A Change in Plans

We were all set to go to Annapolis this weekend. We were going to see J's cousin and her family and then go to a cookout at a friend's from college. But, as it turns out, J caught a cold from his co-worker and we ended up staying home this weekend. So, instead our weekend was filled with homemade chicken noodle soup, herbal tea, video games, and... finishing up the painting job in the living room. In all honesty, although we were bummed to miss out, it was nice having a relaxing weekend at home after all the holiday running around. We also watched Michael Moore's "Capitalism, A Love Story," which was a documentary about the housing market collapse. He is pretty strongly opinionated, but he brought up some good points about the intertwining of politics and the economy. Anyway, back to painting. I decided that it was high time I got the doors in our foyer to match and to paint that bay window, as I mentioned in blog post: here.

Here is a before shot of the bay window. Notice how the curtains don't really match the color of the molding.

And here is the unpainted closet door next to the painted front door. Yea, that needed to be fixed.

Here is one of the many blemishes I wanted to cover on the bay window by painting.

Check out how peachy the paint was.

See the difference in colors? Sidenote: I was using Sherwin Williams Trim and Cabinet paint in Snowbound.

Here she is all painted. It took about 3 coats to actually get a good covering. I recommend multiple thin coats of paint, especially when using a brush, which can leave stroke marks.

Same color!

Here is the front door with the bay window and J playing on the Wii.

And now the curtains match!

I cannot tell you how much cleaner it looks. I am making sure the base is super dry before I put anything back on it, so that will have to wait a few days. J was really impressed when it was done, and I was super happy with the results. We also finally used up that can of trim paint, which I had used to paint:
the master bath
the master bedroom
the guest bedroom
the kitchen
and now the front door, closet and bay window

Not bad for one can of paint. I will need to get more. I am slowly getting rid of all of the peach trim paint which means it will take me a while to get it all completed.

I thought I would share a few tips, especially when it comes to painting trim.
1. Before painting, take a damp rag and clean off the surface. Wait for the surface to dry. I do not do any other prep work for trim. For walls, I use a damp, almost dry, very large sponge (like you would use to wash your car) to clean them.
2. Have a moist, clean paper towel on hand. I never tape around my projects, but I always have a damp paper towel, so that I can wipe off any mistakes. Before (latex based) paint is dry, it is very wipe-able. After it is dry, it isn't. The key to not using painter's tape is mostly practice. Use it a few times, while you work on perfecting your strokes.
3. Use a small trim roller whenever you can. The coverage is more even and it goes a lot faster.
4. I don't get my painting done in one chunk of time. Instead of washing out my brush and roller every time I take a break, I wrap them in pretty damp paper towels and place them in a plastic bag. Everything stays moist for when you are ready to work again. Don't let the paint dry out.
5. I use a small, angled brush. Smaller brushes give you better control.
6. Paint in the same direction of the trim (parallel not perpendicular).

I hope everyone had a great weekend!