Whimsical September

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Painting Tales from Someone Who Doesn’t Know How to Paint

I’ve learned a couple things about myself throughout the last couple of weeks: I love painting walls (the trim in particular – I’m a freak!) and I should never DIY anything without someone’s help (who knows what they’re doing) or very specific, detailed instructions.

Before I attacked my first room with paint, my mom was a wreck and rightfully so. She knows that I’m often not the most patient human being and that I also semi-destroyed our old office in Tennessee by getting paint all over the trim and ceiling. Jamie’s grandmother (Mamaw) had quite the time (and many laughs) trying to fix all of my painting errors when she came to turn the room into Hadley’s nursery last summer. When Jamie told her that I was about to start painting various rooms in our new house, she picked up the phone to give me all of her sweet tips so that she would not have to come from Indiana to fix my accidents. 😉

I was determined to show my family that I, Erica DeSpain, who has no crafty/handy talents whatsoever, could do this.

Fast forward to today, and the following rooms are successfully (I think) painted (whew):

Our master bath (Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams)

Our living room/entry way/hallway (Balanced Beige by Sherwin Williams)
Excuse the little bit on the trim. That oak is being painted very soon, so I wasn’t overly perfect with it.


Our sunroom (Glidden’s color-matched version of Benjamin Moore’s Palladian Blue)

Let’s talk about the living room and it’s original green accent wall. So bad. SO BAD.

Our living room is where we play, occasionally eat (keepin’ it real), watch TV, take naps (yeah right), work out, read, and hang out. It’s literally where we do life, and I’d been looking for the perfect paint color for it for months. I was finally sold on Benjamin Moore’s “Gray Owl” thanks to one of my friends who used and loved it, but the nearest Benjamin Moore paint store is over an hour away. I did the color matching thing at Home Depot for the sunroom and was very pleased (though the picture above does nothing for the true color), so I figured I’d try it again for the Gray Owl paint.

After one thin coat of primer and two very carefully painted coats of the Gray Owl, we had this STARK WHITE WALL. Forget the fireplace accent wall, which I hated from the second I finished it. I was so upset about how this wall turned out. The lighting made it look 85 different colors, and none of them were Gray Owl. Color-matching FAIL.

After taking a couple days off from painting to see if I could live with it, I decided I couldn’t. Jamie, who is usually super easy to please, also agreed that this white wall had to go.

I also decided that I absolutely, positively cannot live with the oak trim, windows, and doors. I also have zero desire whatsoever to paint those myself. I am excited to use my time and energy on a number of big and small projects around here, but painting that oak is surely not one of them.

All of this took place about 10 days ago, and today I’m over the moon excited that we now have a fab handyman who is giving us a killer price to come in the end of October and repaint every inch of oak trim and windows and replace every single door (20!!) with a six-panel white door. The previous owners put all new hardware on every door upstairs, but we’ll also be putting in new hardware in the basement.

I know the living room and sunroom paint colors are just going to pop and look so much better with the glossy white trim and windows. So pumped! Crossing our fingers that this improvement will not only make our interior much more bright and beautiful but that we’ll also see this money back when we sell it in a few years.

A few tools that I’m in love with –

This brush has changed my life forever (sorry that I only have a pic of the packaging). John from Young House Love swears by it, and I’d buy any tool that couple tells me to buy! I found it at Sherwin Williams, and it’s definitely worth the money (I think I remember it being right around $13). It makes cutting in at the trim, windows, and ceilings a breeze.

I picked up this roller before I tackled the bathroom, and I really just got lucky with this one. I knew nothing about rollers, but I accidentally picked up one that extends to three different heights. Besides getting on the ladder to cut in where the wall meets the ceiling, I haven’t had to use a ladder. This bad boy extends all the way up to the ceiling. I wish I knew what it was called, but look for it at Sherwin Williams.
Finally, I’m in love with the simplicity and ease of this step ladder. I borrowed it from my sister, and I’m hoping she forgets I have it. 😉 It’s incredibly sturdy but lightweight enough for me to maneuver all around the room. Two thumbs up. It’s called “Skinny Mini”, but I have no clue where she bought it. I’ll ask and let ya know!


Finally, if you follow me on Instagram than you may have seen our new kitchen farmhouse table. I’m in love, I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it!

My husband and brother-in-law built it this weekend and I stained and painted it all day yesterday. More on the table later this week.

My motto with this house is to be content with letting each room evolve over time and not rush and settle with just throwing things up on the walls. Of course I have a wish list of furniture and décor for each room, but for now I’m just happy that we’ve started slowly chipping away at making this place our own. It’s fun!

See ya later this week!

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