Clear Skies - Amateur Interior Painting

Not many things overwhelm me. I'm from the school of Google it, look it up on Pinterest, poll your Facebook followers for tips, then make it happen. Not sure how I would have survived adult life before the internet, but luckily I don't have to experience that. Anyway, this is the approach I took when deciding to begin painting our home.

I originally wanted to go with navy blue for these spaces. I LOVE all things navy, and I love how dramatic and rich it looks on walls. We have an abundant amount of windows and natural light, so I thought it would look great. But almost every person I knew told me I was insane. My next choice would have been a greige color, but the husband is totally against "drab" colors. I didn't feel like fighting the "grays can be bright" fight, so I finally settled for a light, bright, blue. Specifically, Clear Skies by Benjamin Moore. Some of my Pinterest inspiration included:

My first step was obviously supplies. We ended up purchasing:

4 gallons of paint (that included primer. and i still have 2 left!)

2 extendable rollers (about 10 inches? with removable poles to convert to handheld rollers. these also had splatter covers- LIFESAVER)

1 2 inch paint brush

1 3 inch paint brush

2 small rollers (maybe 4 inches?)

2 plastic drop cloths

1 edging tool

2 paint trays

1 roll painters tape (a friend told me frog tape works MUCH better, but i'd already bought the painters tape)

You will also need ladders to accommodate your ceiling height. Luckily we already had these.

I was really worried what the dogs would do during this whole experience. Luckily for me, they were angels. Now matter how well behaved, you may need to barricade your pets away from the panting area. And they may look at you like they're in prison.

But they will enjoy the finished results.

  Back to the painting. Friday after work I removed everything from the walls, removed the outlet and light switch panels, and taped off the necessary cabinets and molding.

Next I moved all the furniture to the middle of the room and covered it with old sheets. I used the drop cloths to protect the carpet, and the painters tape to keep them in place. Then my husband decided to take hideous pictures of me. I allowed it, because you can't win em all. I will never get over how much like a heart my giant head is shaped. Fun fact: my head is much larger than Will's.

Again, back to the painting. The edging tool I used worked pretty well, so I didn't necessarily need tape on the ceiling. It was about 5 dollars and looked basically like a piece of fabric with a red handle. Sadly, no picture. The only thing I'd change here is getting less paint on the fabric part. Or using a paint brush to immediately blend the paint that filled into the main part of the wall. We ended up with a couple of lines of heavy paint here and there. I'm not that meticulous, and they're pretty hard to notice, but obviously I will avoid that in the future.

To get the corners and tiny nooks and cranies, I used the paint brushes. To get around the mantle molding I could have really used an even smaller brush than the 2 inch, but I made it work.

left side = one coat of new color. right side = old color.

For the bulk of the painting we used the large rollers. The small ones did come in handy for above the cabinets and for a vaulted area in the morning room. That portion went by fairly quickly and was actually kind of fun. It took 2 coats for us, which I hear is the norm.

This color looks so different depending on the lighting, I am still trying to figure out how to decorate. I plant to add lots of white accents and white/cream linen curtains. Top tips we received include:

-Don't be afraid to get paint on your brush (but be sure to blend any lines)

-Look at any color options in light and dark settings, in different areas of your room. It took us a loooong time to choose colors, and I'm glad I took my time.

-When using the rollers, paint in a large W line, then fill in the blank spaces

-USE THE TAPE

The finished product.

Back to what I was saying at the beginning. Not much overwhelms me, but choosing paint colors may be up there. After brightening up this area of the house, I know I need to be careful with what we choose for the rest of the rooms. Especially the hallways and stairwell.

Stay tuned for other color choices, and a total great room + rest of the home tour.

Happy Wednesday!