I've been working on the living room. I decided to paint the room white, trim and walls. Our living room is clad in wood. The living room was built in 1950, and addition to the original cottage. We moved in with little information about the history of our home. We guessed that the paint on the walls was likely oil based, under the layers there's probably some lead paint as well.
How to approach the painting dilemma? I chose to "play it safe" and prime the entire room, then top coat. This method worked well on the walls, and most of the molding. Then came the fireplace, columns and ceiling beams. After a few weeks of drying I decided to "play" with dressing the mantle and every move of the jars began to show a nightmare. The paint peeled.
Three little words that strike fear in the heart of every house painter. I could literally take my fingernail and peel the paint, pull a loose end and peel it away. One Step forward then a giant step backwards.
The result; hours of scrapping, stripping, sanding to remove all of the paint I had just painted. Followed by preparation of the surfaces to start again.
What did I do differently? I decided to go with an old friend, Kilz, Oil Based Interior Primer. It's not as easy to use, clean up is a little challenging. Rarely does it fail me. This time was no different. I primed with Kilz oil based primer, then followed with two top coats. After waiting an appropriate amount of dry time, I took my fingernail, mustered up some courage and tried to scratch the paint...it stuck! Heavy sigh of relief. What was different about the fireplace trim and rafters in our living room? Who knows. At least the second time around the paint is happy where it is.
The Kaufman woven check fabric I ordered for the living room drapes arrived last week.
I'm sewing drapery panels. Couldn't wait to see how they would look, I pinned two panels to the wall around one window. (Please, ignore that laptop on the ottoman/coffee table!) Doesn't the white paint look nice? Its happy where it is, I know because it is no longer trying to jump off the wall by peeling!
In the midst of sewing I decided to strip the metal windows. Squirrel! I have design ADD. The metal windows are the old crank out variety. They are literally painted shut. Safety is a big concern, if we needed to get out of the house through a window, we couldn't.
Aesthetically, I believe the bare metal windows will look amazing in the cottage. I realized I needed to strip the windows before installing the new drapes. So...I spent the last two weeks trying to get paint to stick, this week I'm trying to get it unstuck! Decorating, it's complicated.
I'll be stripping all weekend, well stripping paint. Promise to be back soon with naked metal windows, also pretty drapes to show you. Honestly, I'm a little nervous about the check drapes. I'm trying to move a bit toward country French, less fussy, no silk ...which I adore. Hopeful I'll love the cheeky checks.
Until next time, wishing you happy paint-
