How I paint.

**The paint color I used is Cinnabark from Behr. Sorry about that! :)

I've been teasing you so bad with my dining room redo. I know, I'm a big meany!! Totally! Because of the holiday sale on paint at Home Depot, I thought this past weekend was as good as any to start redecorating our dining room:
This has been the one room in our home that I cannot get settled with. I've struggled with it from the beginning. This is because of a couple things -- the furniture is the first. I absolutely LOVE it, don't get me wrong. I love the curvy lines of everything, love the wood. But it was a rushed purchase to try to fill the space. Now I wish I would have taken my time and filled in the room one piece at a time, mixing and matching furniture.

The other reason it's been giving me issues is the window wall is shared with the living room, which is the space with huge ceilings. There is a cardinal rule in decorating -- supposedly you are not supposed to break up a wall that runs through more than one room with a change in paint color. There was just no way we could paint the WHOLE wall without paying someone $500 to come in with a scaffolding.

I was so stinking tired of not loving this room, and I am never one to necessarily follow the rules, so I went ahead and started my redo. (Which included ignoring that cardinal rule -- buhwahahahahahaaaaa!)

I will share the steps it's taking to redo this whole room as I get through them, and then I'll show you the result at the end. Don't worry, I'm almost done, so it won't take too long. For now, I thought I would share how I paint a room. I bug y'all all the time about how much painting a room can change the space for very little, and this room sure is an example of that.

You need very little to paint. I use a decent angled brush, a 3/8 nap roller, blue painters tape, an old sheet and the paint. (Well, duh.)

Before you tape anything off, take your dry brush and clean your baseboards with it -- it gets all the cat hair dust off the boards so the tape will stick well:
It's always a good idea to take a duster around the top of the walls too. There are usually lovely little goodies up there you really can't see from below. Not fun when they get in your paint. Uck.

I always use painter's tape for the baseboards. The other areas I've learned to cut in, which I'll show you in a second. I paint baseboards and cut in areas around the ceiling and moldings first. That gets the tough stuff out of the way, and then filling in with the roller is easy and quick. (By the way -- take your blue painter's tape off as soon as possible after you paint. When it's WET. If the paint dries it will create a seal with the tape and may take up some of the paint when you peel it off.)

Cutting in is a term used for taking your angled brush and, without using the painter's tape, painting right up against molding. I still don't know if it saves much time, but as you get better at it, it does make painting a room a little bit less of a hassle.

I was cursing the day I put so much blasted molding in our dining room. Argh! Fists shaking in air!! Although, as I got into it more, I found it oddly relaxing. I know, I'm a complete fruit loop. I try to do things right, but often I rush through painting a room because Iwantitdonerightthissecond. Cutting in so much in this room made me slow down and do it right, and it was kind of nice.

To cut in, dip your brush in the paint just a smudge, on the side that you are cutting in. Then wipe off some of the excess like this:


I like to start away from the molding first, then work my way closer to it. You have to have a steady hand and take your time:



After you cut in, filling in the rest is easy peasy Squeezies. Professionals always do two coats, but I always do one and then wish I had had the patience to do two. :) If you take your time and use plenty of paint on the roller you should be fine with one coat.

The result? Do you want to see?

Huh?

Do ya?

I'm such a brat. Here's a peek:

Oh yeah, and I totally broke the decorating rules and split up the rooms with molding. I didn't even take out the baseboards, I just did it. And guess what? I like it, and it WORKS. So there, cardinal-rule-creators:
Sticks out tongue.

The color is to die for. It is so dramatic, so warm, I am in luuuuuuurve...

Next, I'll show you my new window treatments, the new centerpiece, the ceiling, and the change I hope to make to the hutch. And more, I HOPE! We will seeeeee...

Do you paint? Do you hate it? Never done it? Are you too scared? Why? Share with the group, talk amongst yourselves!