50 First Crafts

Project 18: A finished room and lessons learned

Board and batten done

We did it! If you ignore the unpainted spot above the window this room is officially done (the walls, anyway). I love the way it turned out. The room feels so much cozier now and less like a giant white box I sleep in. The dark green paint really helps to make the room darker at night, too, which isn’t something I had expected. Overall I consider this project a success!

Lessons learned:
– Painting is a lot more work than people admit. Home bloggers are always talking about how a gallon of paint is a cheap and easy way to transform a room. I don’t know what other ways they’re comparing it to, but painting is a pain and paint is not that cheap.
– I’m so thankful for helpful friends! I’d probably still be taping off the door jambs if I didn’t get help this week.
– I am so not a perfectionist. I knew that before, but working on projects like this just reaffirms it (especially when trying to work with my perfectionist husband).

I’ll be tackling two more problem areas in my bedroom in the next two weeks, both of which are visible in the above photo. Got any guesses?

It’s bedroom month on 50 First Crafts! See you next week!

Responses

  1. aviendha1979 Avatar
    aviendha1979

    The room looks fantastic! What an awesome project!

    Personally, I love to paint. I am a perfectionist, and that’s why I never use the painter’s tape. No matter how hard I try to create a seal, there always seems to be some paint that wiggles through. So I roller paint on the large areas and stop close to the edges, then use a smaller roller to get closer to the edges, than use an artist’s brush to get the very edge. I’ve painted more than a dozen rooms now, and I find that sometimes you just don’t need all that crap Home Depot tries to sell you to make the job “easier.”

    Reply
  2. dinaspianostudio Avatar
    dinaspianostudio

    Wow, it really looks great! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    Painting gets easier the more you do it. I only really tape off if it’s necessary…like if I’m painting the trim, I’ll tape the carpet just in case. The right tools matter, too — once you get good at cutting in with the right brush, there’s no need to tape for trim work.

    When you are painting two colors and they meet, the trick with tape is to paint the first color, tape over it after it dries, then paint the first color over the edge, so if anything bleeds under it’s the right color. Then you can paint the second color when that dries.

    Reply
  4. cherylmarieknits Avatar
    cherylmarieknits

    Would it involve window treatments???
    I LOVE the way the room turned out and I definitely agree with you that paint is NOT cheap – unless you buy CHEAP paint 🙂

    Reply
  5. Kat Avatar
    Kat

    It looks great! I’m guessing window treatment and lighting? I’m with you, I HATE painting and I am not enough of a perfectionist when it comes to painting. I’ve heard it gets easier the more you do it, but we painted our whole house and it hasn’t gotten easier yet. Keep it up! (if it is a window treatment I recommend avoiding plaid and obvious patterns, took me a year to sew drapes b/c I chose a plaid… very painful)

    Reply
    1. 50firstcrafts Avatar
      50firstcrafts

      Ding ding ding! I was a little bit concerned that someone would suggest a project I wasn’t planning. Window treatments and lighting are coming up in the next two weeks. Thanks for the advice about plaid.

      Reply
  6. Project 19: Curtains « 50firstcrafts Avatar
    Project 19: Curtains « 50firstcrafts

    […] A new craft per week in 2011 « Project 18: A finished room and lessons learned Project 19: Curtains May 9, […]

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