Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Something NOT to do when painting your new bathroom

Well, since I have a big belly with a baby inside I wasn't painting, but I was doing a little assistance for my hubby. First, I picked out the primer without help at the store. I thought I had read as much of the words on it to make this decision wisely. It was Kilz, and it was odorless. I thought that would be a great choice. Well, I also like to tint my primer before painting, and used a bit of the new Valspar Elan Kitchen and Bath paint to do so. I figured I couldn't go wrong with this, since it was the wall color I'd picked.

Fast forward- poor DH is up late into the night, nearly having to trowel this stuff on. He kept telling me how thick it was, and we figured it was just the crazy primer. He also reported that it was impossible to clean up out of my trusty favorite paint brush, so he had to throw it out. Apparently it required mineral spirits which we didn't have.

Fast forward again to the next day. Hmmm... our brand new drywall is textured now. How did that happen?

Troy thought it was the primer, since it and the paint was so thick. The contractor thought it was the paint, since it may have dried quickly and didn't get a chance to spread smooth. Late last night I was glancing at the empty primer can and read "oil-based" on it. Hmmm... that was news to me. Seems like I had mixed oil-based primer with latex paint. Like mixing oil and water, but worse. Now we know what not to do, and have to sand down the bumpy, plaster-like texture, and buy more paint to re-paint the walls. Ooops. All because I didn't take the time to stand in line and ask the Home Depot people my question.

latest obsessions

David Bromstad's HGTV Color Splash show- I love design with color and he is so willing to do whatever style the homeowner is inspired by. He also has lots of artsy elements to his design. He always does some type of awesome acrylic painting which makes me want to paint, and has the most amazing designs.

Here's a tip he shared on the show today, use your accent color at three different heights to create continuity and keep the eye moving.

I'll have to assess my bathroom design thus far and see if I followed it or not.

Other obsession- is Trader Joe's Triple Ginger cookies. I always like ginger, but when I'm pregnant I want more, more, more! Like the ginger cookie at Turtle Bread Co. Mmm. But these Trader Joe ones use 3 kinds of ginger including crystallized ginger. They are so irresistible I want to sit down with a tub of them and just chow!