Why can't a painter finish painting her own house?
...
I thought that painting the living room and dining room would be a super-quick job. And apparently I was entirely mistaken in this belief.
First, I really screwed up my neck, while painting the living room ceiling. And when that was better, I had found myself entirely unmotivated to paint my own house. I'm not sure if this was due to the "Cobbler's Children go Barefoot" syndrome, or because it's hard to paint anything after the sun goes down.
Thankfully, I rediscovered my house painting ju-ju, and am well on my way to being finished.
Robb and I made a choice to try to replicate the existing colors of the walls, and we're very pleased with how this is working out. The woodwork looks really luminous, especially in the dining room.
I'm not sure when the walls were painted these colors. Judging from the apparent date of the other big renovations in our little house, these colors could date from the 1950s. The last painters did a pretty sloppy job, and I'm gritting my teeth, and painting over it. This is not the time for a huge ripping-out-of-walls. My goal on this project is to clean things up enough that we can finally settle into the living room and dining room.
Maybe someday we'll pop off the moulding and scrape the paint-covered wallpaper off, and reveal the original plaster, but that day -- if it every comes -- is a long way off.
I thought that painting the living room and dining room would be a super-quick job. And apparently I was entirely mistaken in this belief.
First, I really screwed up my neck, while painting the living room ceiling. And when that was better, I had found myself entirely unmotivated to paint my own house. I'm not sure if this was due to the "Cobbler's Children go Barefoot" syndrome, or because it's hard to paint anything after the sun goes down.
Thankfully, I rediscovered my house painting ju-ju, and am well on my way to being finished.
Robb and I made a choice to try to replicate the existing colors of the walls, and we're very pleased with how this is working out. The woodwork looks really luminous, especially in the dining room.
I'm not sure when the walls were painted these colors. Judging from the apparent date of the other big renovations in our little house, these colors could date from the 1950s. The last painters did a pretty sloppy job, and I'm gritting my teeth, and painting over it. This is not the time for a huge ripping-out-of-walls. My goal on this project is to clean things up enough that we can finally settle into the living room and dining room.
Maybe someday we'll pop off the moulding and scrape the paint-covered wallpaper off, and reveal the original plaster, but that day -- if it every comes -- is a long way off.
Comments
you need a shower beer.
Duuuuuuh.
As for the old wallpaper and stuff, here's my thinking...you gotta leave something historic for the next owner in 50-70 years to find when they do THEIR renovation! This reasoning will help you keep your efforts in check. Enjoy having something old around you, besides your aching bones!
Origonal plaster usually has pencil writing, doodles, measurements, and fingerprints on it. We found hand written numbers when we scraped our plaster walls, and the oak and chestnut beams. After 150 years, there often isnt a lot of length of uncracked plaster either. We found illegible german writing on our plaster before we covered it up again.
Remember Allegra Ockler of MICA printmaking? She had been married to a plumber, and they bought themselves a fixer-upper in PA years ago. After 20 years of marriage she still didnt have a working kitchen sink cause HE was sick of looking at plumbing at the end of a work day, and SHE would not pay for one to come do it! This is how I heard the story...
The moral of the story is, go easy on yourselves and everything will eventually get done. The place will look great. But 20 years is too damn long to wait for a kitchen sink! Consider waiting till you have 1-energy, 2-money, 3-either have a sense of humor or are really pissed off at something to get a burst of energy to finish off the job.
Annalisa
Annalisa
That's what happens when you move into something that isn't completely finished. We've resolved NEVER to do that again--if indeed we ever decide to build another house. . .
~~Doublesaj~~
Photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gweddig/sets/72157617229662297/
--greg