Saturday
Apr232011
A cautionary tale of knowing when to stop
Sat, 23 Apr 2011 9 Comments 
Doesn't look like I've done much more does it? That's because every time I paint something I look up and think "damn the door needs painting now" or "I need to paint that bit of trim too" and on and on it goes. Lots and lots of things with one coat of paint. For now. I swear they will get a second coat this afternoon after a nana nap or a movie. It's a long weekend after all. I need to get my priorities right. If you are wondering what that metal cylinder is past the fireplace it's an old hot water heater that runs off the wood burning stove. It will go eventually probably when the plumber comes to do the new bathroom upstairs. Whenever that is! I'm getting good at selective vision. If I ignore it it isn't there :)
Reader Comments (9)
Gee Jo this is really an ad for the transforming nature of paint! I can't believe how much bigger not to mention classier it looks. Well done you have certainly earnt yourself a nice long nana nap.
Glory, I hear your pain. Well done, you're doing a great job! It looks very different.
I feel like I 'should' paint because it's one of the few things I can do myself. But it kills me every time. Partly because it's not just painting - it's the washing down, the patching, the sanding, the priming, the cutting in, the changing paint.... I did my kitchen over a few days (a week!) last Christmas. Two windows, four doorframes and a big sort of truss/supporting wall frame thingy, plus all the walls, eight ceiling to floor doors, and moving the furniture around from one side to another as I did THREE coats. three types of pain, or was it four? But I've since enjoyed it every day, and thanked myself for ploughing on when I wanted to give up, sit in a heap and cry.
Was meant to do the dining room this Easter, but other events intervened. You've inspired me to try to start doing a bit each weekend til it's done. And then... the bedrooms!
I think the worst part of painting is all the time you spend doing everything but actually paint, the preparation is what kills me every time, but then you're so happy once it's all done !
This question might sound the stupidest of all, but I'll risk it for the sake of helping out: from your pictures it appears you've used a brush to do the backsplash, is that right ? If that's the case, go for a roll for the next layers and you'll save tons of time, it might even be fun (and keep the brush for those annoying little places and corners.
enjoy !
Eddy I did finish it with a roller. When I started painting the splash back I realised that the only roller I had bought I had used for the black paint and of course even with LOTS of rinsing it was never going to work with the white. Had to wait till the next day when I found a store open to get a new roller. Easter weekend is a great time to get work done but a lousy time to "just run out" to get supplies.
I'm almost done but I have an idea for the counter tops that I can't do anything about until next weekend and there is no point in painting on until the counter is in if you know what I mean. Besides I'm buggered! Wallpapering next weekend ... maybe :)
It looks awesome!! Well done. You have such a great house - you can't go wrong! Can't wait to see and hear about the wall paper!
Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who's in the midst of a quasi-DYI kitchen reno and also hates painting! I've pretty much made an art of being so bad at it that I have a legitimate excuse to pay someone else so I can spend my time contemplating whether I should replace the existing cheap hardware with some other (also cheap) hardware.
Looks awesome Jo. Hope the chocolate and wine got you through!
Well there's a typical problem we face over here in Switzelrand (and Europe in general), shops are closed every sunday, and on saturdays they close early. So much for the lazy DIY on the weekends, you're only allowed to forget things for a couple of hours at the beginning, then you're on your own for extra (often much needed) stuff.
Well can't wait to see the result, and good luck with wallpapering !
Hey I ended up knowing when to stop. When I got bored with it :) So much still to do but that's why I like blogs. You only show the bits you've done and no one can see in real life that outside the photo is still a mess.