My Future Career: The next Michaelangelo

I grew up with the mentality that I should never try to conquer something that I hadn't specifically been trained to know how to do properly.  Now don't think my parents were trying to crush my hopes and dreams or anything- they just had an realist's perspective on things.  For example: Jan (aka my momma) is an RN.  Got her BSN from UK, and has been in the medical field ever since she graduated.  My dad is super finicky about his hair (hrmm- wonder where I get that obsession from?? ), so he always paid top dollar to get his hair cut- even back in the 1970's.  Jan was utterly convinced that she could learn to cut his hair through trial & error.... and apparently that turned out to be an epic failure.  When my dad went to get his hair fixed by a real hair stylist, the stylist commented on my mom's failed hair cutting attempt by saying "You tell your wife she ought to stick to nursing, and I'll stick to cutting hair.  That way, no one gets hurt."

Pat & Jan. Note- his hair looks meticulous, right?

Anyway, I'd say that I still agree with that mentality about 90% of the time.  Hoooweeeever, that other 10% of the time, I have kinda blown that theory right out of the water.

When we bought our house, two of the upstairs bedrooms were this HORRENDOUS light blue color that is supposed to be considered "unisex," I guess?  I prefer to think of the color as more putrid than unisex, but thats just me.  Anyway, I was telling my mother in-law that I would need to hire a painter to fix those rooms, and she responded with "Why?  I'll help you paint those rooms in no time."

Ummmm??? Scuse?  What a NOVEL concept?  I, myself, could paint a room?  

**side note: How sheltered does that sound, honestly? Gooddd niiiiiggghttt.  But, lets be honest, even when i mentioned to Kevin that I was thinking about painting the upstairs bedrooms myself, he gave me a discerning look.  I was one of those kids who tried to color outside the lines in order to show my "creative side" so the thought of me painting a whole bedroom didn't sound exactly promising to those who know me well.  

Sooo, I painted our first guest bedroom w/ some major hesitancy & helpful supervision of my mother in-law.  Much to my surprise (and probably hers!), I LOVED the whole painting process.  Like, couldn't wait to find something else to paint.  AND- added bonus, the room turned out pretty cute.

The pic is kind of deceiving, but its a mint green color

So obviously, I had to immediately find another room to re-decorate so I could paint again.  So, a few months later, I decided to knock-out our family room w/ a fresh paint job.  I love to look at neutrals in other people's houses, but I crave color in my own.  In turn, I chose green for our family room, and then accented w/ TONS of color. This room makes me happy. 

Please note: 1) Kevin's normal position at night 2) how many cats can you see in this picture?

  That project was uber stressful because I decided I was gonna paint 48 hours before new carpet was to be installed.  Smart, right? Ummm no.  Probably ranks in one of my top 10 worst decisions I've made as an adult.  Seriously. That 48 hours involved a lot of tears, yelling at Kev for no reason, and a combination of chick fil-a milkshakes & pizza to get me through it.  So, after I attacked the family room, and completed it in under 48 hours, I took a short retirement in my painting career.

But alas, that retirement was short-lived.  After complaining about how NOT cheerful the yellow was in our kitchen, Kevin came home one day to find me knee deep into painting our whole kitchen.  Did I bother to consult with him on this? Uhhh. Umm. Oops. 

**Side note**: Better question would be: Did he care that I didn't ask him about painting the kitchen? Umm thats a big negative.  The ONLY comment he had about the ordeal was as follows: "Caroline- are you sure that Blue isn't a North Carolina Blue?  I can't have the TAR HEEL'S color on my WILDCAT walls." 

 And that is why Kevin is no longer allowed to make any decisions regarding his decor preferences in our house.

I can say with a high degree of certainty that "Languid Blue" is not the same color that UNC uses.  What do yall think?

Yes, again- I love lots of color in my house.

My kitchen project was fun because the blue paint literally transformed my kitchen.  Friends of ours were asking questions like "Did you all put in new wood floors?"  or "When did you all paint the woodwork? "  Or "Is that new crown molding?."  Ummmm no yall.  It was a $70 worth of paint. 

Anywho, I then took some time off from my new painting hobby.  

UNTIL I decided our bathroom needed a face-lift.  Weeeeelll- after finding out that what I wanted to do to our bathroom would cost upwards of $10K, I had to go to plan B, which was obviously me giving it a facelift via a new PAINT color & accessories.

So after obsessing over the right color & trying 5 different paint color samples out on the wall, I finally landed on Poised Taupe, which turned out spectacular! 

Yes, that is a flat screen over our jacuzzi tub. Everyone needs one. 

I will also say maintain that the master bedroom is the HARDEST room I have ever painted.  HOLY trim work.  The morning after I was finished, my body felt worse than it did when I had run a marathon.  A NORMAL person would be satisfied after completing one bathroom.  But, I am usually a girl on a mission.  Once I get something in my head that i THINK needs to be done, I won't quit until it is finished.  

As a result, this happened the same week as my master bathroom. Why hello half bath! 

Am I gonna be hired to re-paint the Sistine Chapel? Um, absolutely not.  But painting absolutely relaxes me, and is a huge stress reliever.  But seeing how I am a person who derives great satisfaction from instant gratification, I think I get a huge kick outta seeing the instant results of the new color splashed up on the wall.

Obviously, my friends have inquired about my love for painting and asked that I supply yall with some tips. So, here we go....

Wall Painting Tips

-ALWAYS use Sherwin Williams paint.  Their quality FAR exceeds any other type of paint.

-Don't make a knee-jerk reaction about a color solely based upon the fact you like it in a magazine.  Instead, utilize those handy little samples that Sherwin Williams will mix up for you.  They only cost about $5, and you can compare colors that way.  Plus, it allows you to see which color works best with the lighting in your room.  Example: You might end up choosing a lighter version of a color you originally like, especially if the room is small w/ low lighting.

- DO NOT spend all that cash money on the painting supplies they might try to sell you at Sherwin Williams.  One expensive trimming brush is all you need to buy from there.  Everything else else (A roller, roller pads, trimming brushes, etc), you can buy at Target or Walmart for waaaay less (& I think higher quality).  

-Taping is a waste of time.  Utilize the trimming/artist brushes from Target or Walmart.

-Don't be in a hurry, or else you will have a hot mess on your hands.  Hints why there are a few specks of blue paint scattered around my kitchen.

-Give yourself a day in between coats of paint.  See what it looks like in different modes of light (ie: morning sun vs 8pm at night) before you decide you need another coat

-Don't buy all your paint at one time. They always try to oversell you so they can make more of that cash money.  Yes, I realize it is a pain to go back to SW multiple times, but its better than wasting your hard-earned cash.  **Side note**- When I was picking my master bath color, I probably made about 6 trips to Sherwin Williams.  The consistent trips actually worked out in my favor because due to the fact the guys at Sherwin Williams got such a kick out of this little blonde girl being so paint obsessed, they gave me discounts & call me when I can get 50% :)**

-Finally, don't forget to throw down some old blankets or towels, so you don't ruin your floors. Paint is hell on wheels to get out of carpet, or will give you fits if you're trying to pick it off of wood floors (Not that I'd know or anything. Coughcoughcough.)

Per usual, feel free to email me if you need any further advice or more clarification on anything I talked about.  I'm aware I use some Kentucky-isms in my posts that not everyone understands.  This text convo w/ my guy BFF, Andy,  reminded me that not everyone can decode my verbage :) 

Bahaha. Love his Calabasas heart.  MMkay yall- thats it for now! Talk soon!