Day 42 thru 45 - The (now) Infamous Painting Marathon

First, let me say... every time I think of how my friends bailed me out, I get a little emotional. I couldn't have done it without them, and I am deeply humbled that they bailed me out when I needed them the most. I will never be able to repay them. But I hope I can return the favor for each and every one of them, one day. 13 friends, in total, but not all at the same time! It's still a little house!

On Thursday night (day 42), I started to paint in the "sun room". For some reason, the house has seemed really dark. There was faux painting on the walls in both the dining room and the sun room. Not only are all the shades always drawn, it just seemed... small and dark. My co-worker and friend, Darin, came over to help me paint ceilings. Not something that I had really considered, but after discussion, I decided to get on the same page. Boy am I glad I did.

Ceiling mid-roll

The lovely faux wallpaper/paint

Here's the ceiling as we painted it...it's green. GREEN. As were the walls. And I understand that back in the day, you painted the ceilings a shade lighter than the wall color, but GREEN? In a matter of hours, the room lightened up appreciably. 

Finished

Look at the different this ceiling made!

 Painting probably increased the value and look of this house within hours. It went from dark and gloomy to light and "modern", I guess. I stayed neutral in all the rooms. In the sun room, I choose a color called "khaki shade". It made the room look bigger!

I tried to stay in the period, but honestly, the period colors were like.. Salmon and muted oranges.  I just couldn't do it! Just like I could NEVER paint this beautiful wood work.  So here are the colors we painted...2 coats, walls and ceilings, all within 3 full days.  As I said, the rotating crew of friend did an awesome job and allowed me to stay on schedule. Even Mike was shocked. I guess I like a challenge!!

Buh bye annoying leaves

Dining room:
Same faux painting, no stripes. I decided to paint this a muted gray/blue. It's a little more blue than gray, but in the full light, it does look very nice!





Front bedroom: I have no idea what color this room was, to be honest. It's now a nice cream called "steamed milk". (FYI... I warned my friends that they were subject to picture taking!)

Back bedroom: This was gray,and the ceiling was gray. Gray. Drab. Now it's a gray/violet color. Way more purple than I thought it would be, but again, there's no lighting and the blinds are old and down...

And finally, the hallway. I wish I had pictures of the unpainted, rough area on the wall. We all think it was, at one time, where the phone went and then someone plastered it in. OR... there was something really large hanging there and no one bothered to take it down to paint. But Javier and Nathan spent a really long time sanding and patching and making it beautiful. The hall is a light lavender gray. The lighting is bad, of course. But I'm just adding that to the list of things that will be changed, eventually.

Can sort of see the big patch area

Melissa who did a great job cleaning the massive amounts of dust!

Here are some random pictures. We painted close to 900 square feet (if not more) of living space in 3 days. Exhausting days! As everyone left on Sunday afternoon, the house really started to feel like mine. I can't even begin to explain it. I kept thinking "It's just paint on the walls" but even then... it's the beginning. I'm learning the sounds of the house and I like it. It's really comfortable.

Heidi edging and doing a great job!

Days 38 thru 41 - Challenge Laid Down

Time flies when you're as busy as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. And honestly, I feel like I have been beat up several different ways. I'm about 10 days behind on this blog (SORRY!), so I'm going to update this in chunks, because honestly, one big post just won't do it justice.

Day 38, for reference, is Sunday, August 23rd. I feel like it was a month ago, not just a little over 2 weeks. But here's the breakdown.

Day 38:

I finally finished priming the cabinet doors and framing. 2 coats, both sides of the doors. Major progress

I also, with the help of Cody, got some more "trash" out of the attic.  Namely a queen size mattress and box springs. Made me realize that I do NOT want to move my own stuff when the time comes. The attic, while super cool, is not really conducive to moving furniture.

Day 39: 

I had a walk through with Mike. Which just added to my "to do" list. As expected. Remember way back when I said "I don't want to be the homeowner that holds up this project"? Yeah, well. I was about to realize that I was that homeowner. And I was on the verge of pushing back my potential move in date. 

As Mike and I were finalizing things like the window in the bathroom, and the repairs of my closets (where they ran the HVAC, electrical and plumbing), he told me where I stood.

PAINT THE ROOMS ON THE FIRST FLOOR NOW OR YOU'LL BE PAYING RENT IN OCTOBER!

Uh, what?

I believe Mike's exact words were..."If I were running this project 100% (meaning that I am a bit controlling, is how I heard it), I would paint these rooms before the floors are sanded, and have everything moved out of the first floor by middle of next week"

Uh, what the what?! Is that a suggestion or are you telling me what to do?!?!

He wasn't kidding. I did see his point. But talk about panic at the disco. I thought I was making good time. I thought I had the timeline down. I thought I HAD TIME.

I was so wrong. 

So with that in mind, I basically put out an APB on any one willing and able to help me paint the following weekend. Because Wednesday before Labor Day weekend is my official cut off. No ifs, ands or buts.  Talk about a stressful walk through....

Day 40:

I took this evening after work to pick out colors for the marathon painting session on which I was about to embark. I dreaded this. Just absolutely dreaded it. But with the help (and patience) of Cody's wife, Bridget, I made some pretty good decisions (although I'm not completely thrilled now that it's on the walls). I still have to decide on the master suite and master bathroom. But I do have a little time for that because, well, someone else is painting that! That's the upside.

Day 41:

We failed the plumbing inspection but it's fixable and not a huge issue.  But let me tell you... the first time you see that "red tag" that can't leave the premises, you sort of freak out. I freaked out (sorry Mike, I'll make it up to you).

I also found out that the kitchen sink is backing up in to the stationary tub. This is not a good sign. But like everything else, sort of expected and can (for the right price) be fixed. I just haven't gotten that estimate yet.

