How my painted projects are holding up
If you’ve been looking at my column for a while, you know how substantially I produce about paint. I could probably preach about the power of paint for 100 much more articles or blog posts. It’s the most inexpensive way to make the major affect, no matter if you’re wanting to transform a piece of home furnishings or an full room.
But paint can also be tough. The a lot of manufacturers, paint sorts and painting methods out there can be dizzying, and choosing a paint coloration that appears pretty at all situations of the working day is yet another challenge totally.
In 2020 – my initially entire calendar year of home possession – I went a little paint insane as I experimented with to eradicate all the gray in my residence with numerous projects that stay in my residence to this day. So, approximately three yrs later on, ended up these assignments value it? Would I do them all above all over again, and if so, what would I do otherwise? Let us choose a journey down memory lane.
Painted cupboards
In late 2020, I embarked on the journey of portray my kitchen area cabinets, a course of action that I outlined in a three-element sequence. Based on the sole simple fact that I wrote 3 posts about it, you can very likely tell that this job was very a big enterprise loaded with times of prep work.
Additional than two yrs afterwards, although, I can simply say the prep do the job was truly worth it. I haven’t spotted a speck of paint peeling from the cupboards, a discovery that would definitely shatter my soul and assurance as a DIYer if it at any time appeared. It’s still a venture I experience superior about each and every time I see the cabinets, and the shade provides an excess dose of happiness to my day.
The colour selection, though, is a double-edged sword. While I continue to appreciate the deep teal, it has created a form of predicament now that I’m looking to a little bit modify the color plan in my living region, which bleeds right into the kitchen to produce 1 significant space. I am now permanently tethered to the teal, backed into a metaphorical corner as I attempt to choose out a new paint coloration for the partitions — and even though I want to go bolder with my wall colour, I fear it would clash with the cabinets.
If I had to do it all more than once again, I would have imagined extended about the color I needed my walls to be and confident my cupboards coordinated nicely with that alternatively of the other way about. Recognizing what I know now, I also almost certainly would have waited for warmer climate so I could have made good ventilation to spray paint the cupboards in its place. It is not the finish on the cupboards that bothers me (while some slight brush strokes are seen), but somewhat the sheer amount of time it took me to complete the job. Spray painting, though it would have required much more investment decision and prep, very likely would have taken substantially significantly less time.
Rainbow stairs are fading after a several several years
In early 2020, I required to convey some brightness into a newly COVID-crazy entire world, so I made a decision to paint every a person of my stair risers a various shade applying discounted paint samples I bought from a local store.
This project is a perfect illustration of why prep is so crucial. 3 decades afterwards, these stairs have witnessed better times. Coloration is slowly chipping away from the risers, however when doing the job with affordable paint, that’s not to a massive shock. What is possibly extra unpredicted is the way the stair treads have worn. I cleaned, sanded and then painted them with white primer, which seemed wonderful at 1st. More than time, while, the primer has began to peel off and now displays canine hair and splattered coffee stains – a considerably cry from the crisp, clean up search they experienced when freshly painted.
If I had to do it about again, I would have concentrated much more on the prep and possible would have just stained the treads as a substitute of portray them, based on their affliction. It may have held up a small far better, and at the very least, it would have been greater at concealing stains and grime.
If the treads weren’t in perfect form for staining, I would have at minimum researched a little bit a lot more into the primer I was working with to make guaranteed it was appropriate for using on an spot with hefty foot site visitors. Fortunately, this project was fairly basic, so it should really be uncomplicated to contact the stairs up with a new coat of paint.
A painted mural
At a time when painted arches and other geometric shapes were at the peak of their level of popularity, cropping up on photographs across Pinterest, I, far too, made a decision I ought to have a painted geometric mural in my dwelling.
It was a enjoyment thought at the time, and one I understood I could easily paint over if I ever made a decision I hated it.
Well, that time has appear, and I’m making ready to deal with the arches as soon as I get a no cost weekend or two to paint the area a new shade (which may be when hell freezes in excess of).
Let’s be sincere – the arches ended up a pattern that is fading, and following residing with them for a couple a long time, I’ve resolved they never in shape in with my core fashion. If I were being to paint a wall mural all more than again, however, I would have painted samples of the hues in the correct spot the place I preferred the mural to be so I could gauge how they would seem in different lighting all over the day. I failed to do this prior to I painted my mural, which is in a dark corner of the room, and alternatively of seeing the rich jewel tones I picked out, the darkness typically makes them show up like primary colours reminiscent of an elementary university.
I really don’t regret painting them, even though (at minimum not yet – I’ll report back again on how complicated it is to deal with the daring wall shades). That’s the attractiveness of paint – it makes it possible for you to experiment, master and have enjoyment with small risk concerned.
Are there any paint jobs you have regretted? Any that you would have completed in another way? Or any that entirely changed your place? What ever the case might be, I’d like to listen to about them — fall me a line at homewithtess@gmail.com
Electronic mail your concerns to Theresa “Tess” Bennett at homewithtess@gmail.com.
