How To Paint an Ugly Room

I had one mission today - paint an ugly room. Back in December, The Canadian and I ordered a new bedroom suite. I'm talking beautiful solid Maple bed, dressers, night stands, the whole lot. It's to be the furniture we keep our whole life. It's being delivered tomorrow and it's going to be gorgeous - in the newly painted room.

Are you ready to see the before photo? Brace yourself. Cover your eyes. It's bad.

This is what five years of bachelorhood will do to a room. No furniture, no wall decorations, no nothing. Just a vast sea of burnt orange.

Our house is ooooold. Like, I think it was built during the jurassic age. But, old houses have great features. Like these base boards. They needed a fresh coat of paint so that's where I started.

Then I (meaning The Canadian) needed to make some plaster repairs. While the glass door knob is awesome, it has also created a nice hole in the wall.

After the white paint was set I began the tedious process of taping.

And taping some more. I worked around all the old wires and had to even out the uneven lines. I don't really like taping - there is something weird about the friction between my skin and the tape, I can't explain it.

Now comes the fun part. Opening the paint can!

Glorious. It's going to be a lovely light olive which will look great behind the darkly stained wood. Or so I hope...

I'm really classy so I use an old ice cream tub to hold the paint while I edge the walls.

I love edging. As long as I've only had one cup of coffee. Two cups makes the paint squiggle.

It makes me feel talented that I can paint in the lines - most of the time. But hey, nobody's perfect.

Once the fun part is over, comes the rolling. 

I don't mind rolling, it just gives me blisters on my thumbs. Yes, thumbs. Plural. I'm an ambidextrous painter.

Hmmmm...it's looking a little lemon-lime-ish. I know it needs a second coat. But still, fingers crossed that it's going to dry darker....

Ha! You thought you were going to get to see whether or not it dried darker...or if the second coat helped...you're just going to have to wait until tomorrow....

Patience is a virtue, my friend.

 

One last piece of advice. When you put the lid back on the can, might I suggest covering it with a towel first.

It helps avoid this.

Just a thought.