Black-roof country, no gold pavements.

In a white room
With black curtains
Near the station

-Cream, "White Room"


Yesterday morn I stood in the master bath, facing the master closet, with a paintbrush in hand and dilemma in mind. The biggest item on my to-do list was to paint the trim in the bathroom, which I stood poised to do. As the closet caught my eye, however, it occurred to me that the trim in there needed to be painted, too--but before the trim could be painted, the walls needed painting...and the ceiling, as well...

So I stood there, with one half of my brain calculating all the things that needed to be done, and the other half telling myself that this was a big closet, a big job, and I was undertaking it by myself, and I probably wouldn't be able to finish it that day...Erin...Erin, are you listening? This is a big job! Are you sure you want to do this?

So being the reasonable, logical person I am, I ran downstairs to see what kind of paint we had for the closet.

It took me almost an hour to clean the thing out, and another half-hour to take the shelves out, and another fifteen minutes to find a roller (it was outside), but only five seconds to know that orange, lavender, or yellow were not acceptable colors for the continuation of a room that is mostly jade and stone. White was the only option available that would not cause some kind of color clashing riot, and thusly, yesterday marked the very first time I have ever voluntarily painted something white out of purely aesthetic reasons*.

So I painted the closet white, the ceilings and the walls and the trim, being careful not to drip on the carpet (which we are keeping), but spray-painting the shelves a kind of metallic taupey-champagne color, because in reality I cannot fathom a completely white room. I purchased a curtain rod, and Jeremy (when he got home) hung blinds, so now we can dress in the closet without wondering if everyone can see us through the pithy piece of fabric I had haphazardly tacked in the window.

(Yes, there's a window in the closet, and yes, I'd like to think the view was always blocked, but one can't help but wonder if the neighbors are mourning--or applauding--the end of a two-year-long peep show at the end of the cul-de-sac.)

I hung black curtains left over from our Cleveland days on the curtain rod, thus fulfilling my goal of one day creating a room in homage to the Cream song "White Room". Now, whether yellow tigers are crouching in jungles, or shadows running from themselves, or starlings are tired, remains to be seen--I'm actually not quite finished with the job, yet!








*of my own. We painted Mom and Dad's living room and kitchen white back in 2002, or 2003, but that was only because they wouldn't let me paint it green.