into something far more attractive. It is now morphing into a deep, dark brown. I had planned to do it all myself—had done a fair amount of work, in fact—but even with knee-pads, the gnarled old knots of bone in my knees would not agreeably accede to the task. So, I hired it out.
Three young, chain-smoking, heavily tattooed guys (one of them, anyway …with bizarre tattoos that I am ignoring with a vengeance) with new-growth beards are attacking the beast with paint brushes and rollers. The tasks for the day: 1) paint the large section I had already prepared by power-washing and sanding—it was ready for paint; 2) power-wash the remainder and wait for it to dry; and 3) paint the railings, both deck-side and outside, the latter requiring an extension ladder to reach 20 feet from the steep slope below. Tomorrow, they will paint the floor of the deck that was power-washed today. And that will do it.
It’s not new, but it is beginning to look far better than it did. I wonder if paint would do that for me? Ah, well, that’s another story
Once the deck gleams with new paint, the wrought-iron deck furniture we got as part of the house deal will need some TLC…possibly including paint. But, more importantly, the tables and chairs and gliders need cushions. We’ve delayed looking for them while we wrestled with what to do with the deck. I’m in favor of some bright, wildly colored cushions. My wife…maybe so, maybe not. So, there will be some decorative tension around these parts until that issue is resolved.
And then, the exterior walls—at least in the back of the house—will change from mauve to cream. That is not to suggest they will change by themselves; a little pigmentatious transmogrification will be required there…but not by hired hands. I will most definitely do that…except the wall that would require me to rent an extension ladder and climb 25 feet up to pain. Better to rely on hired-gun acrobatic pigment performers to do that.
