First wall via Photobooth (just as bad as my camera). In person it’s a little lighter and more cheerful.
This is my second post about walls in the last few weeks (weird). I don’t know if my fiance and I are just idiots or what. We’re redecorating our super boring bedroom (with the help of the amazing Iris Interiors LLC) and we’re doing the painting ourselves. Everyone we talked to said painting a room takes like 4 hours. It’s been four days of torture! In our defense, the ceiling hadn’t been painted in about 40 years and the decades of cigarette abuse (from previous tenants…not me) was out of control. The first paint had no primer in it, so it was disastrous. I never painted a ceiling before and with the inaugural swipe, I looked up and a blob of paint just fell right into my mouth. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste bad. After hours of hardcore arguing, we finished a second coat on the ceiling. Now it just needs a few touch-ups.
We took out the air conditioner so it’s been easily 100 degrees in here. I bribed my sister and her boyfriend to come over and help us on night two. I concocted an ingenious idea to avoid heatstroke and minimize damage to any clothing. I painted in the skankiest, oldest bikini I had (more acceptable than being naked). When my new favorite couple ever strolled in, I was standing in the kitchen, double fisting beers, 90-percent nude, covered in paint, with Mad Hatter hair. And I hadn’t showered in 2 days (yes I slept covered in paint). My sister gave me the greatest WTF is wrong with you look of all times. It made all of my labor worth it.
I don’t know if it’s normal to take this long painting and if we ever do it again, I hope we’ll have some skills to make the process a little easier. However, we’re in the home stretch. Baseboards, a little edging, and some ceiling fixing and we’re done! Half a day?
On a positive note, it’s actually a pretty good workout. I did a 90 minute hardcore vinyasa practice in my also un-air conditioned living room prior to painting the other day and now I feel like I ran a marathon. I’m going to be like Popeye up in this bitch.
P.S. Stephen Cope had a samadhi experience while painting a house. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
How long does it take normal people to paint? I’m not having any of this four hours nonsense.
Painting…. focus on the work out part and the end result. It will be beautiful.
I’m trying. Almost done! I’m taking my 17th break of the day. Thanks for the encouragement. I needed it.
Baseboards, ceilings, trim and walls. That’s way more than 4 hours! I’m not sure about 4 days, but the baseboards and trim alone is very tedious. I feel your pain.
I’m glad to hear it’s more than 4 hours. Thank you! 4 days is a little ridiculous. I have to work on my painting skills. The ceiling was the most tedious for me. But that part is done!
“I’m going to be like Popeye up in this bitch.” Please keep writing such phrases. I will be thinking these thoughts in my yoga class tonight. Thanks for the motivation, artiste. I bet your painting project will yield beautiful fruits.
Haha. It’s my lack of filter (both in real life and through the keyboard). I’m glad my artistic skills were motivating. I mean, how could they not be? It only took me 12 times as long as a normal human to slap a coat of paint on. But I’m DONE! It yielded so many fruits. Van Goh would probably bitch slap me, but I’m pretty happy with it.
You’re going to be looking at those walls for years, so trying to get it painted quickly would just mean you’d be spending a lot more time unhappy with the results.
I don’t know where that came from, but it nearly approached wisdom, I think. I need to go lie down.
One more thing: Never try to wallpaper a room. Not with your fiancé and not by yourself. About fifteen years ago, my wife and I started putting up wallpaper together in a small bathroom. I quit in the middle, and that’s one of the reasons we’re both still alive.
I need all of the wisdom I can get! If it takes us 4 days to paint a medium sized room, wallpapering would take 10 years. I respect your decision to walk away. I had a wallpapering fiasco in high school when my parents “hired” me to re-do 2 bathrooms. Never again. Thanks for the comment and the wise wallpapering advice.
Geat job on completing the painting! I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling after reading your post. (:
I’m glad you liked it! You’ll probably be impressed with the paint job (keeping my fingers crossed). The room looks so much better already.
Painting any room should always be a dirty party with ratty clothes and drinking. Glad you did it proper! With that rich green some vinyl wall art would be very cool. Or if you fancy yourself an artist, do some small designs in gold paint and make it exotic. Congrats on a job well done!
Why thank you. I like your thinking. Dirty parties with ratty clothes and drinking makes any unpleasant experience bearable. I love the gold paint idea, though my artistic ability is limited. After you commented I started reading your blog. I am so addicted. I had to go back and start from the beginning. Your dreaming posts are fascinating. As a side note: I’ve been there with some of the thoughts and feelings you’ve been dealing with. Just wanted you to know that I think you’re really brave and stronger than you think you are. Sorry, really long response.
Thank you! And that’s not a long response at all.
Haha I just wrote like a 2 page long comment on another post
Anyway, thanks for reading my crazy dreams and your support on my other front. Even though my decisions are my own in the end, it’s always good to know that other people have been there and survived.
I’m paining my bedroom next week, and I’m expecting it will take me the whole week! Just figuring out what I need to do and buying materials is a day in itself…
I feel for you! I’m sure you’ll be much more efficient than I was. Definitely buy an edger. It’s a little tool that you can run along the top and bottom and sides of the wall. We waited until the end to get one and it would have been so much easier. It’s an amazing invention. Overestimate on the paint too. We had to run back a few times. We got one gallon for the whole room and then another of the small size. Not a good idea. Good luck!
This made me last, I’m updating our house as well, my boyfriend, grampa and I are laying hardwood laminate flooring in the whole upstairs, and I painted my daughters room by myself… and now I have to paint my sons room… I haven’t done their ceilings (they will need done..eventually) but the rest has been pretty “fun”. I have painted a few houses over the years though (I was an army brat) so I have a pretty good technique… still though, i’ll be Popeye up in this bitch with you too!
I can’t imagine laying hardwood floors or painting rooms by myself. I completely admire you! I just do not have the skills to be efficient with home improvement projects. It’s definitely a good quality to have. I’m glad you’ll Popeye up in this bitch with me! haha. I’ll have to bother you for pointers.
Aaah!!!! I feel your pain(t). We moved in our home 2 months ago and started rennovations almost iimmediately, including paint in three rooms. The painting is close, but it’s STILL not done.
I give you a lot of credit! It would take me way longer than 2 months to paint three rooms. The next time I’m going to have a hire a family member for cheap labor. I laughed out loud about the “pain(t).” I’m a wordplay fanatic. I worked at a newspaper and made up the weirdest, pun-filled headlines ever. You would have been stellar.
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Thank you! They are all excellent blogs. You won’t be disappointed.