Simple As a Can of $#!&ing Paint

How many times have you read in your favorite decorating magazine or blog that a room make-over “may be a simple as a can of paint”? Well, as it turns out, this is nothing but a lie. Apparently you can’t just buy paint and then paint – it is SO much more involved. It includes:
Sanding
Washing
Drying
Priming
Drying
Fixing the primer
Painting
Drying
Hoping you don’t mess up the paint, and then
Deciding if what you’ve messed up is noticeable/livable or not,
and then….either starting over from scratch or deciding you are done.

This is the lesson that I’ve learned from the never-ending sage of painting the bathroom. We finally have a handle on the situation, but it’s taken almost a month, and it is still not freaking done! On Friday, my day off, I spent the good part of the day sanding…I sanded all the paint/primer/paint – whatever off of the bathroom drawers and by Sunday night, they had been cleaned, primed, painted, etc and put BACK IN THE BATHROOM WHERE THEY BELONG! The next step is to finish up the shelves, which should not be as involved. In addition there will be some touch-ups to make and then the fun part begins – decorating!!

I have been scared off a bit from paint, but just the other day, another magazine lured me in to the idea that a can of paint really does have transformative powers:

• A can of paint can change everything. These days they have little sample pints. Try two or three on your wall and see what you think. You’ll know after a week if you can live with it or not.

• The ceiling is the forgotten surface. Paint it a color, or cover it with wallpaper in a small pattern. A pale-blue ceiling brings in the sky; a yellow ceiling adds sunshine.

• If a room has bad bones, paint them out. Doors, window frames, and moldings will disappear if you paint them the same color as the walls. It will hide a million mistakes.

http://www.elledecor.com/decorating/articles/mario-buatta-s-color-secrets

I really want to paint the front room, but I think Jeremy is more scared than I am. He now says only one paint job a quarter. The bathroom is Q1, Bedroom is Q2, and the front room is Q3. I can live with that!