Lessons from Today

What I learned today...
Not only is going for a run good for your health, it is also a great way to find other people's garage cast offs.

The sign read "Everything is FREE, except the fence."  Which meant that after I returned home and showered, we took the van and picked up two rusted cast iron chairs, a new bike for S1, a new bike for Z/D (it's pink, but it fits D, and there is the "Gender Dilemna." ;p ) and a big wheel for whomever would like to use it.

A lesson learned later in the day: Probably shouldn't wear flip flops when spray painting...

 

So, today's weather was great painting weather.  And who knows how many more days we'll have like that?  Or how many days I've got $7 cash in my wallet, that aren't allocated for something particular? (Looks like I'll be waiting just a little bit longer for that mandolin.)

No, I did not read the directions.  No, I didn't even Google a how to.  No, Mom, I didn't sand off the rust.  So the success of this project is immediately and dramatically decreasing since I didn't even follow the directions on the can and brush off the rust.  But after all, this is the "cheap and easy" way of doing things.  So I'm crossing my fingers that it works. And I'm committed to sanding and re-spraying next summer if they rust out. Third lesson, at this point, sand off that rust before painting.

As you can see, I bought Rust-Oleum Gloss Protective Enamel, in blue.  (There weren't a lot of choices but O2 and I figured this color would match some of our adirondack chairs best.)  I also got a $2.50 spray gun, since I didn't see latex gloves (that idea is from my cousin, because I would just get paint all over my hands and think nothing of it).  The Lowe's guy told me it would keep my fingers clean. 

 Here's my makeshift spray paint tent I made with boxes the kids have been playing with in the driveway.  My cousin clued me in on this little idea.  I'm sure her spray paint tents look way more professional.

Anyhow, the spray gun quit working about five minutes into the project.  I grabbed a rag towel and wrapped it around the spray can and my arm.  It mostly worked.  I only got a little paint on my hands.  I ended up getting more on my feet. 

 

And the fourth lesson I learned is that spray painting is wicked FUN.  

I also have to admire and sort of hate the women who are blogging, and taking care of kids, and taking really awesome pictures with their super nice cameras.  You know what though?  This is the professed cheap and easy way because I've gotta take care of those kids!

I can't move them until they've "dried" a little more.  (Since they're enamel I think they technically have to "cure.")  Wait for pretty pictures later?  Not promising though.

Table Time

I know you think I've abandoned this blog, but I haven't.  I am doing something.  It's just that I'm doing it very slowly, relative to all the other things I'm doing. 

The current project, which is taking about four weeks longer than it was supposed to, is to transform this beat up, non-solid wood, 10-seat, $20 Goodwill table, by freshening it up with some paint.  (It's a really cruddy table.  The veneer has buckled all over it, there are tons of gauges in the surface, it wobbles a lot, and it was covered in some glue-like and still-sticky substance.  But it seats 10.  And I know my friends who've shared squished meals with us can really appreciate the increase in real estate.) 

Did I really not take any before pictures??  Well, here it is when I started the project, over a month ago.

Painted the top with Bin (shellac-based) primer, at the suggestion of two Lowe's employees.

Since the surface is not solid wood and has a veneer top, the guys at Lowe's suggested that I paint it with BIN primer, sans sanding, since veneer is so very thin.  They said the primer would stick to anything.  After painting the top, knowing that it's cured for four weeks, and finding that I can scrape it off, I'm not convinced.  I still went ahead and painted the bottom with BIN today.  It might work.

I'm thinking that after painting the top my color of choice and then putting a sealer over it (and I'm thinking of using oil based products for this), it won't scrape off.  Hopefully. 

Jonathan's not going to like that this is still going to take more time to finish.  I think I told him it'd take about three days to do...

Lowe's Olympic One Paint, in Sherwin Williams Aleutian (SW 6241)

So I've had great experiences with Valspar's Ultra Premium line.  My family has used Olympic paint and hated it.  So, needless to say, I went to Lowe's and asked the paint guy for a quart of Valspar's bathroom paint, in Sherwin William's Aleutian (SW 6241).  The paint guy convinced me to try Olympic's new product, "One," which is a paint + primer.

It was a very very humid day.  I would dare say that the night was sultry.  I had to wipe Mission-Impossible drops of sweat from my forehead and eyes as I maneuvered around the not-large bathroom. 

I do not know if the terrible painting weather was to blame for the only annoying thing about the paint.  In places where I accidentally brushed over still tacky spots, the paint lifted off completely.  However, it had incredible hide.  See picture below.

These are the paint samples (So deep the middle and left colors had to be tinted in Valspar's "Signature Colors," which almost immediately negated them from contention due to our previous experience with Signature Colors, but they matched the shower curtain perfectly...) which were already on the wall.  I painted over the colors first. 

