As I announced last week and have been proudly displaying on my side bar, I am a part of the True Value DIY Blog Squad. So, this week I paid a visit to my local True Value store, Cashman's Hardware in East Berlin, PA. It's an awesome store. I walked in and started browsing around...
"Hi, Marian! I just saw your husband walk by. Do you have a babysitter for the boys today?"
I love walking into a store and they know who you are. In all fairness, I did win a contest there, which was a bit of a novelty, but I heard similar conversations with other customers as I was having paint mixed.
I bought lots of painting supplies, so I could start tackling my kitchen and family room. I'm not going to be able to complete the makeovers for a while (counters, flooring, appliances, etc. just aren't in the budget right now), but I can paint and, boy, am I going to paint. The ceiling, the cabinets, the walls, the trim...
(Do you see my chippy bench in there? I found it at a yard sale!)
Anyway, I bought some Benjamin Moore ceiling paint in a bright white flat finish and a gorgeous pale blue/gray in satin for the walls called Glass Slipper. I started painting the kitchen this morning, but before I could get the brushes out, I had to patch up some...imperfections...in the wall. See...I allowed my boys to ride their small scooters and push toys in the house during the winter and...
...this kind of thing can happen.
There were also a few cracks in the drywall that needed to be patched.
This is the not-fun, not-glamorous part of DIY. I slapped on some drywall compound and then went on to another not-fun, not-glamorous task...
...painting the ceiling. Did I hear a collective groan? If you've ever painted a ceiling you know the ache in my neck as I type this. I have never met a person who likes painting ceilings.
I've painted a lot of ceilings. All of the ones in my last townhouse, all of the ceilings in this house except those in the addition (kitchen, family room and master bedroom) and some ceilings in the homes of friends. I still have found no joy in it, but it's something that needed to be done. The kitchen ceiling was shiny, dingy and poorly painted by the previous owners and it's always bothered me. I knew I was going to paint the walls and cabinets, so I bit the bullet and painted the ceiling.
(The right side has been painted and the left was what it looked like before.)
It's not a dramatic makeover, but it looks so much better. I kept asking my babysitter excitedly, "Doesn't it look great?! It looks so much better, don't you think?" She looked at the ceiling and at me again. "Uh...well...it's white."
It had been driving me nuts for almost five years and now it's not a distraction. Some people just don't get it!
Here are a few tips if you're about to paint a ceiling...
1.) A telescoping pole to attach a roller to is your friend. It will save you many trips up and down a step ladder.
2.) Work in small sections, cutting in and then rolling. Also work slowly and carefully. If there's one thing worse than painting a ceiling, it's having to do it twice because you were sloppy with the first coat.
3.) Wear safety glasses and protect surfaces with drop cloths or plastic. A roller will spit out thousands of teeny-tiny droplets of paint and you don't want them in your eye and all over your stuff.
4.) Look at the ceiling from different angles as it dries. Sunlight bouncing off the ceiling is the best way to see spots you have missed.
5.) Cover the roller and tray with cling wrap when you are finished. Once the ceiling is fully dry, you will probably notice some places you missed. You can then simply remove the wrap and touch up those areas.
6.) Get help, if you can. I did this ceiling solo, but it always goes faster with a friend.
7.) Always, always paint the ceiling before you paint the walls. You don't have to worry about cutting in at the walls and you don't have to stress about drips. Rooms are best painted from the top down.
Well, I was so excited about the ceiling that I kept on painting the kitchen. It took everything within me not to paint the cabinets and family room ceiling (a vaulted one) and walls as well, but even I have my limits!
I was able to spend some time playing with my accessories and I am just loving it. (I'll share some pretty picture tomorrow) The new paint totally clashes with the floor, though...it's not too bad with the counters, but that will be remedied in a few months. It was very therapeutic and rewarding for me to work on my own home for a concentrated period and I can't wait to do more.
I did spend some time on a fabulous vanity and French dresser this morning, though, so I did get some "work" in today.
...and you were going to call me a slacker.
As a chosen member of the True Value DIY Blog Squad, I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about the experience. I have also been compensated for the materials used in this DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.