Some things move slower than others...

So.  Sometime in the fall of 2010, I wrote in this blot that I was thinking about--yea, even PLANNING to-- making the trim a soft gray blue instead of the white that was in such sharp contrast with the wood siding.

With my frequently lightning-like speed when it comes to things like this, I thought about it.  And thought about it.  And TALKED about it.  And meant to get AT it.  When our friend Don Dickerson was here painting the trim next door, I thought okay, this is IT.  Finally bought the paint.

Then Don got a different job in CT, so there he is, and there I was, and it was a perfect, glorious fall day and I felt pretty decent.  J's working next door, and here I was...

THE TIME IS NOW!

Simple little window first...yep, yep, I like it...

So then I got more stuff together and started the door...J. did the very top rail for me when he stopped over for a conjugal visit... but you can see the little green stool I used for a stepladder for the rest of the taller stuff.  I am SO short...

Oh yeah.  I like it.  A LOT.  It could have been a shade darker, but you know what?  Talk to me again in another three years!

Nice, yes?  Not such a contrast.  Softer...

And yeah, I wore out before getting to the multi-paned back window.  Manana.  Or next week.  Or when Don gets back...but NOT three years from now!

Live and Learn...

You can't actually put latex paint over oil-based spar varnish successfully...I had to wash this back off and sand the spar varnish, then use mineral spirits, THEN the paint adhered...

Floor paint

We've decided that for now, since they don't make my favorite pattern of vinyl flooring any more and we've spent almost enough on this project, we'd go with paint right on the plywood floor.  It's a bit rough, but then so is the floor in our 110+-year-old houses.

We looked at a variety of vinyls, tiles, cork, etc., and even thought about using another layer of underlayment on the floor that would be smoother than the plywood--but maybe we're getting tired!  Just wanted done, and usable, and this was quickest.  If we decide on something later, we can always put it over the painted floor.

Soooo...Joseph just poured it direct from the can and spread it with a roller.  YEAH.  Instant serenity.

My stencils have gotten moved somewhere, so I'll either get more or find them, or make one just for this project, to add a decorative touch here...I think I'm too tired for anything very complex, and we'll be using rugs in winter, anyway.

I can haz in?

This is the end of the shed workday yesterday; visiting kitty Peppy can't understand why he can't go inside, as usual!

This morning while it was still decent outside, J. did the second coat, cutting in around the perimeter with a brush; the remaining gap will be covered with a simple baseboard.  (Knee pads helped with this step!)

Then he did the second coat like the first, with the roller, after smoothing some of the rougher spots that were easier to see once they had the first coat of paint on them.

I sat on the deck and supervised  er, sketched while he worked.

OH yeah.  Looking GOOD.  Love that morning light...

We're planning to keep it pretty simple and uncluttered inside...a shelf at the top of that far wall, the desk, a couple of chairs, wastebasket, shelves on the south wall for books and art supplies, the coffee/tea/water station next to the French doors on the south, heater and that's it.

For now.  :-P

Final coat of pale yellow paint on the walls...

Eeep, using thin plywood underlayment for the walls worked, except some panels kept bleeding through the paint!  It still shows a tiny bit, but 3 layers plus a texture layer is all it's going to get.  We'll never notice when there are shelves and books there...
 

This looks SO nice and fresh...and it worked fine on this wall...you can't see the texture in the photos, but it looks really good.  Interesting!

This is where the desk and chair will be, beside the low window--now we just have to finish the floor and get the baseboards and shelves in...

Painters' Progress

Yes, we're a little goofy, why do you ask? It's covered now, but we'll know it's there...

It's so lovely to have reached the stage where we can do it ourselves!  It's brutal, painting overhead, and we're both wiped out, but that part's almost done and as you can see we're working on the walls, too.  (MUCH faster using a roller on a smooth surface, let me tell you!)

We'll put a shelf right at the bottom of the rafters, here, with shaker pegs to hang things from...handy!


J.'s going to build screens for this window, too...though since I usually have the French doors open...

We had leftover ivory paint from our rehab project, as I said--it's satin, which looks rather nice and should be easy to clean.  Today, I'm having J. mix just a bit of leftover yellow in to warm the color for the walls; I'm going to texture them with some drywall mud added to the paint to provide some interest and hide some of the unevenness of walls done with plywood underlayment.


I've done that before in our old bathroom, and it looked great!  Rather like rough plaster...though then it was drywall powder and this time we have a paste-like compound.  Hope it works as well!

Apparently our 2 x 4 studs weren't all that 2 x 4, and the underlayment may not have been exactly the same thickness, either--some was leftover recycled, and some was new. Anyway some of the seams have about 1/8" between the surfaces.  I filled with wood putty, and the texturing will help, too. Not a biggie, I'll just hang a sketch over goofy places!

Now, then...what color to paint the floor?!  (Yes, for now we've decided on paint, right on the plywood.  Faster, and cheaper...)  Right now, it looks like Jackson Pollock went nuts painting a snowstorm in Alaska...

On our own...

Last night we sat on the little deck and celebrated! It was cool and delightful after the rain, the sky faded from orange to peach to black, the snowy tree crickets and katydids serenaded us, and it felt wonderful.









The weather's been perfect since the rain last night, so I thought I'd get what I could done before it got hot.  It never did, so I just kept working till I hit the wall around 4 this afternoon!  (The desk will go right by this window.)





Joseph caught me painting, this morning; if I'd known he was going to get the camera, I'd probably have brushed my hair before starting to work!

Looks pretty, doesn't it...