There was complete coverage where I didn't streak with the brush/edger.  Here is a look at the second coat. 

It's still wet in this photo, but I think it shows how completely it hid the dark colors beneath.

Still wet in these pictures, but close to the dry color.

I'm really happy with the results and up for trying the paint again, when it isn't so humid.  As soon as the spots that had accidentally been lifted were dry, one roll over them rectified the issues.  The hide was solid. 

I really love the color even though it doesn't match the curtain perfectly.  I think it meshes well, and it definitely channels "cottage" colors as it is almost perwinkle, but not quite purple enough for that.  Yay!  Almost done painting all the rooms in the house!

Valspar Opal Slate!!!

I went on a painting rampage for a few weeks after moving in, but we've (the kids and I) needed to settle down into a routine so we wouldn't go crazy, and a normal routine doesn't really include painting.  There was one last project Jonathan and I needed to get done, and we saved the last bit of our budgeted "house" money for it: The Reading Room.

Here is the "right before painting" photo:

As you can see there are several paint possibilities on the wall ranging from a deep purple, deep burgundy, the usual gray-greens and then Valspar's Bleached Shadow, which I used in my master bath, and Valspar's Opal Slate 4001-1C.  You may also notice the many scraps of border that were finally scraped off the wall scattered around baby toys.  Yes, we finally finished getting that border off.  It's about as fun and painting window trim.  Blah.  So on to the painting pictures.

Notice the brand new bedding on the bed.

I really loved the color in my masterbathroom, but it was too warm in the Reading Room.  Opal Slate is the color right above Bleached Shadow; it's cooler and would theoretically work better in this East facing room.  I loved the contrast against the white trim on the windows and baseboard.  I thought it would be both a good choice for the lighting in the room and hopefully would appear to be a strong masculine choice, because my husband requested that the Reading Room be a little more masculine than our bedroom (Rainwashed with white "furniture").

The Reading Room is our baby napping room, library, and guest room.  We've had two sets of visitors since we finished the room, which is precisely why we had to finish it.  Thanks to some friends we were able to stick a full-size bed in it for adults, not just babies, you know?  It totally rocks now.

Isn't the color rich?



I love the color on the walls.



Black coverlet, black accent pillows, gray walls...that's pretty masculine, right?

I'd love to get a bright red or blue blanket to throw on the end of the bed eventually, but all in all it's a pretty cozy and peaceful room. 

Bleached Shadow

This is one of my favorite rooms and the photos don't do it justice.  I chose Valspar's "Bleached Shadow" (4002-1C) for our master bathroom, because Valspar recommended that swatch when I ordered a sample of a color similar to SW "Rainwashed". 

I am so glad I took their advice.  It turned out that the pink vanity had flecks of this purpled hued gray, so it matches with both our bedroom walls and the sink already in the bathroom. 

We hadn't put the mirror back up yet. 

Here you can see the walls together.  I know it doesn't look like much but I think it's so great!  It makes me happy just to walk into the bathroom.  It seems like a pocket of coziness in the corner of my room.

I used Sherwin Williams' Duration paint in the bathroom, and I really like it.  It feels tough as nails on the wall.   

Rainwashed in the Morning

I said I'd post more photos of Sherwin Williams "Rainwashed" (SW 6211), so here they are.

Right now this is the beautiful color I wake up to every morning.  It's greyer than in the evening, but still wonderful!

Enchanted Navy

I hate posting these photos of unfinished rooms, but if I don't, I'll be waiting a long long time to post photos.  : / 

So, the boys' room was one of the first we painted.  I chose Valspar's Enchanted Navy (4010-8), because I wanted a dark blue that wasn't too bright and not too dull. (The older boy wanted a black room, but we weren't quite ready for that.)  It's rather lovely.  It doesn't kill your eyes when you walk in the room, and it doesn't wear you down if you're hangning out in there. 

I had it mixed in the Valspar Signature Colors Paint and used the Valspar tintable primer.  I was really disappointed in the performance. (I was very happy with the Valspar Ultra Premium we used in our room.)  We painted according to directions, before we moved in.  The day after painting the walls, with a full 24 hour dry time, we found that our fingers left chalky white lines if we touched the walls, as pictured below.  Lame. 

I spoke with the Valspar rep at Lowe's a few days later, when I went to return the paint and primer because touching the walls still left marks.  Essentially he said that paint that dark would take up to a full month to cure and we should avoid touching it until then.  He never mentioned anything like that when I bought the paint, and regardless, I've never ever had that kind of experience with any dark paint.  Lowe's gave me a full refund. 

A month later we're still getting marks, but not as bad as the first.  Aside from the chalky lines, it really is a rich, wonderful blue.  Can't wait to finish the whole room!