Home and Garden article - TCH

Painting a Happier Home (2006 Home and Garden section)

Painting a happier home

I've always wanted a Dogwood tree, so this weekend I painted my living room! 

Okay, now you're wondering what this has to do with the coveted tree, aren't you?

The color I chose for my walls is called "dogwood". 

First let me tell you that my home is a 1982 Sequoia – in this case, a mobile home, not a tree.  Throughout the house the manufacturer used slick photo finish paper – made to look like wood paneling.  Through the years I have wall papered and painted a few times, usually with little success.  The first time I papered, it all fell off – so I painted.  The paint peeled off like a big vinyl sticker!  I thought I was just destined to live with the ugly walls, but thankfully, my boyfriend Darrell is an excellent painter!

A couple years ago he painted my kitchen and dining room a cheery light yellow and my cabinets a lovely white enamel.  We've procrastinated on painting the living room for a long time and I should tell you that I really never thought we would.

Last weekend we decided to "start on it".  The first thing we did was spackle all the holes, and after 24 years there were more than a few. Also, we had to pull out the big guns (as in 'Fix all') for some larger holes.  I can't tell you what these walls are made of, but when damaged they emit really messy powdery stuff.  The next step was sanding and taping, lots of it!  As I finished the sanding, Darrell began the "cutting in" of the primer. This means painting all of the edges and around all of the trim with a brush.  Next he rolled a coat of primer over the entire thing.

At this point I was starting to get almost giddy with expectation.  Darrell anticipated this reaction from me and had smartly used quick drying oil based primer.  Thirty minutes after applying it we were ready for the "dogwood".  Of course, there is no instant gratification, as you have to "cut in" the color the same way you do the primer.  FINALLY – we are ready to roll!  (Roll on the color, that is.)

This is the part where I get a little emotional!  It's beautiful!  One coat of primer, two coats of finish paint, 20 hours of hard work and my living room is something I can be proud of.  Not only that, but we didn't just "start on it", we actually finished it!  This is quite an amazing feat for one weekend, especially when you consider that we also had to move an antique, upright player piano.

You can probably guess that the wheels in my head have been turning all through this process. Darrell had been hiding the fact that he is good at a lot of things besides painting, such as patching holes and a little bit of carpentry, carpet laying, and putting down hard wood flooring for the "dogwood" living room! 

I think it's going to be a busy spring!