Can we talk for a minute about how hard it is to renovate with little ones in the mix?!
Holy cream cannoli’s!
It’s like pulling teeth from vampire. Not. fun. So with that said…the laundry room. It’s still here. and under construction. Let’s get you up to speed on a few things.
So when we started the laundry room the cabinets were very orangie brown. I like white cabinetry (obviously)…and because colored cabinetry could go out of style and heaven’s knows that vampire bicuspids are hard to come by, I nixed the dream of cute colored cabinetry (I think I could go for a muted yellow, blue or coral color cabinet these days) and made the executive decision that white it is. Plus we already had the paint. Saved fifty bucks right there.
Besides the cabinetry, the trim was all my very favorite color of Irony. That’s the color matched name by the way of the very NOT favorite trim color in my house. My sarcasm font was supposed to be on.
In order to get our tanish/creamy trim to become white, I started with a quick wipedown of deglosser and made sure to get off all the dust and grim.
Then I did a primer coat. My new favorite primer for the trim is Kilz Clean Start. I also like Zinsser primer but for some reason the Clean Start seams to stick better.
After one coat of primer and two coats of paint (we just use Valspar’s brilliant white base in semi-gloss without tint or colorant), our trim was looking mighty fine.
The crown and the window and the door were the only other places to paint…and since the room is not huge, it didn’t take me that long.
The came time for the ceiling. All the ceilings in our house match the trim…a very creamy tan color…(pointer finger down the throat).
So while Jer was at work I turned off all our electricity (I didn’t want to risk not throwing the right switch so everything got turned off) and removed the ornate boob light for painting. I named it Janet…I think you know why 🙂
One coat is all it took. I used Valspar’s flat ceiling paint in bright white. It’s very cheap and goes on really well.
Finally came time for cabinet prep. After removing the doors, Jeremy sanded them down for me.
He also did the cabinetry frames with my new sander. I think he was just looking for a reason to sand something since this is his first go-round with the sander. He’s a tool junkie so I am sure it was getting cross-examined while he worked. (like his makeshift mask?!)
Okay…so that is painting and prepping…next up BUILDING. Yup. Building and the light fixture. And then comes more painting and more painting and then more building and then flooring and then maybe we will be close to done. WHEW. Of course we are nowhere near that yet. Edward Cullen wouldn’t just hand over his incisors, right?!
I cannot wait to see where this ends up. Seriously, I love your style and your simplistic approach to design. Lovely. 🙂
I have been thinking about you all week. (Not creepily. I swear.)
I didn’t realize how not white our trim was until I put on Valspar’s Ultra White. Wowza. Practically tan in comparison.
Nice! We started my daughter’s future big girl remodel and although we are doing more than paint, I was talking to my dad about the simplicity of white trim. The previous homeowner(s) had a different color trim in every room – maroon, baby pink, chocolate brown, dingy off white, avocado green and baby poop brown. You can see for yourself at http://thebrickbungalow.blogspot.com/2012/05/before-photos.html I’m all for a nice, classic white!!!
Can’t wait to see the rest. And yes, remodeling with kids is like pulling teeth. Remodeling while pregnant and with a little one is maybe worse. I’m in that boat and I know you’ve been there too.
Whoop. Looking good! And good riddance to cream trim. Is there anything worse?
I have that same boob light (“Janet”) in our kitchen. I can see it from where I sit in the living room and it just pains me. My husband makes fun of me for using the term boob light… I’m trying to convince him it is a proper term.
Yes renovating or just redecorating with littles around makes things infinitely more challenging. Can’t wait to see more progress. I tackled our laundry room a few months back and had to schedule the project around spring break so I could send the littles to grandmas.
Call me crazy, but I kinda like the boob light. Obviously it has to go because, well, it’s a boob light. But in the grand scheme of boob lights, not too shabby.
Hard to get renos (or anything else) done with little ones… major difficulty, I agree! Basically anything you want to do takes 3 times as long to do. Looking forward to seeing how your laundry room comes together!
I have never heard of the Deglosser product. I can read some of what the can says, from your pic. Exactly what does it do? Do you always use it on trim?
Renos with kids? TELL ME ABOUT IT! We’re going on to month 3 of the never-ending-kitchen-re-do. It’s very unpleasant but my motto continues to be, “it will be worth it in the end”
I used to sand my trim but now I only do that if there is a chip or scratches or peeling paint. The deglosser removes the shine and gives the underlying paint some grit…but it’s pretty strong stuff so you can’t do it if you are pregnant or whatever.
xo – kb
Has your sister had her baby yet?
OK, for obvious reaons I just have to ask about the name of the boob light. I’m probably the only one in the DIY world who doesn’t know.
You mean you actually want to renovate with kids in the house? lol. I hear ya though. We got my daughter’s room done (well, minus door. Still needs that.) before she was born and have done nothing since. She’s 15 months old.
I keep threatening to mud and paint the really old, stained drywall in the hallway to at least do something proactive. The hubs wants to just replace it. But I’m the one home looking at it all day and paint is cheaper and faster. We live in a house that was build in 1969, last updated in the 90s. I think we will gain square footage by the time we get rid of all the multiple coats of wallpaper on top of paneling on top of drywall. lol
You are a strong woman! All that going on with two small boys and no washer?!?!? Mine was out of commission for 2 weeks when we did ours and it was a pain in the…
More creamy tan trim bites the dust! I love it! Can’t wait to see what your building!!! Maybe a stand for the washer and dryer…I need to do that!
Not enough hours in the day when you have kids. There just aren’t. And when you do have a spare moment, you’re just.tired.
I’m sure your cabinets are going to look fabulous. I’m about to dive into my first ever cabinet painting and I am NERVOUS. But I do have that same sander! Mother’s Day gift!
The room is already looking ten times better with the ceiling and trim painted! I agree with you on the cabinets – I struggled a ton with that on our kitchen (love the muted gray tones), but landed up going for the white cabinet look, too. Timeless 🙂
Love the tips on painting trim. I just bought a new house and my trim is this really weird tan/ yellow/green color. Very 70’s look. Makes me want to barff! I will be painting it all white sooner or later, so keep the tips coming!
My 5yo son has a boob light in his room. I can’t help but stare at it when reading books, wondering at what age he will make the correlation. Ugh.
Lookin’ good so far! I totally agree with you on the pulling vampire teeth too. Ugh. It’s almost impossible to do anything here when the kids are around.
I can’t wait to see where you laundry room ends up. I need to start mine and I really, really want to see how yours turns out. It is amazing to see how much you do get done despite having 2 kids and obviously you still find time to write about it and not just do. Keep it up. Love your blog.
OH dear Janet! It’s for a certain superbowl singer who had some blinged up boobie 🙂
xo – kb
So excited to watch you work on this room! My laundry room has been on my list for awhile! I’m ready to get ‘er done!