Trial and error and error and error.

Something funny happens when you’ve been painting seemingly nonstop for 10+ days: you start to look at other paint jobs with a critical eye.

Case in point: I was in the men’s room at TobacCo yesterday and found myself mentally critiquing the paint job. They did crappy work on the trim, I observed. The brushstrokes weren’t blended in very well, and they missed a spot down by the baseboard.

I’d better avoid art museums for awhile. I’d hate to criticize Van Gogh.

Last night, I finished painting. We wanted to complete the bedrooms, living room, and basement before moving in. Missions accomplished. There are still two bathrooms, a laundry room, and a hallway, not to mention some edging and touch-up work. But those will be easy in comparison and we can take our time.

Thank god it’s done. I feel physically spent. My arms and wrist are sore, I’ve lost sensation in my thumb, and curling my fingers is painful. Clearly, I’ve been gripping rollers and brushes so long, my hands are morphing into an unnatural shape. Then there are the late nights. I’m used to coming home from work and plopping down in my easy chair for a few hours before heading to bed. These past two weeks, I didn’t get back to the apartment until after I’d normally be asleep. Things went a little bit faster after I stopped using tape (thanks to a certain friend who commented “taping is for rookies”). She’s right, though. Even Tara never bothered taping around the windows, doors, and baseboards. That would have added hours of prep work.

I’m pretty happy with how most of the rooms turned out. Tara had a vision for the living room, so I let her run with it. It’s much more calming and soothing—I daresay, elegant—than our bright orange Rapid City walls.

Here
There

Without a doubt, the basement was the most challenging room. For starters, just navigating down there was tricky. It was where we dumped all the stuff we carted over, so those boxes had to be moved away from the walls to create aisles.

Then, of course, there was the issue of color. My idea for a brick red wasn’t cutting it, so Tara suggested sage green. Great! Only then, it took four tries to find a shade we were happy with. I actually painted the whole room in a shade of green that ended up looking too institutional, like a 1970s psychiatric hospital. We didn’t want to constantly look over our shoulders to see if Nurse Ratched was approaching, so I started over from scratch. Finally, we settled on Mountain Greenery. It’s less sage-y than we’d expected, but this is a daylight basement with a slider that opens to the backyard. I like how it ties in with all the green back there.

Tonight, we’ve decided to give ourselves a much-needed break. We have been on the go practically nonstop for two weeks, so a laid-back night in the apartment, one last time for old time’s sake, with take-out BBQ and wine sounds heavenly. Otherwise, we’re on track to move in on Saturday. Tomorrow at noon, I’ll disconnect the internet and run into Janesville for new equipment. Then we grab the U-Haul Saturday morning and wait for two paid laborers to move the heavy stuff.

There’s just one small hitch. It’s Thursday, which means it’s snowing. It just started a little while ago, but they’re predicting 4-7″ overnight. Luckily, it’s not happening 24 hours later. The roads may be a little slick in spots Saturday morning, but I’m sure we’ll be able to navigate the truck just fine.

I might have to fire up the heated driveway tomorrow. And/or shovel. Tara suggested gassing up the snow blower, which might not be a bad idea if we get the higher end of what they’re forecasting.

Last post from the apartment. See you on the other side!

42 thoughts on “Trial and error and error and error.”

  1. I like the not sage and actually the whole greenish theme. Seems right for the garden setting you live in- bringing the outdoors inside! Good luck this weekend I know it will feel good to be home!

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  2. I love your greens! Of course it’s my favorite color so I’m easy to please in that respect. Glad you won’t have to wear a straight jacket in the basement. They’re not flattering to many figures and impossible to drink beer in…
    Good luck with your move this weekend. Hope the weather cooperates.

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    1. It’s actually a very dark green. Photos don’t transfer well without proper lighting. But thank you! Every room is completely different, but then again, we’ve always had an eclectic style!

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  4. It looks great! Congratulations on powering through some big jobs. More than that, I love that you kept at the color until you got just the right one. This post should be entitled okay – good – better – best! Enjoy the rest before the move! See you on the other side…

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  6. I’m cracking up because we are the same way about other people’s paint jobs!!! Including the ‘professionals’ that painted our master bath last year. Color me not impressed! But yeah, the trick is ‘cutting in’ which takes a steady hand and patience, but better than all the blue tape.

    I know the stress of looking at the forecast when you’ve got something important on the calendar. Hope it all goes smoothly this weekend!

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  9. I painted my living room “Gardener Green” from Lowe’s…I love it! I need to redo my hallway which is sea foam (unsure of what I was thinking then), John need to get his stuff out of his old room so I can completely redo that…thinking a summery yellow, but still unsure. Of course, he has been out of this house for 8 years and his stuff is still here, so that may never get done.

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  10. I always spot paint boo boos although I haven’t painted for years. I’m just a perfectionist, I guess. Glad you’re finished with what you wanted to do and can take some relaxation time. But SNOW? That’s not one bit relaxing!

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  15. It’s Thursday, which means it’s snowing…lol. It’s been a wacky year for weather everywhere, I think. When you mention the painting, I simultaneously get a chill up my spine and a smile. The chill…because I have been there (tape included!), The smile…because I am never doing any of that again myself. I like the green as well. Great choice. See you on the other side!

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  16. Picking colors is a challenge for everyone. I’m glad you were flexible about finding the right shade of green because it’s your home & you gotta make it yours– or maybe I should say Tara’s!

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    1. Ha! Well, the good thing is, we have very similar tastes when it comes to colors. Actually pretty spot-on. Which certainly makes choosing them a lot less stressful (once we get the subtle nuances down). It’s also why I trusted her completely with the living room, and she let me have at it in the office.

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  17. Congrats! I’m surprised you’re thinking straight after breathing in paint fumes for 10 days. If it were me, my posts would look something like this: [[-uhjgtc31uhiojpnnkk=-=-hibkljll45.
    And dare I say it? Your basement very much resembles Rivergirl’s at the moment. 😉🤣

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  18. You both deserve a break. Painting non-stop has to be exhausting…well, it is to me and I’m just reading about it.
    I agree with you too, I see crappy paintwork all the time and wonder who was the Quality Control manager on this task? I love the green in the basement; great choice!

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  19. There’s nothing quite like a job well done. I remember doing the work during the day and paint at night routine the last time I did major paint work 20 years back or so – I don’t know how I survived. Respect…

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