livingroom, newly painted

Weekends are when I get stuff done, so it's taken forever to paint the livingroom. But finally it's done, the ladder and dropclothes are no longer in the middle of the room. I am really happy with the result. Benjamin Moore "Pale Pewter" is the color and it is very Nordic cool and calm and I think looks good with the trim color, "White Dove" (my favorite white.) The curtain rods are up but I haven't decided what to do about curtains--I kind of don't want to cover the beautiful 1930s window trim.

more painting

Painting the walls and ceiling in the hallway isn't exciting to anybody but me (I love how white paint reflects any glimmer of light). It's turning into a 3 coat job, one of primer and two finish coats. By the weekend it will be done and back I go to painting trim--there are four doors in this little hallway! I made a detour and painted glossy black this long-ago garage sale find. The more I look at Scandinavian interior blogs, the more black and white I want. The search is on for a black and white striped cotton runner for the hall. First thought was Ikea but no luck.

painting trim

Can you see the trim around our windows? It is original--our house was built in the 1930s--and is one my favorite things about the house. So now I am working on repairing the cracks & chips and then priming and repainting. I keep pushing myself to do more sanding, a real chore, because these moldings deserve the best treatment!

one step forward, two steps back

So as you know we try to salvage anything we can and here you see the 80s- or maybe 70s-style light fixture over the sink in the bathroom (where everything was finished except this small detail) all masked and ready to spray paint a stainless steel/nickel tone. Better than the old gold finish! But one light spay and the finish "beads" rather than levels nicely. Can you see that in the second picture? Not acceptable. So I am going to buy a little can of paint, lightly sand and then hand paint it and hope it turns out OK. Disappointing.

the front steps

The front steps sorely needed a new coat of paint. Used my new power washer to clean them first, then some scraping and here is the exciting part, putting on the pretty green paint!

a little detail

The heater vent in the bathroom needed attention--rust and old paint--so I got out the steel wool and cleaned it up, then spray painted it with Rustoleum white satin finish. Looks way better!

choosing a white paint isn't easy....

I painted some color samples on the bathroom walls. I want fresh, clean white to go with the brown tiles and (as yet uninstalled) teak countertop. "Linen white" which I thought I'd want (in the center left) was instantly eliminated as too tan. I decided to go with "White Opulence" from Benjamin Moore. The little sample bottles are great--no need to buy a whole quart of paint and then decide it's all wrong.

I have tsp'ed the walls, this weekend I will prime them and then hopefully it will cover in 1 coat?