There's a lot of molding, all of which needs to be painted with a brush. As a result it takes five times as long. You probably did something fun for your three-day weekend, like go to the coast. I did what I always do on long weekends: I covered myself in paint and went to the Home Depot without brushing my teeth or hair first. It's just how I celebrate.
I'm still trying to figure out what they were saying to each other. I'm hoping it's something along the lines of, "Isn't this a lovely home, Daryl Hall?" and, "Rightly so, John Oates! Nary a ghost or critter here!"
I recently won a $25 credit at CanvasPop from Apartment Therapy. CanvasPop takes your digital image and renders it on canvas, like a real painting. I decided to have Hall & Oates committed to canvas. I think they're worth it (though just barely--shipping was an unholy $14 for one rolled up canvas).
But back to painting, I had heard you want to use a saturated color in low-light areas like a basement because you won't have natural light to play it up. My friend Mary has recently finished out her basement and used a lovely saturated seafoam color in her laundry room. I loved the color so much she gave me the paint can so I could have it recreated at the paint store. When I called the place where she had it mixed they told me it was $55 per gallon.
I just about fainted. $55 per gallon? I needed two gallons! No way, nuh uh. I firmly believe you get what you pay for in paint, but for $55 a gallon it should paint itself onto the wall AND mix me a martini while I watch.
I went down to Miller Paint instead and asked if they could color match it using Acro Pure as a base. Acro Pure is zero VOC, low odor, and has an anti-microbial built into it. Basically it's perfect for painting a basement with minimal ventilation. The guys at Miller Paint were great and I'm happy to say that I didn't have another color-match mishap like I did with the dining room. Lesson learned: get your color matching done at Miller Paint, NOT the Home Depot. I had a coupon from my Chinook Book that was buy one get one free. So I got two gallons of custom color paint for $31.
The coverage is great and the color is richly saturated. The photos really don't do it justice. I would absolutely use this paint again. Two coats and I was good to go.
I'm still trying to figure out what color to paint the inside of the alcove. It's presently white, but I think I want to do a chocolate color. Then I just have to scrape the glue down padding, install the laminate my amazing parents bought me for Christmas, and this room might be usable. Then I can move onto outdoor projects like the fence that's falling down in my backyard. If good fences are an indicator of good neighbors, I am that homeowner with all the junkers on the lawn and the constant visits from the police. But more on that later.
