painting tips for normal people

we had professional painters come on friday to paint our two-story foyer (i'm not building scaffolding to do this!), the upstairs hallway (too much cutting-in and too much moulding), the master bedroom (vaulted ceilings, two layers of crown moulding and two layers of  oddly separated chair rails), and the master bath (ditto).  they arrived after 9am and left by 5pm. lickety-split, they had painted two thick coats for all the rooms and didn't even have to come back on saturday morning to touch-up.  the heavens parted, the angels sang, and i was inspired.  so I thought, hmm, maybe I can just knock out painting the office this weekend.  let's rewind to last week's post.  office = pink walls + chair rail + three-tier bookcase with mirrors + wallpaper.  by the end of yesterday, I had applied one layer of wallpaper sealant (Zinsser Gardz) to cover the hideous maroon-and-baby blue STRIPED wallpaper and three layers of primer.  after the first layer of peacock blue ("Stilettos" by alan + roth), the wallpaper still showed through.  the only thing I hate more than striped wallpaper is maroon-and-baby blue striped wallpaper.  so we're on our third layer of peacock paint, and Andy's at Lowe's likely having the same conversation with the counter that I did yesterday morning - "you're doing what? we can't mix that paint in a high gloss finish!" since this project evolved from a one-day project into a likely multi-weekend affair, thought I'd share some useful home painting tips, both from the pros on friday and from our 'lessons learned' folder.

1. don't waste time washing brushes and rollers if you have to put a project on pause (or wait for more paint).  just wrap them in cling wrap (or my fave, press 'n seal) and stick them in the fridge until you're ready to use them again.  if they are properly sealed, you can leave them in there for weeks, and they will still be fresh for touch-ups.  changed my life forever.

2. pour your paint into a five-gallon bucket and use the over-the-side scrape-y thing.  way easier than continuously moving the one-gallon bucket and paint tray around.  i'm convinced the pros shaved about 24 hours off their painting time by using this trick.

3. use your one-gallon bucket and a rubberband to quickly cut-in your ceilings from the ladder. (my cans never look this shiny.)

4. when painting over wallpaper, make sure to use the right kind of sealant. Kilz just doesn't cut it. you need something that will seep into the paper and prevent it from peeling off later.

and the winner is....peacock blue!

thanks for the votes, dear readers.  i forgot to mention in my last post that the husband voted for a blue room, so that heavily weighted the count.  needless to say we are very excited to paint our office a rich peacock blue -- "Stilettos" by alan + roth, a Valspar color available at Lowe's.  the paint sample online looks totally green, but in real life, it's a rich hue that conjures the deep end of the ocean. i can't wait to see how it turns out! more painting this weekend...


check out some more offices and studies painted in this fabulous color (high gloss of course). 

reader vote: the office - peacock or eggplant?

hello everyone (all three of you)... now that we're well into January, it's time for more painting!  our office is dismal. it's stuck in the early 90s with maroon and baby blue striped wallpaper, sticky polyester tap-top curtains, buzzy fluorescent lighting in the bookcases, and some Marrakesh detailing on the bookcase trim that would make any Morrocan cry.

oh my, look at those bookcases, complete with a two-tone maroon paintjob, c. 1991.  what's that you say? it's not maroon all over?  you're exactly right.  that's the ubiquitous dusty rose over there.  the color that remains in about 2/3 of our house. yum.

 surprise!  that's me waving.  yes, the bookcases have lovely mirror backing!  oh wait, you can also see those crusty curtains.  it hurts me to know that someone paid a custom seamstress to make these nasty things.  (yes, the tabs match the wallpaper, gross.)  i can't wait til the plantation shutters are ready to hang.

whoa, nelly. check out that hideous wallpaper below the dado rail.  good thing it's on there tight, because i am taking a paint roller to it!

so here's the conundrum. an office is one of the few places that you can go crazy with a jewel tone color, and i'm torn between a vibrant peacock blue and eggplant.  both colors are very masculine and cozy with gold, black, and green accents.  so i need your help in tipping me over the fence one way or the other.  this is how it's gonna play out:

1. paint will go on the walls in a high gloss finish.  light bounces off reflective walls and makes the space feel luxurious.  fluorescent lighting will someday be replaced with warm lighting from antiqued brass or gold-tone fixtures.

2. the crown moulding, window trim, and possibly the chair rail will remain a high gloss white.

3. the bookshelves, front and back, will be painted the same color as the wall.

4. a zebra-print rug might enjoy hanging out in this room.

choice number one: peacock blue

choice number two: eggplant

so which one will it be? votes due in by this Sunday!

paint it black!

happy new year, everyone!  although i vowed never to paint another inch of wall, trim, or anything... we decided to start 2012 by... painting.  you may know that the previous owners of our house painted almost every square inch pink before we moved in.  rose/blush/puke pink.  now, every girl loves pink and, don't get me wrong, a splash of fuschia or a sparkly rose wine here and there is perfectly ok.  but when all of your surroundings are rose/blush/puke pink, it can make you seriously twitchy.  we started with the 'Revere Pewter' in the living room, but it still looked sort of boring.  so, i took the plunge and painted our very traditional, welcome-to-1989 mantle and surrounds with the leftover 'Sealskin' from the dining room. not only does it feel brazen and sexy, but it's also a nice segue into the other room. the finish is satin instead of semi-gloss or even high-gloss.  bricks painted in a slightly matte sheen are pretty cool looking and still wipe clean.


every DIY website will tell you that painting a brick fireplace is "easy" and "takes an hour, maybe two."  i'm here to tell you that you need to set aside an entire weekend depending on the size of your fireplace and the color that you're painting.  if your fireplace is brick, please note that brick fireplaces have more nooks and crannies than the world's largest english muffin.  (i googled "world's largest english muffin" to give you some reference, but alas, no one appears to have attempted to bake a ginormous english muffin! Wolferman's, you need to get on that.)  therefore, you will need a large stippling brush, sizeable shoulder muscles, and a kneepad to get all the paint down in those pesky little nooks.


but first, before your knees and butt start cramping, you will need to use Kilz or another primer suitable for masonry on the brick portion.  i used a foam roller and and brush and practically had to pour the paint over the hearth to get adequate coverage.  after this step, you'll need to remove small children from the area or at least cover their ears, because you may blurt out an expletive.  


after three coats of paint and about 10 hours, the fireplace is complete.  every muscle aches, but in a good way. i will count these days as a solid workout for 2012. 


here are the before, during, and after shots:

The fireplace in its original glory. Yes, it's pretty, but the red brick will clash with my orange couch (coming soon)!

This is what the primer looks like.  Originally I thought I'd just paint the brick, so that tape job was a total waste of time.  It's much easier to just paint all of it!

Here is the final product. I'm thrilled with the results and can't wait to show you the rest of the room!

i'm drooling over the following rooms and hope our living room turns out just as snazzy (all from Pinterest)! (see people, pink accents are still ok.)