Most of the paint here is primer and paint all in one. It is very thick and usually just takes one or two coats. The painters were able to work quickly to get my entire house done because of it. It was only a few more dollars per gallon but I saved on the painters’ time…a lot!
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We have new gypsum plaster on our walls, and we were advised to definitely not skip the seperate primer the first time. That’s why we sanded the walls, too, in some places the walls were still a bit rough or you could still see the trowel marks. The primer we used is awful smelling stuff, but this is a one-time thing. From now on we can just paint over it. Apparantly if you don’t prepare your walls properly the first time, the plaster soaks up all the paint and the result will be really ugly and difficult to fix. So we just followed the plasterer’s instructions.
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Right, plaster. Different from drywall.
We have some old lathe & plaster walls, they are their own animal for sure!
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That’s really cool though! I love traditional building techniques.
The little extension we added to the back of the house was unfortunately finished using drywall, for budget reasons. The drywall sheets were still covered with a thin layer of plaster to hide the gaps, but it’s a much thinner layer than in the rest of the house. Honestly not completely happy with the internal drywall walls, they don’t feel super sturdy. It’s just two small walls but I prefer brick (but that was twice the price). Drywall is pretty unusual here but it’s becoming more popular for renovations, new builds are all prefab concrete these days.
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My old house had plaster, not drywall…that house will last forever! You are smart to do it right. Our new house had already been painted several times so the drywall was already “primed”. I love the new paint color and it seems to be very durable and washable.
I am about 85% setting up my crafting room. I also got a new ceiling fan for our bedroom, so I am excited to have that installed tomorrow!
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Our house has rockwall, I think. One nail and you have a crater. 1950s build. So fun. But it does make you an expert with patching.
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I remember having to put up a small cross of masking tape before making any holes just to minimize cracking! My old house was built in the 1950’s by two brothers who worked on the railroad…a lot of the supporting structures were huge railroad ties!
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Ues masking tape is a savior. My dad owned and operated a grain elevator and I think everything in our old farmhouse was held together with railroad strapping. Its metal strapping with holes along it.
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As we’re into autumn now, the spring/summer setup I had going doesn’t really work anymore. So I put up some fall-themed decor on our porch. I got the purple chair cushion on Amazon, and plan to use it all autumn. The set of hanging baskets with green & purple faux plants were 50% off from Joann’s, and I plan to use for September & November. The pumpkin pillow was from Homegood’s, and it’s hard to see, but the background is a pretty patchwork quilt of neutrals. I had the ceramic pumpkins from our last house. The throw blanket was $12 on clearance at Joann’s, because it’s from their Spring collection, though it didn’t read all that spring-ish to me. (I’m thinking of using it again with my Christmas setup.) And the battery powered candle lantern was from Aldi’s Special Buys section a few weeks ago. The top is open, and I didn’t want it to become a spider motel, so I used a piece of clear plastic packing from the recycle bin, to close up the top.
Though I love how it looks, it’s clearly not spooky enough for October, so I just went and put out a plush fur throw in orange, and a skull pillow. And my skull wreath on the other end of the porch. I’ve still got the hanging baskets up for October now, but I’m hoping to make hanging ghosts to go in their place, as Ada’s now obsessed with ghosts. My Halloween look feels unfinished, so I’m thinking of hitting Homegood’s again this afternoon, once Ada gets up from her nap. I need something for the wall behind the chair, and a creepy candelabra or something for the table. Oh wait, I think I have something for the wall…
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A good to scale room layout really helps. I redesigned my craft room twice and both times forgot to factor in the ironing board.
Project list for bedroom:
- Built in dressers for knee wall - in progress. Drawers refinished and done, rebuild on cabinets moving ahead.
- Convert top of louvered closet doors to canning and paint - one door done with caning and one in progress.
- Air conditioner drawer - done
- Side table refinish - done
- New bed frame - in progress
- Paint the bedroom - waiting for the kittens to be adopted so we can move to the guest room while I paint.
- New side rugs and lamp shades - done
- Recover cushions and pillows for the window seat. In progress.
- Oh, must remove silly scallop edge on wooden valance above the window seat.
Side tables - I’m not sure on the peachy paint and everyone else says is pink. But they are done for now.
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Oh my gosh, I love it!!
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Those look spiffy! My monitor is reading them as pinky, too, but I like how it pulls the lighter tones in the table top variation. They’re quite pretty!
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The stairs to the loft are done done done done DONE! De installed the last piece of painted railing last night.
As you can see kiddo is already using the top railing as a clothing rack for his barely contained mess. 
We love them and are so happy they’re done!
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That’s so cool! Our teen man-boy appreciates his attic space. Makes for good separation & privacy while still being together. This’ll be great for your family. Nicely done!
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Yes. 100%. DJ has been living up there for a while and it’s perfect. He loves it.
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I’m super impressed that he built a whole set of stairs! It looks great!
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Nice!!! I still can’t believe he built that all by himself. The attic looks like a proper teenage bedroom 
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Those stairs are functional, modern and safe! Ingenious design and execution!
@marionberries I love those end tables. I am not a fan of pink or peach, but the combo with that beautiful top works! The knobs are perfect!
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The table came out great!
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After more research and finally admitting that I really don’t want to deal with an electrician to get new wiring and switches put in, I think I’ve finally found the lights I’m going to get. They’re sold as “shop lights”, plug in, and are remote controlled and dimmable. I can chain up to 6 of them together so I can iterate as needed.
Here’s my current thinking. The lights were added to my diagram without actually measuring so will space them out more evenly for the room.
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