Party Time!

Ever have a party guest leave you an indelible "gift?" Something like that stain in the carpet? How about that mark on the wall?

Ever think of inviting and showcasing that behavior? Neither did we before this project.

Our builder, John Hammerschmidt, has helped with a lot of ideas for our project. This one came up really early in the design process. As we shared ideas about a bigger than usual laundry room (it will wind up to be about 9 x 15 feet!), John started telling us stories about some of his other clients. Dogs were a big factor in their plans, too. As we were joking about throwing a completion party for the crew, with the budget shrinking if the project ran long, John told us about the pre-demolition party these other clients threw.

John's other clients saw demolition (a nominally destructive event) as an opportunity for creation instead. They invited their kids playmates to draw on the walls before demo began. And really, why not? They'd be moving out, and the walls would either be getting ripped out or painted over before they returned.

Laura & I took to the idea immediately. How many times do you get to shatter a limiting belief, like the one we all hold that it's not appropriate to draw on walls?

So, earlier this month, after we moved out to our rental place and before we handed the house over to John, we threw a party. We invited family, friends and neighbors in to add their own style to our project. And add they did! The kids had a great time. The adults were at first stuck in disbelief at the freedom. And, there were great surprises for us in some of the talented sketches like the one left by one guest outside the hall bathroom shown at the top of this entry.

See the entire gallery of wall art here