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Well, I finally did it. I’ve been dragging my feet for over a year, but I painted the dining room ceiling. I have been hung up on working on this room just because I knew the ceiling had to be done first and I just really didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t the painting I was dreading, but all of the prep work of moving things out and making sure the furniture and floors were protected. I’m usually pretty casual when it comes to using dropcloths, but when painting a ceiling, I have to be more careful. Saturday morning was dreary and cold, so I almost talked myself into a low-key day, but I was ready to have this job behind me. I knew it would be a relief, so I pulled out the dropcloths, removed all of the small stuff from the room, got out the paint and got started.
Esmé, who loves all things plastic, thought it was all for her. She sat under the plastic tarps like they were her personal play tents. She tried to wrestle with Violet through the plastic and even kept carrying her favorite “crunchy ball” toys into the room so she could play with them under the plastic. I finally had to shut her with Marshall in his room because she was getting a little too rowdy around the paint tray.
With the cat shenanigans dealt with, I started painting the ceiling. For the first coat, I tried to work in sections, scooting the dropcloths around with me, but it was a bit too haphazard and hard to keep track of what was already painted and what still needed to be done. Knowing it would need two coats, I let the first coat dry completely so I could see the spots I missed. (It’s still drying in the picture below.)
I hit a few of the larger missed spots with the roller and let those dry before starting on the second coat. Instead of working in sections, I got a few more dropcloths and covered everything so I could work more efficiently. I started with all of the cutting in and then rolled, which allowed me to see better what I had already done. You can see even in the picture below of the ceiling paint drying that I was able to apply that second coat with more consistency.
I went for a walk and allowed everything to dry so I could make sure I was happy with the coverage before cleaning up and putting the paint away. It’s still drying in the pictures below, but the coverage was good and the ceiling looks great.
Of course, painting a ceiling is anticlimactic. No one is really going to notice, but it now looks fresh and clean and any discoloration, stains, or scratches won’t be a distraction. If you have a ceiling or two to paint, HERE is a post with my detailed ceiling-painting tips to get professional results. When I shared that link on Instagram, some replied saying their best tip for painting ceilings was to hire it out. I would agree if you have neat and thorough painters! When we paid to have the wallpaper stripped in the hallway and a few rooms last year, I added on painting the ceiling in Marshall’s room. There had been a roof leak near his closet so the plaster and paint were discolored. While the painters were in there with the primer and everything was either moved out of the room or tarped, I figured it was worthwhile to have it done and off my plate. Well, they slopped paint on the brand new recessed lights and I could see several spots that were missed. I ended up having to paint it again, so I decided I’ll hire myself for future ceiling jobs, even though they aren’t my favorite. I’m cheaper and will do a better job!
But, now that the ceiling is out of the way, I can get to the fun part. I have started sketching out some ideas for the mural and I can’t wait to get started on that. It will be my treat once the picture frame molding is done and all of the trim is painted.
I was going to do some detailed sketches, but decided I might as well do it directly on the wall. If I know roughly where I’m headed, I can save myself that extra step. I’ev learned from painting murals in the past that the scale of a sketch doesn’t always translate to a wall, so it’s easier for me to work in the final size. I will open up all of the paint pots, though to do a few simple color studies so I know which colors I want to use where and make sure they are reading the way I want them to. I know I want foreground trees, mid-ground bushes, and far distant fields and hills.
As a reminder, here are some inspiration pictures as well as the color palette. The curtains are going to be the blue/green velvet fabric sample. I already have them along with the curtain rods and hardware, so I can hang them once the window wall is finished.
And, just because it’s fun to see how far we’ve come, here is how the dining room looked when we first moved in…
…and how it’s coming along…
You can find more posts about our 1970s home renovation HERE.
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