Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Painting ...Are we done, yet?

The lag between posts would be due to the tedious job of painting. This must be the hardest and longest part of the project. Next time I should stick with one paint color, but that would not be as nearly as interesting as two or three. As I grumble over the length of time it takes to paint a room, I still love painting. There's a sense of accomplishment and when it's all said and done, you get a room that is uniquely yours. Here is how the painting all "rolled" out...


THE PREP WORK

I like to get painting right away, but if you want a job that is well done, you'll need to do the prep work beforehand to save you time and frustration. That means taping off edges and using a tarp, etc. When taping off edges, I like to use a putty knife to press down the tape. This keeps the leaks to a minimum. Sometimes you'll get seepage underneath the tape if it's not adhered well. Also, when using tape, it's a good idea to take the tape off before the paint is completely dry. This will keep the paint from peeling off if there is an overlap onto the tape. I also keep a big stock of disposable gloves and paper towels handy. You can never be too clean.



NEW AT THE PAINT STORE





While picking up my paint at the hardware store, I came across some new items I thought were pretty slick. Paint brushes are getting more clever. There are some bristle brushes now that are shaped for the corners. They are not only in the shape of triangles, but angled as well. How easy can they make it? As for paint, Behr has a new paint that's a primer and paint all-in-one. I really liked this paint. I am a fan of thicker paint and usually hit up Sherwin-Williams for my paint. The normal Behr paint is somewhat thin for my taste. It makes for a lot of drips and splatters. The new Behr paint adheres nicely and when used over black magnetic paint, it covers pretty well. I still needed two coats for complete coverage. Unfortunately, the magnetic paint didn't work well for slightly heavy magnets, so paying $20 for a quart of magnetic paint probably wasn't the best idea. It sure sounded fun though...


UNLEASH THE ARTIST IN YOU

 The colors I chose for the room are teal and lime green with a splash of orange (a complimentary color to blue). I'll also be using chrome as a finish. Some of you may think that if your son or daughter loves a color, it should go on the wall. Not necessarily. The best way to show off these colors is to place them against a neutral background. The brilliant colors will explode. I tried to share this tidbit with by daughter when she asked why she's getting a gray  on her wall. Once I showed her the colors against the gray, she agreed it was the way to go. Knowing that gray was a little bland, I went ahead and spiced it up with some subtle graphics. I used a silver metallic paint to create large circles over the gray on the walls.  In order to make the circles, I  used a string tied to a pencil. I kept one end of the string on the wall and held it with my finger . Then I swung the string around  and used light pressure to create a faint line on the wall. I wanted to create clean lines and thought the best way to accomplish this was to create a template to use against the wall. I cut out a small square in a piece of plastic shelf liner. A transparency or shelf paper are some other materials that would work well as a template. With this template I made my initial circle following the line I made with the pencil. I used two coats of the metallic paint and cleaned up the circles with a small paint brush. Let me tell you...metallic paint is hard to work with. It's very reflective. If you need to make minor corrections, it's hard to see where to paint. It ended up turning out nicely.

Next post: Adding the shelving and trying my hand at dying some small round rugs. Wish me luck!


1 comment:

Michelle said...

Looks beautiful! I can't even begin to imagine what a steady hand you have to get those circles so perfect. Love the sheen of the them. Can't wait to see the finished room ... :-)

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