Last weekend, I did some painting while Taylor was at work. If you've been keeping up (and why wouldn't you be?), you'll know I've had two stages of work done so far in the dining room: checking for asbestos (easy stage!), and redoing the ceiling. Now that the ceiling has been retextured and repainted, it's time to do the walls.
We decided on keeping the whole accent wall thing, and doing a burnt orange-ish accent wall with the remaining walls being off-white. We went with a rust color, which is a darker burnt orange color. Burnt orange itself would be really bright on a wall, so we went with something a bit darker.
Also, we decided to try out a local store called Rooster's, which sells Benjamin-Moore paints. I have to say, these guys were very knowledgeable and eager to help us out. They gave me some good tips to try out this time around. Their paints are a bit more expensive than Home Depot or Lowes paint (I got a step down from their highest grade, at $49 a gallon), but they have great coverage and in general good quality. They're also all low-VOC (less fumes). I could tell the difference once I started rolling the paint. One of the tips the guy gave me was to try painting from a 5 gallon bucket instead of a pan. It was definitely easier.
Previously before painting, I would spend a lot of time masking off the room to prevent accidents. Well, I decided that I could get away without doing that for the dining room. Not having to mask saved me an hour or so, because it can be quite tedious. Instead, I opted to be a bit slower and more careful around the edges. I did spend a couple hours cleaning the walls with TSP to make sure they were in good, painting condition, however. I also invested in a nice canvas, waterproof cloth that I could easily spread out to all the baseboards (and reuse). I did my best to make sure the floor was covered, but I didn't actually secure or tape the cloth. It naturally stayed in position (for the most part!). I like the canvas cloth because a plastic drop cloth is susceptible to tearing, bunching, and doesn't absorb paint so you end up tracking it around on your shoes.
Before I painted, with the canvas laid out
(remember you can click any picture for a larger version)
I did all the off-white walls first (first cutting in with the edge tool, then paint rolling), and it turns out I didn't need to do a second coat like I had anticipated. After drying, they all looked pretty good and consistent. I attribute this to a) the nicer paint and b) repainting over a light color.
Corner shot (ceiling: new color; right wall: new color; left wall: old color)
Once done, I repeated the same thing with the accent wall. I thought I would be okay with one coat again, but after letting it dry some I noticed some patchiness. Oh well! I called it a day and opted to do the second coat the following day (I try to wait 4 hours before recoating). I did have some 'accidents' on the ceiling and side wall with the rust paint. With a damp paper towel, I was able to easily wipe off the boo-boo. The baseboards got a little messy, too, but I'm planning on repainting them to match the eventual crown molding.
Corner shot (all new colors!)
Accent wall, still wet, coat 1
Room after second coat and cleanup
Different angle, for fun
Corner shot so you can see the three colors better
Good news! We also scored some dining room furniture. Here is the dining room with some furniture...
This is the 'before' shot from the old residents. Old paint, old light fixture.
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