Painting Day II

I finished painting the new guest room today. I love the color! I keep walking back to the room and stare at it for a minute and then walk out. I can't help it. The color and finish is perfect.

Here is the finished room. So purty! I can't wait to change that light fixture.

First things first. Before painting, I had to sand down the patches of spackle I used to fill in holes and imperfections. Instead of using sand paper I use a damp rag if the patches are minor.

See all the crunchy spackle? Smooth it all out with clean, damp rug by rubbing in a circular motion until the patch is flush with the wall.

Viola! The best part about this is no sanding! No sanding equals no dust! For larger gobs of spackle where I have to use sanding paper, I'll hold the sander with a damp rug over or under it to catch the dust. It's just one way to reduce some of the dust.

After I cleaned up the mess Guinness made, I was able to go back to painting. ;)

The previous night, I painted all around the trim, ceiling and in the corners of the walls; a method called 'cutting in'. Give yourself ample room to come back with the paint roller without bumping any of the trim. Also, if you haven't done so already, after you sand down the spackle you have to prime over it. The paint I bought has primer in it, so I just gave the spot a coat.

Next up: Next weekend, we'll put crown moulding and clean the floors. It's always been in our plans, but we were just taking one room at a time. The house already has really pretty moulding and all it needs is some crown moulding to tie it all together. In the mean time, I'll shop for a new light fixture and research how to refinish hardwood floors.

Painting Day

Today, I started prepping and painting the new guest bedroom. I was looking for something light and airy with sophistication. I've been loving the gray color combinations lately, so I went with gray walls. This color is 'Silver Screen' by Behr. I bought the paint+primer combination and in an eggshell finish. But before we start, there was a lot of prepping I had to do.

I always recommend bringing the paint card home and putting it up against your moulding to see what it looks like in the lighting of your room. I have made one too many mistakes, so take your time when choosing your colors. Finishes have a lot to do with the end results as well.

But before we begin painting, there was a lot of prep in the room. First, vacuum thoroughly and dust with a damp rag. Wipe all the ledges down and any areas that are clearly dirty (near light switch, door knob) Then, I went around the room and spackeled any holes (from hanging pictures) or imperfections on the walls.

Old paint on the floor. I wanted to take my time with this room to get it right.

Like many old homes, our ceilings are not entirely flat with straight edges, so I still have to paint it free hand with an angled 2.5" brush. By doing it freehand, I can create the illusion of a straight edge.

My boys sleeping while I work.

Media Room Ideas II

My head has been swirling with ideas. I have been looking up inspiration for the rooms and researching the things projects I want to do. I'm so excited!

A sofa that can act as a day bed would be perfect for overnight guests.

We priced out media consoles and they are just too expensive for our purposes, so we're going to try to build out own.

We're working a few hours each night to clean out the rooms. We're boxing, bagging and trashing. If we can't use it, it's finding a new home.

Simultaneously, we've been working on the other room. It's coming a long. I'm excited to see what these rooms look like without a large chunk of furniture in the center.

For this room, we're going to build a day bed like this. I had one when I was a teen and it's really easy to build. I'm really looking forward to this DIY. I just need to research how to paint raw wood.

A Man's Man's Pad

My husband has a home office devoted to his business and HOBBIES! It's your typical man's man's pad - golf paraphernalia, bowling trophies, tools, computer stuff, and a picture of his beautiful wife (eh hem), but it needed something to finish up the room and tie it together.



My husband's uncle gave him this rocking chair. It's INCREDIBLY comfortable and just needed a new cover. I was surprised how easy this seat cover was. Each cushion took 1 yard of fabric. I kinda just "eyeballed" it, used some 3 dimensional thinking and sewed it together hoping it would work, and it did!



Valance: I actually ran out of fabric to make full on drapes, so I only did a valance which worked out well since the hubs wants to put up some bamboo blinds. I wish I had a pattern because I think it would have been easier. Again, I "eyeballed" it, took some measurements, made some guesstaments, and voila!



With the scrap pieces, I made a runner for the bookshelf. The fabric was such nice quality that the finished product came out really nice. All the edges are nice and crisp.


(Leather "B" and P51D Mustang from Home Goods, beautiful framed wife from Your Dreams :D)