Here's a little background. 3 years ago in August, some of the high school girls from church came over and helped me peal the wallpaper in the entry and hall. I paid them in lip gloss...and we had a blast. They had just returned from Portugal, and told me all about their trip with Royal Servants while we worked. My boys were almost 3 and 17 months. We had just returned from a trip with 60 other high schoolers where I was the cook for 72 people for 11 days. I was moving along well...I felt like I was accomplishing lots (home repairs) and I could handle excursions with 2 small children. We finished pealing the wall paper, and then the next weekend I was sick...so we didn't get together to paint like planned (yes...I was going to let high school girls paint with me...worst case scenario, I'd re-coat.) The next weekend I was still nauseous. HMMM....do you know where this is going? I found out I was pregnant. The paint never happened. Whereas I was hardly sick with the boys, baby #3 nearly killed me. I was ill the whole 9 months! Then add some bed rest starting in January for a baby due in May...with a 3 yr old and an almost 2 yr old. I was totally over the fact that the hall was a mess. I just wanted to deliver a healthy child.
Fast Forward to today...I was all geared up to finish painting the hall (we actually painted the entry Thanksgiving 2005...we had 3 cases of pink eye so we couldn't visit with family...but the boys had a blast as we let them loose with paint rollers and primer.) M & I even started with the trim. Enter knee injury! I'm so frustrated! I have to trust that God's timing is perfect. I do know that He loves me whether my hall is painted or still has little pieces of wallpaper glue. I just get tired of unfinished projects (the hall isn't the only one...our Master bedroom has no baseboards...) My goal was to finish up some projects before starting homeschooling August 27th. Now, I'm settling in to the fact that it won't happen. So, if we haven't found time before Katie returns from Indiana (Taylor University) I'll pay her...it will be 4 years from when she started the project with me.
Now, I guess if this was just slap up a coat of paint, then we would have painted here somewhere inbetween. We painted 2's room (well, M did) just before she was born. And then we painted the boys room the Christmas she was 8 months old. But, the glue of the wall paper had damaged the wall. We would have actually re-wallpapered with a grass cloth. Except that just won't hold up in a high traffic area...or to toddler hands dragging on the walls as they walk. So, I decided to texture the walls giving it the grass cloth appearance, and covering pits in the wall. This may be something that's out there in some book or something...but I swear I came up with this myself...3 years ago.
I bought ceiling texture (the stuff used to make those ugly cottage cheese ceilings). I used a wide putty knife to 'frost' 10" of wall floor to ceiling about 1/4" thick...and quickly because this stuff dries. Then I used a wall paper brush (about 12" wide with firm bristles about 1" long) to drag from ceiling to floor in one motion. This was incredibly messy. When I got to the bottom of each stroke, the brush needed to be washed outside. M became a brush runner, washing one and returning it to me, while I durtied another brush in that amount of time. Once the process was started, we realized that I'd have to do the entire area since one persons' drag was different and left a different texture. The texture was just what we were going for. It needed to be coated with primer before continuing. We used Kilz witch smells horrific. When the primer was dry, then the wall needed 2 coats of paint. The first coat of paint had to be done with a brush to get inbetween the lines of texture. Then M did the 2nd coat of paint with a roller after I had cut in with a brush. 3 days to finish our ity-bity entry. But, we love the finished product. I think that's what keeps us waiting on the hall. We know it's a long process. And we know that we'll have to arrange for the kiddos to spend the night somewhere because the smell is really bad. Since school is about to start...I now extend my goal. Have the hall painted before the 4th anniversary of peeling the wallpaper. (And yes, the wall paper was that bad...it's been better to live with white walls spotted with glue for 3 years)
I bought ceiling texture (the stuff used to make those ugly cottage cheese ceilings). I used a wide putty knife to 'frost' 10" of wall floor to ceiling about 1/4" thick...and quickly because this stuff dries. Then I used a wall paper brush (about 12" wide with firm bristles about 1" long) to drag from ceiling to floor in one motion. This was incredibly messy. When I got to the bottom of each stroke, the brush needed to be washed outside. M became a brush runner, washing one and returning it to me, while I durtied another brush in that amount of time. Once the process was started, we realized that I'd have to do the entire area since one persons' drag was different and left a different texture. The texture was just what we were going for. It needed to be coated with primer before continuing. We used Kilz witch smells horrific. When the primer was dry, then the wall needed 2 coats of paint. The first coat of paint had to be done with a brush to get inbetween the lines of texture. Then M did the 2nd coat of paint with a roller after I had cut in with a brush. 3 days to finish our ity-bity entry. But, we love the finished product. I think that's what keeps us waiting on the hall. We know it's a long process. And we know that we'll have to arrange for the kiddos to spend the night somewhere because the smell is really bad. Since school is about to start...I now extend my goal. Have the hall painted before the 4th anniversary of peeling the wallpaper. (And yes, the wall paper was that bad...it's been better to live with white walls spotted with glue for 3 years)
Wall texture is hard to photograph. Expecially since I don't have a big fancy digital camera. This is the best I could do. No flash. Camera sitting on a little box shelf with timer. Paint color is pretty true in this photo. Frazee: Market Basket.
4 comments:
Once again, I can sympathize. We have been through such issues with wallpaper removal. I totally understand everything you're doing, which is sort of scarey, because it shows that I've been through similar things.
I used to date a guy from Upland, Indiana. Dad was at a church in one of the other small towns in that general area, and we met at church camp.What a hoot that you have someone at Taylor. Small world. What's funny is that if we met in real life we'd probably never discover these things in common -- blogging is so interesting that way.
It's very pretty! Don't worry about your other projects - they'll get done. I know it's hard, though.
We finally ordered rugs on Saturday, so in a few weeks we can pick out paint and get started.
your paint texture sounds and looks fabulous! I'm sure the rest will be done just as well. I used to love doing faux paint techniques, and (luckily) did all the rooms I needed to in my small house prior to my accident. It wouldn't be so easy now. Good luck!
better to take the time and do it right. it will be worth it in the end. we've been renovating for 13 years... by the time we finish, it will be time to replace the roof again, which is where we started, but it will still be better to have taken the time.
can't wait to see the finished project - and it if takes a while, at least you know that we'll be coming back to check on the progress! ; )
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