Caution...painting in progress.

I like to paint. Really I do. But, painting an entire house is hard. And messy. And smelly. (The label claims to be low VOC...I'm not convinced!)

Despite the hardships, I am so happy with how it's coming together.
To start off, every crack and crevice had to be caulked.  Every nail hole had to be spackled and sanded.  I ran across a great post with caulking tips on Remodelaholic last week.  I have a similar caulking philosophy, and I had sore fingers to prove it!  Once everything is caulked and spackled, then everything you want to keep paint free must be taped off, including windows and bathtubs.

My least favorite step is applying primer.  It is a necessary evil.  We used a paint sprayer from our contractor to apply the first three steps, which is a must when painting a whole house.  Here is what primer looks like after it's applied:

Primer is matte, slightly grey, and when used in a sprayer, the mist dries and falls on everything.  However, you don't ever want to paint raw drywall without first priming everything.  We used a new construction primer made by Valspar which we purchased through our local building supply.  It took 24 gallons to cover the upstairs of our house.

Once the primer is applied, the ceilings were painted next.  We used a flat white paint.  Simple and effective.  My sweet husband is our main sprayer, I simply can't reach most of those ceilings at my puny stature, and he can get it done quickly.  Picture him in a white coverall suit, stocking head cover, mask, and gloves, and you'll know why he's my painting hero.

After the ceilings are painted, it's time to tape off the ceilings above the doorways and paint the trim.  

We used a warm white color in semigloss.  The color is called Candlelight, and comes through independent Valspar dealers.  I'm sure there's an equivalent at Lowes...I just don't know what it's called.

We painted the insides of each closet, and the shelving the same color.  I learned the hard way through our last couple houses that semi gloss is the only way to go with shelves.  It just wears better.

Finally, I get to roll the color I wanted on the walls.  It was either that or tape EVERYTHING off and then spray.  No thanks.  I use my Shur Line Edger (which I've had for six years!) to cut in the ceilings and along the baseboard, and then roll like crazy in a "W" pattern.  I also use a nice angled brush to get inside corners.

By the way, painting around bathtubs...not my favorite thing.

Here is what the first finished bedroom and closet look like.  I'm really happy with the results.  Sorry the lighting is poor, we're keeping the paper on the front windows for a bit of privacy during late night painting sessions.

Now to paint two more bedrooms, a bathroom, the great room (those vaulted ceilings are scaring me!), and the laundry room.  I might have to do a muted robin's egg blue in the laundry room.  Just for fun.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.  I think you know what I'll be doing!

To see the entire house saga, you can see my round-up page HERE.