Catchy title: I'm at home and I'm in the home stretch. Get it?
I'm losing it!!!!!!
Must be the painting for two. days. straight. The good news? We gained major ground. Major.
Let's pick up where I left off. Everything was primed. So I moved on to finish. First up - the crown moulding. Painting white over primer really makes for great photography.
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| Sheen on the Left Side |
The only way to prove this picture shows a newly painted surface is the reflection of the flash in the satin sheen on the left side. But it's there!! And it's my tried and true Benjamin Moore "Cloud White" in satin finish. LOVE.
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| More Sheen |
More proof. Better proof! I need to learn how to take better pictures.
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| Ceiling Proof |
And then I painted Cloud White flat ceiling paint over white texture paint. That's even harder to photograph. So I caught the wet rolls.
With the moulding & ceiling done yesterday, I attacked the walls today. With a vengeance.
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| Primed |
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| Finished! |
I had nightmares. I couldn't sleep. How do I cut the wall into the moulding without it being a total disaster? The wall color is, well, a color. Not Cloud White. It's BM Weimaraner. It's gorgeous. But it's rich.
Rick S. warned me that I needed to freehand it and I had to find the "sweet spot" in the bottom of the gullied caulk line. It took the whole first wall (from the blind corner) to find it. But once I did, I sailed through.
It was a blend: the right amount of paint on the brush with the right amount of pressure to fan the bristles in exactly the right spot - skimming the bottom of the moulding/top of the wall. I swear, I couldn't even breathe as I was moving the brush.
But it was worth it. Rick stopped by, took a look, and gave me his approval. I could have dropped to the ground in a heap of joy. But I had to keep PAINTING.
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| Helper! |
Thank goodness George helped me.
Enough talking. More pictures.
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| Cutting the Bay |
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| Finished Bay |
The best part of this project? The finish paint. Rick S. insisted I go with Benjamin Moore's Aura paint line. It's the best. It really is. It dries super fast - but to the painter's advantage. You can lap the paint over and over and it doesn't show.
At all. Wow.
Perfect for dirty little grandchildren fingers messing up the walls. It washes well and touch-ups disappear. Yes, please!
Oh, and I also tackled the door.
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| Before - Wiped Down |
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| Primed |
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| Painted |
It's the front door, which is rarely used. I wanted to "hide" it, so I decided to paint it the same color as the wall. Yes, the trim makes it noticeable, but the more I could make it blend in, the better.
Except, even after painting, I wasn't done.
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| Inside Trim |
Remember that guy who installed the tiles and patched the ceiling? He painted the inside wood trim with regular primer and then tried to stain it. Gosh, if only I could have a chat with him! I decided to just paint it out in a color dark enough to hide it.
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| Annoying |
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| Much Better |
This picture makes it look grey/black, but in real life (or "true life" as Henry says) it matches. Or at least disappears.
So the finished door looks like this:
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| After |
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| Before |
I'm pretty happy about it. My dad keeps saying he has a brand new door. He also keeps saying he has a brand new house. Let's see if he's right.
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| Before |
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| After |
I think I see what he's saying...
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| Before |
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| After |
The evening news does look better...even if it is all FOX all the time...
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| Before |
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| After |
Ok, that might be my favorite before & after.
What a difference!
