We were back at Home Depot to look for paint colors for the kitchen and dining room. These “rooms” are really just different areas of the same open space that also includes our living room. I had no idea really what colors I wanted to use, so before we went to HD, I started out looking at fabric for making new curtains.

This may be a backwards way of doing things but to me, fabric is inspiring. Looking at different fabrics and the colors in them helps me get an idea of what would look good together. So, there I was shopping online, looking at Batik fabrics. I saw Hoffman Batiks’s Sweetpea design, and it was just what I was looking for.

There are several colors in this design that I could have gone with, including pink, coral, violet, cream, green, and gray. I decided to take my fabric to Home Depot with me and look at different paint colors beside it. Home Depot’s Paint Department has lots of colors from which to choose.

Once I was in the store, it was still not easy to decide on colors. They do make it a bit easier, though, because they have great florescent lighting in that area, and counter nearby where you can put the object or items that you want to match along with your paint chip cards. I chose several similar colors to place side by side with my fabric.

As in the other departments we had visited at our local Home Depot store, there was a very helpful store employee, Jennifer, who was able to help me narrow my choices down to just a couple. She did tell me she couldn’t pick my colors for me, though! While I was busy choosing colors, Fabgrandpa was talking to Jennifer about different types of paint and different brands of paint. He decided on Glidden Latex Enamel with primer in the paint for the kitchen, so we wouldn’t have to do a separate primer coat when we started putting paint on the walls. For the dining room, he chose Glidden Matte Finish Latex paint.

My final color choices were Coral Serenade for the kitchen, and Tate Olive for the adjoining dining room wall. What do you think of these color choices?

The last time I wrote about our home improvement projects, I told you that the window installers had called and made an appointment for October 7.  The only thing that Fabgrandpa and I had to do to prepare for them to get to work once they arrived was to take all the curtains down off the wall. We did that as soon as we got up and dressed on the 7th.

And, because I had never had windows installed before, I did not how much of a mess the workers would be making. So, with that in mind, I covered my sewing table with my sewing machine and some fabric and projects on it with a drop cloth just in case.

At about 8:15 a.m. we heard a knock on the door, and the three woman work crew introduced themselves to let us know they would be getting right to work. Now, I had assumed that a male work crew would be coming out to do this work. I am not prejudiced, it’s just that I have never seen an all female construction crew before. These gals got right to work, and before I could get a cup of coffee made, they had the first two old windows out of the wall!

Another thing that surprised me is that the only thing holding the windows in the wall were two screws, one on each side of the window. Once the two screws were out, they just lifted the old windows out of the hole.

The new windows went into the existing portals perfectly, thanks to the exact measurements taken earlier and verified.

After the new windows were set into the holes, and the screws set in the frames, they caulked all around the sashing of the window. These new windows will be so much more energy efficient than the old ones.

After the windows were set into the wall and secured in, one of the ladies started making the metal flashing to wrap around the existing wooden flashing. This will make the existing trim match the new windows, and will never have to be painted. It also will not rust or rot! I was really fascinated with the procedure of making the flashing. It started out as flat metal sheets. Then, Madeline worked her magic, cutting and folding the metal to meet exacting measurements.

The flashing fit perfectly. She told me she has been doing this type of work for more than 14 year . She is good at it for sure!

When the workers were almost finished working, someone from Home Depot called to inquire if the crew arrived on time, if they were cleaning up after themselves, and if we were satisfied with the work so far. Then when the last window and piece of flashing was installed, Madeline called Home Depot to report that they were finished. After she did her report, she put me on the phone with the customer service rep from Home Depot so that I could tell her if I was satisfied with the job, and if the crew had finished cleaning up after themselves. This installation could not have been done any easier, faster, and more to my satisfaction, at all.

I would recommend using Home Depot for any home improvement job, start to finish. AND, if anyone who is a reader is thinking of buying an installation service of roofing, siding, windows, home insulation, water treatment or a gutter/leaf protection project with Home Depot, and use my referral code of 7809369, I will receive a referral fee.