Painting Lessons

Our first family painting lessons were in the basement bathroom. We studied and decided this would be a test case for us. We did survive the process and will apply what we learned to other rooms in the house. Maybe we can spare you a few of our mistakes.

The basement bathroom was covered with a plaidish yellow/blue vinyl wallpaper. Removing it was a painful process especially since the walls were not properly prepared for wallpaper adhesive. We could only tackle it in half hour segments despite our scoring and Dif applications. A friend or a family member's presence was very appreciated not just for the help but to carry on conversation. Lesson #1: Do not apply wallpaper.

We read articles on and watched a few videos done by professionals to help us through this process. They had the help of staff, current and correct supplies, availability of other restrooms, and fast motion on their cameras. Lesson #2: Do watch the videos and read the articles but expect it to cost twice as much and take ten times longer.

We selected our paint (a committee of brothers is not the best system but they had some important skills to learn in the decision making process), purchased our supplies, and began the long process of preparing the walls and cabinets. This is a long process if you take the time to do it right when you don't have the skill to avoid painting other surfaces. Lesson #3: Do not use high contrast paints unless you are very good at drawing a straight line. Note: There is a reason the professionals discount the paint job if you use all the same color!

Warning: the articles all proclaimed that the freshest presentation of newly painted cabinets is dependent upon replacement of the hardware. Lesson #4: Make sure that you can, indeed, replace the hardware on 30 year old cabinets BEFORE you decide on your color scheme.

Overall, we are pleased with our project. It is essential to take before and after photographs to truly appreciate what you have accomplished. We didn't think of this until we had stripped all the wallpaper. The other essential aspect is to determine that you will be satisfied before you are done, otherwise you will never be done.