To Be or Not To Be: Afraid of Color

Now that Joe and I have the house to ourselves we are in full force making it our own. It will be a slow  process due to lack of time and the busyness of our lives but we'll get there. Eventually. Don't they say the best part of the destination is the journey you take to get there? Without further ado, I give you Part I of our bedroom makeover.

This used to be one of the old roommate's room that Joe and I are moving into once we get a good start on it because it's a tad bigger than the one we're in now. None of our rooms are big by any means but we're working with what we got.

This is the color throughout our whole house except for the upstairs bathroom and kitchen. The builders "splurged" on some color for those two room for some reason. It's an okay color but I'm ready to see it go. It marks up super easily and is a little to bland. I also think it looks more nice in this photo than in person so don't let the warm beige color fool you.

This is the color we went for called New Avocado by Valspar. Some of you might be thinking, "Why did she pick that color?" but my reasoning is simple. I do not want (and trying really hard) to be afraid of color. I want to take some risks with this house so we can figure out what we really like and what our style is. Plus, the picture on the back of our comforter shows it with a nice green wall and it looks awesome.

You'll have to forgive the different lighting in these photos. Some were taken during the day, at night, with a flash and without. I'm not a camera genius although it is on my to do list. My husband who left this painting project totally in my hands (he's not one for painting) helped me take down the curtains and take off the light switch and socket plates so I could get my spackle on.

I used smart from Lowe's. It's zero voc (those nasty, harmful fumes that can still be given off once everything dries) and it was a more organic choice. Trying to be green when I can. I had to fill quite a few small holes and some places where the paint and some drywall peeled off because of pictures and a mirror that previously hung on the walls. After the spackle dried (about 20-25 minutes) I took a very fine piece of sandpaper and leveled the spackle with the wall. (Forgive me for my lack of correct home improvement lingo. I'm learning as I go.) Thanks hubby for this picture while I'm hard at work sandpapering.

The last step before painting (besides laying down a drop cloth and taping all the trim) I took a little bit of primer and went over my spackling. In my research before starting this painting project, I read that sometimes paint does cover as evenly  as the wall where you have spackled so if you put some primer on the spots it will help the paint stick better. Worked for me so I guess that means it's true? haha Friday night what prep night. Saturday was paint day. 

Saturday evening after my experience at the Junk Fair and my Girl's Only day with Kelly in Stillwater (more on that tomorrow) I finally opened up the paint can. I chose Valspar's Signature Colors paint (one of their best) in a satin finish. A Satin finish is durable but what's nice about it is that you can clean it better with a wet wash rag unlike a flat finish. It won't hide the imperfections of a wall like a flat finish can but it gives it a nice clean, slightly shiny look. Oo la la!

Hello Color! Do not be afraid.

Along the ceiling I used a 2" angled brush and never once got paint on the ceiling while working along the ceiling/wall line. Well, I did but it was with the roller and not the paintbrush and it only happened twice. I thought for sure I would have to do two coats as well because you could still see where I had spackled the wall but once it dried you couldn't tell anymore and the wall looked even all around. Yay for no second coat!Thankfully the paint itself is a little thick so I think this had something to do with it. I had to take the brush and touch up a few spots that I didn't get fully with the roller but overall we really like the color. Oh! And let me tell you, this paint dries fast! The whole project, well painting part, took me about four hours and the first couple of walls were already dry at the end of those four hours.

Some days it looks bright and other days it looks like this. Once we get all our furniture in, add our comforter and personal touches I think the room will really come together. Forgive me for not taking a "I'm done with painting this room" picture! All the tape is off and the plate covers are back up. The green wall and white trim look great together. I'll have to get a good picture of the "after" look. Now we need to find a bed...