Nesting Nut

Since my husband claims an allergy to paint odours, I have been doing most of the painting over the years in our house.   I do consider my skills to be slightly better than average, but not professional.  I like to DIY and I am fairly good at keeping the wall paint on the wall and not the ceiling or trim………for the most part anyway.  Over the years I have made my share of “mistakes”.  I will share some of these with you today, with tips on how to avoid them.

1. Painting Ceiling Green – My least favourite surface to paint is the ceiling, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.  A few years back, I saw a painting scheme of three colours that was meant to be soothing.  It involved a pale green on the ceiling.  The colours scheme really was nice, but last year, we decided it was time to go.  Although I hardly noticed the colour, it’s best to keep it neutral for buyers.  Did I mention these were popcorn ceilings?    But my best advice……keep the colour neutral on the ceiling.  Something that will go with any colour you choose for the wall, unless of course, you like painting ceilings.
2. Painting After Dark – I am a morning person by nature.  I do my best work early in the day in most aspects of my life.  Painting is no exception.  If you are not a morning person, I still believe you need to paint in daylight hours, or maybe a powerful light would suffice.  I’m sure the experts know this, and probably have all the appropriate task lighting.  Recently, while painting my master bathroom, I was resorting to painting at night, working around my shifts at work.  Inevitably, the next morning there were touch ups to be made.
3. Not Stirring the Paint – On my recent master bathroom painting expedition……..it felt like an expedition, every surface, it took me two weeks…. I got lazy!   The cabinetry was tedious, 4 coats with sanding in between, and I just wanted to be finished!   There were no excuses, I had several of those paint sticks they give me every time I buy paint.  I quickly needed to touch up my mistakes from the night before (after dark painting).  The result………..
4. Not Taking the Time to Tape  – You probably know yourself what you are capable of with your painting skills.  I don’t tape most of the time, but I know when I should.  Once I neglected to tape my door handle when painting the front door.  I don’t have a photo to share, it’s a long gone error.  But over the years I’ve learned shortcuts often don’t save time.  Remove the handle before painting, or TAPE!
5. Not taking the Time to Prepare the Surface – Often a paint job is a way to “clean up” a room, a refresh job.  Most of the time I do little to prepare the surface.  I have made the mistake of not washing the “moisture drips” on my bathrooms walls.  You know, the result of failing to turn the fan on during a lengthy shower (you know who you are).  I took the time to carefully clean the cabinetry before painting my bathroom cabinets.  I was given a sample size bottle of cleaner at the paint store.  I carefully washed all the surfaces, except the small strip under my make-up area that’s under the countertop lip.  And I managed to make a small chip with my nail when opening the drawer……ever so tiny, but I know it’s there!  Other than that chip, I am very pleased with how the cabinets turned out……My oldest daughter has just expressed interest in painting her new room in her first apartment …..my next “job” might be sooner than I anticipated 🙂