Friday, February 18, 2011

how to paint a room

I wish I was here to let you in on some little secrets about renovating a room through the magic of paint. I wish I knew the ins and outs of tackling a transformation. But I’m not. And I don’t. I’m about to undertake a little painting project of my own and instead of how to paint a room, for me, it’s more like how do I paint a room.

My husband and I are over-the-moon excited to be getting the keys to our new house tomorrow. As it is our first time being homeowners, we are so looking forward to having our own place and experiencing what it’s like to make our house our home. However, we haven’t even moved in yet and it hasn’t taken us long to discover that a new home means more space, more responsibility and way too many options. Picking a paint colour for the living room in our new home proved to be a process that made us realize just how little we actually know about painting and decorating a home, even though we would probably call ourselves both creative and handy.
{the before - with the old homeowners' furniture}
{the inspiration for colour via}
I actually really like painting walls. I don't know if it's the artist in me that sees them as a blank canvas or my secret longing to be good at interior design but either way, I can't wait to throw on some old clothes, get up on our ladder and see the first swipe of colour make its mark on the white walls. That may be the easiest part of the process though, because as we stood wide-eyed and wondering in front of the swatches of slightly varied shades of paint colours, we soon realized we really weren’t sure what we wanted our walls to look like. Would Mushroom Bisque be the colour of choice for our living room? Or would the lighter Gobi Desert be better? Would Espresso Bean be the perfect pick for our feature wall? Is Chocolate Swirl too yummy looking? (It indeed is, just in case you were wondering…) We may have had our inspiration for dinner but picking the perfect paint colours would take a few more trips to Home Depot before we decided that Basketry would win, despite its lack of a more masculine name for my man. So as we dive into decorating our new domain tomorrow, I am confident that there are many more things we will learn along the way. The best way to tape edges? I have no idea. How long it will all take? Beats me. But what I do know is that I’m excited. I’m excited for a new house and I’m excited it’s mine to make my own.

Any painting tips? Would you hire someone to paint your house or do it on your own?

25 comments:

PoetessWug said...

I am not here to tell you what to do, but to say WOOHOO!!! about the new 'digs'!! How exciting! I wouldn't have a problem picking out the colors. I kinda do that in my mind all the time! But I wouldn't do it myself. I'm getting hives just thinking about it! I'd definitely hire someone else to do it!!! {I'm allergic to my own breath though. That's why! LOL} Congrats to you!!

Lily Riani said...

go all the way babe! have fun with the colours.

a little black cloud in a dress said...

congrats on the new house!! I would for sure paint them myself.. but I'm a colorphobe, so they would be bright white. :]

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Remember it's just paint, if you don't like it, you can change it and can fix the corners and mistakes fairly easily. It's just one of those things, you get better the more you do it. My advice is to keep a bucket of fresh water with some towels nearby for "incidents". Good luck and congratulations.

k said...

GOOD LUCK with painting! I for one don't enjoy, mostly because I get stuck doing it all of it, haha :)

jenn from midlife modern said...

congrats on the house!! very exciting. I paint my own walls, but then again, I live in a two-room apartment. I'd probably get overwhelmed by the idea of painting each room in a house! have fun decorating!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Congrats on the new pad! I wish I had some tips. I hate painting. HAHA

Petitebine said...

Nice post, thanks for sharing this!

x Robine

THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...

Congrats on the new place! Sorry I don't have any painting tips but I know you'll do a great job. Oh and definitely schedule a little spa visit for after all the hard work :) xoxo

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Want to come over and paint my place when you're done ;-)

paislea said...

woooot!! go go go!! that's so fun!!

and to answer your question - i love black and gray tattoos. color tattoos are just not for me. if i got a tattoo in an area where it would show - like a sleeve or something, i would die over the fact that i would try to match my clothes to the tattoo. so. bad idea. haha

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

Go for it! That's going to be great!

Traveling Distances said...

You're going to have so much fun making your house a home! I want to try painting my own walls someday- people always make it look easy- but I worry I might mess it up.

Kimia Kline said...

congrats on the new house! those color inspirations are so classy and chic. and you're really brave to tackle the painting on your own! haha, i would totally hire someone and call it a day.

A Crimson Kiss said...

Horray for the new house-how exciting! I personally prefer to do my own walls-that way if the color is really a disaster, you haven't already paid someone to paint all four walls in it!

Gabby / Gypsy*Diaries said...

Tuff question... I'd probably hire someone just to make sure it's perfect! :)
xxx

http://gypsy-diaries.blogspot.com/

Kaylia Payne said...

Oh dear, I have no idea! The only thing I know is to scrub the walls down first really really well.
Have fun!!!

Reg Rodriguez said...

wow! first of, congrats on the new house and for deciding to decorate it yourselves. i'm sure there'll be much more pride in being able to say you did it yourself :)

xx
heyrocketgirl

Thelma Frayne said...

You should have a painting party. All you need to do is supply the paint, brushes rollers etc and snacks. Tons of fun.

I love your choice of colours. Will be very cosy and feel like home in no time.

t

iheartkiwi said...

So exciting! Loving your color palette.

I've always painted my own walls but our current place has ultra high, lofted ceilings so we had to hire a professional and I must say, it was awesome having someone else do the dirty work :)

kimbirdy said...

the mister is an interior designer and also worked construction for many years, so i don't think we'll ever hire people to do house stuff for us. it's such hard work and can be totally overwhelming to make decisions, especially with colors! but it will also be so much more special to live there and think about how it's all really YOURS. that's pretty cool!

my only advice is make sure you paint on a day that is sunny and dry. painting when it's rainy or foggy outside means it will take days to dry each coat. blerg!

Diana Mieczan said...

That is so exciting. I really like the colour combination you chose! Whats the best part about painting: you can always change it as soon as you get bored with it. Good luck, darling
Kisses

Unknown said...

congratulations on the new home! my fiance and i purchased our home about a year and a half ago and it's a huge (and rewarding) undertaking.

best of luck with all the painting : )

Brandi said...

A new home? That's wonderful! Congratulations! Oh, you're going to have so much fun; I'm a bit jealous. When it comes to painting, I typically do it myself, though if I could afford professional painters I would totally hire some. There's really nothing worse than painting, moving all the furniture in, then realizing you missed a spot.

Marthie On The Move said...

congrats with the new house! Post pictures when you get done decorating!

http://shoesplurge.blogspot.com