Painting Frenzy!

Painting, Painting, Painting! That's what filled my days in the months of October and November...well, not the actual painting. That only took about two weeks, but before one can paint the walls, one first has to build a wall, then find the paint and all of the various supplies that aid in the applying of the paint. For before pictures of the house, click here.I was, at first, daunted by the sheer volume of paint needed to cover all of the walls in the parsonage and the ensuing expense.

I started out with the new wall in the basement. We'd cut the living area in the basement down by a third and added another bedroom. The obscenely long room now looked proportional and much more usuable. However, it also needed to look finished. So that is where the paint comes in. My DH sent me to ACE to buy some paint. I was thrilled to find a cart filled with mistints or returned paint. These gallons of perfectly good paint were marked down to only $7 a gallon. I found to gallons in a greenish color that I liked and bought them. We applied the paint to the new wall and the newly formed bedroom and loved the results...only having new paint on wall made all the other walls look a bit careworn. So I went on a mission to find more inexpensive paint to "finish" the job.

I found paint for the basement again at ACE, but only so much paint is returned there so I wondered if the larger warehouse type places had a similar section?

I loaded up my little one and set off for Sioux Falls and the closest warehouse place which happened to be Menards on the east side and hit the jackpot. Not only did they have a large selection of returned/mistint paint, the price was outstanding. $15 for a 5 gallon bucket, $5 for a gallon, and $1 for a pint.

I was so happy to find a 5-gallon bucket in a dark beigey color, a gallon of pale pink, a couple of pints of brown and red that I couldn't pass up and then grabbed everything else I would need to put the paint on the walls. I stopped in everytime I went to Sioux Falls, roughly every two weeks, to see if there were any new colors that had been added to the clearance section. I came away with another 5 gallon bucket of the dark beigy color (yes it matches the other one...I wonder Who allowed that to happen!?!), a 5 gallon bucket of pale pink (there was another 5 gallon bucket of the same color and I wondered who would have need of so much pink paint?), a gallon of orange, a gallon of dark blue, a  gallon of dark brown, and a yellow. Now it was time to put the paint on the walls and see what the results would be. We did have to choose what we wanted where with caution as these colors were basically unmatchable!

But somehow they all worked out as you will see below.

The living room received the orange on one large wall. This is by far my favorite and is darker in person than it appears in this picture. The other three walls have the beigy color. The paint warmed up the room and made the large space feel cozy or more welcoming than the off white.

The laundry room was a bit tricky because of it's location and small size. Do we go with the same color that is in the hallway and dining area? or a different color altogether. Oh, did I forget to mention that we ran out of the hallway/dining area color...we stretched that 5 gallon bucket as far as it would go...and then found the one that turned out to be a near perfect match. So the laundry room is the "same" color as the hallway. Although we discovered that based on lighting and other objects in a given space the same color does not LOOK the same in each room. Interesting...forgiving!

The bathroom gave us problems. I wanted to paint it a muted yellow to match the painting of the baby is the wash tub, and I thought I had found the perfect yellow in gallon mentioned above, but when I got it on the walls it looked absolutely hideous...and being a task oriented person...rather than taking a picture...I immediately pulled out a robin's egg blue and before the yellow was totally dry had covered it up with a pretty blue...or at least I thought it was pretty until I saw it next to the other room color and the brightness of the blue did not go at all. I was at a loss as to what to do. Painting a bathroom is pain...Painting it twice in one...not fun at all. I let the color sit overnight thinking it might grow on me...or at least look better in the daytime, but it didn't. I was quickly running out of both patience and paint. I had a little over a half gallon of the blue and I wondered what would happen if I mixed in the pint of really dark brown? I thought I might get a lighter shade of brown...Instead, I got a really neat shade of purple. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I just poured the brown paint into the blue and stirred...actually, I put the lid on and shook it, but I did NOT google how to mix paint or what color will I get if I mix these two or what not to do when mixing paint...I just mixed them and got this beautiful color. So the moral of the story is...go ahead and mix the paint...especially if you don't like the original color anyway! :)

Well, if you were wondering what in the world we did with a 5 gallon bucket of pink paint and a gallon of pink...here it is. Selah's room got a couple of coats and the color is just perfect~subtle yet definite. Add to that the butterfly wall stickers I found on clearance ($6 at Kohl's) that match her butterfly comforter and pillowcase and voila Selah had a new room!

The boys room was a study in learning to paint with dark colors. I really wanted to use the pint of red and the gallon of dark blue, but when you only have a limited supply...you'd better choose your space carefully. The boys have a closet wall that needed very little paint so I started with the red on there. The red was just your basic DutchBoy paint and I used the entire pint which came to about 5 coats to hide the white beneath. I thought I might be in trouble with only a gallon of blue until I read the label: Durabond Max with primer! The blue covered beautifully in one coat and only needed minor touch up in spots for the second coat. I was amazed. The moral of this story: if you're going to spend $5 on a gallon of paint, you might as well get the good stuff! :)

I also had a gallon of Dark Brown (I don't have any fancy names as I didn't have to pick the color from one those card dohickeys...which is a blessing and a half I tell you) gallon of DuraBond Max and we thought it just might cover the one dining room wall and the kitchen. Lesson learned here: when working with a limited amount of paint, start with the spaces that will be seen and then paint behind the cupboards/fridge/stove, etc...not the other way around. We managed to do the space, but it was close and there is absolutely no paint left for touchups!

The Dining room and the original 5 gallon bucket.

Tirzah laid claim to the original $5 gallon of pink paint and added a satin grey to the other walls. I wasn't sure what I thought of gray on a wall until it was up and I like it. Tirzah used the extra paint to add musical flair on the window wall. She did all the art free hand! I love to see my kids use their talents.

Tirzah laid claim to the original $5 gallon of pink paint and added a satin grey to the other walls. I wasn't sure what I thought of gray on a wall until it was up and I like it. Tirzah used the extra paint to add musical flair on the window wall. She did all the art free hand! I love to see my kids use their talents.

The wall on the far side is what started this all.
Lacey's room also is covered in light pink paint and finished with brown, pink and white circle stickers that match her bedding. I do not have a picture at this time and am afraid of the state of her room...so to avoid an argument about how she should keep her room clean...i will just not take a picture today! :)

Well, that is how I paint a whole house on a budget and in the space of a month!

So many colorful reasons to live, love and laugh,
Lori