That Fresh Paint Smell

Week of May 3 through 9

Before I get to the whole paint thing, I have to apologize for the very poor quality of the pictures this week. I accidentally left the charger for my SLR at The Parent's house leaving me no way to recharge when poor Roxie's battery died. I was forced, against my will, to take pictures with a digital camera from 1998. A camera with such low resolution that my 1GB card will hold 1200 "high quality" pictures. This crisis could have been averted had The Husband been home. We could have used his point and shoot. Unfortunately, he is in the desert, taking 8 megapixel pictures of camels. My pictures look like camels, but that is just because they are fuzzy, grainy, poorly lit and unfocused. They very well could be of The Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot doing the conga while UFOs fly overhead, and no one would know the difference.

Since The Husband is on a business trip in Oman, I decided that this week would be the perfect time to paint our bedroom. Mostly because The Husband hates to paint. I, on the other hand, love the smell of paint fumes in the morning. I find painting to be very satisfying. One minute the wall is one color, then shwoop-shwoop-shwoop and it is another. I like the careful preparation of taping and filling holes, and I love the efficient smoosh of the roller. I think The Crazy contributes to my enjoyment. What some would find tedious and dull, I find to be perfectly pleasant and relaxing. I like neat and orderly, and painting is nothing if not precise.

I started by patching three holes in the drywall. One hole was the size of a light switch and was left when we removed the old alarm system keypad. The other two holes were larger, each about the size of a sheet of paper, and were left by the plumber who fixed our bathtub before we moved in. Apparently, one gaping hole in the wall just wasn't enough for him. Instead of repairing the cuts he made, he covered the hole with a pop-in plastic cover. It was remarkably unattractive and an oh-so-lazy solution, much like the plumber himself.


First, I used screws to attach paint stir sticks to the inside of the drywall around the holes. Then, I cut patches of drywall to size, and used the stir sticks as braces to hold the drywall patches in place and to prevent them from falling into the wall cavity. Next, I filled the cracks with drywall plaster. I should have also used drywall tape. Sadly, the plumber's laziness seeped into my consciousness while I was working, and I felt little to no desire to make a trip to the store.

While the plaster dried, I taped the baseboards and crown moulding with painter's tape. Four hours later, when the plaster was finally dry, I sanded the whole area smooth with our random orbit sander. If you do not own an random orbit sander, I recommend that you immediately get in your car, drive to your nearest home improvement center, and purchase the first one that makes you weak in the knees. I have used ours to polish brass. Need I say more?

I chose the paint color to coordinate with the medium taupe tone in our duvet. The color is Sherwin Williams 6080 Utterly Beige. (The fourth color from the top). I debated for a few days between 6080 and the color one shade lighter on the paint chip card. I ultimately decided on Utterly Beige because it seemed a little more cozy, and because the word "utterly" cracks me up.

It certainly is not the most exciting or dramatic paint job in our house. In fact, it is hardly a change in color. We want our bedroom to be calm and relaxing, to contrast with the more energizing colors we have in our bathroom. I think this fresh paint achieves that, and leaves us plenty of leeway for bold accessories.

Before

After

Our bedroom is slowly but surely being transformed into the master retreat we've been wanting. The quilt that The Husband gave me for our anniversary is a beautiful addition to our room. In the next few weeks I will be making draperies to replace our horrible mini-blinds and a few coordinating bedding accents for our room, as well. I also have some artwork that I need to have framed so that our walls aren't so bare. It is a work in progress, but it is coming together, and the new paint brings us one step closer.


Around Our House Next Week: Sew crafty