I finished putting the second coat of paint on the cabinets (I'm not really sure which day I put the first coat on, to be honest... I didn't write that down).

I also cleaned up the hardware (I have no idea if this is original or not, but it cleaned up very well). The hardware looks very "art deco" to me. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, or if it's not original to the house. I like it though!

Days 29 thru...(it feels like FOREVER)... Day 33

To be fair, I took 3 days off to go to a wedding in Minnesota. 3 days in which I didn't think about cabinets, or paint colors, or tile or even vanities. It was glorious...until the guilt kicked in.

I took 3 days away from finishing up those damn cabinets. What the hell was I thinking? But honestly, I was on the verge of burnout. So it was good to get away.

Basically nothing was accomplished on days 29 thru 31. No one, except me, works weekends on the house, therefore, it wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But when I got back into town, well... things escalated quickly.

Day 32 - Cabinets. Have I mentioned how much sweat equity I've put into these damn things? Yeah, well. I thought I could finish the striping on day 32, but no...it's like the cabinets want to keep me as their captive. They're holding on to the last vestiges of paint like they never want to let go. LET GO, I say! PLEASE. No luck on this day.

Day 33 - Tile shopping. Yes, my most favorite thing in the world. Shopping. Please insert sarcasm accordingly. I got the call from Austin saying that I had to finish up ordering the important pieces. What, exactly, are the important pieces? Well, the biggest item was the shower stall and trim. That was easy. I picked out a  36" X 77" shower surround mainly because it was ultimately less expensive. It's HUGE. And I do mean huge. Like, 2 people huge. Yay (single) me! Beyond that, I had only committed to the 60" vanity. Not a damn thing else. I've said it before, it's the homeowner that slows progress down, and I was doing exactly what I had set out NOT to do. I thought I better just go pick out the tile and be done with it. I went to ProSource, and while they have a nice selection, I couldn't find the backsplash tile that I wanted. The tile that I have my heart set on. The tile that I refuse to compromise on. I did, however, walk immediately up to the tile for the master bath floor that I knew I wanted but couldn't actually find. Had that picked out in 3 minutes (only decision was on the size of the tile; 6X24 or 12X24). I ended up walking out of there without an "alternate" choice for the backsplash. And I totally forgot the tile for the main floor bath. Which means another damn trip. I had a bit of a meltdown in the car on the way back to the house (just to check progress and lights out) and decided it would be a good night to probably take a little step back. In the meantime, here's the list of things I still have to order (and in some cases, pick out) and my thoughts.

• Carpet - Master Bedroom - OMG, it's carpet. Someone make this decision for me.
• Tile - Main Floor  Bathroom - white subway tile, grey grout - I forgot to order it!
• Paint - Kitchen, Main floor bath, Master bath, bedroom - Eh...come ON. Why is this so HARD. Why can't the color fairy come to my house or whisper in my ear "pick this". I know my mom's a retired art teacher, but I can't match socks. This is STRESSFUL!!!
• Plumbing fixtures - both bathrooms - obviously this is important. But the toilets I want don't fit my budget. The faucets I want are also expensive. OH, I have to pick out another damn shower trim set? Great. I'll pick this out when prices meet my princess requirements.
• Ceiling Fan - Master bedroom - OMG, they gave me an easy one! I CAN DO THIS!!!
• Ceiling light - Master bathroom - The differences between what I think I want, what I can afford and what is "in" right now are vast. HUGE differences. But I think I can manage this one.
• Vanity lights - both bathrooms - Again. I think I can stay in budget. I will become "the little reno that could" and my new mantra will be "I think I can stay on budget, I think I can stay on budget". If you're a betting person, and you're reading this.. do NOT take this bet.
• Bathroom window - main floor bath - I will admit that I punted on this one. I gave up. I told Mike to just make this decision. It really wasn't all that important to me as long as it didn't leak, didn't share my guests shower time with the neighbors and didn't ruin the look of the bathroom. I have faith that this was a good item to pass on.
• Main floor bath vanity - I'm back to "it's too expensive, let's think about rehabbing what we have" which is really a pipe dream. I'm going to have to compromise on this one too (and by that, I mean compromise with myself. I can't always get what I want.)

Day 33 ended with the inspections for the electrical and the mechanical being ordered. I also, oddly enough, decided that I wanted a khaki paint in my den. Don't ask. I haven't actually looked at a paint sample yet.

Day 22 - Paint Selection

I spent, literally, hours fielding texts and calls and visits to my desk from people who were concerned that I wasn't "using a mask" while sanding these cabinets. Seriously. 

I grew up with lead based paint. I'm FINE! I'm sure I chewed on more window ledges with lead based paint than your average kid. Mom still says I'm "special".

But honestly, yes, I was using a mask, I was washing my hands before eating/drinking. I may have had an open water bottle in the general area, but I think I put the cap back on. I was being careful.

The point is...Thank you to all my friends for your concern. I know I made sarcastic remarks about not wearing a mask, and how much harm could it do, especially after my "college years"... but you all made me realize that I have great friends.  Safety first!! I'm impressed.

But all this got me to thinking...maybe sanding wasn't the best, or most efficient, method. I'd take the night to think about it.

So, I picked out paint. READ: I MADE A DECISION!!

I needed a little break (and a chocolate shake, but I denied myself!) and spent, easily, 45 minutes staring at colors at Sherwin Williams. I also talked to a few people in the same position (it always looks so good on the chip) and commiserated with a few others (I hate this process, I can't match socks). I ended up with a 3 color combination that I hope will work. But knowing myself as I do...I will change this scheme right up until the last possible moment. This is how I roll.