Home Improvement

Posted By: Adam 9 Comments
Recently we decided to paint our stairwell. That was a great idea. </scarcasm> It was a lot of hard work but it turned out really well. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if we had a proper ladder. We borrowed a 6 foot ladder from some neighbors, but that was about a foot too short, and we borrowed a 15 foot extension ladder from one of Megan's coworkers, and that ended up being about 5 feet too long — it wouldn't even fit in the stairwell fully collapsed. Before 1 Before 2 I spent hours and hours standing on a couple of boards stretched out between our stairs and the 6 foot ladder standing at the bottom of the stairs; staring up at the walls and ceiling surrounding me. My neck still cramps up when I look up. I was worried that the color was too dark and would just make that poorly lit area of the house feel even darker and gloomier. But I trusted in the wife, and she was right. It's a nice rich tone, and the bright white doors really stand out and break it up nicely. After 1 After 2 Next up, we're replacing that lame-o builder's grade light fixture in the 3rd picture, then on to bigger better things like a new storm door for the front door, and a new screen door for the back. We're turning our house into a wind tunnel.

9 responses to “Home Improvement”

  1. #1 ALWAYS listen to your lovely wife
    #2 I love the A (heart) M in photo 1. Soooo sweet!
    #3 The color is great! I like it!
    #4 Refer to #1

    ~hugs

    MomT

    MomT ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  2. Stairwells can be a real paint in the neck! Looks awesome, Adam! Really, the color looks great. I know how daunting it is to paint up so high. Looks like you did a better job than Susan and I did on our yellow stairwell. We didn't sand the original coat well-enough and when we pulled th painters tape off, it pulled off sheets of the new paint too! C'est la vie.

    Glad you're replacing the light fixture. Perhaps you could help me install a ceiling fan and run some track lighting? :-)

    --Ed

    Ed

    Ed ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  3. I do have more than a few ceiling fan installations under my belt. Track lighting would be a new one for me. Of course, anything where there's not already wire run, that's not on the top floor, would be nearly impossible -- or at least more trouble than it would be worth.

    We ran extra cable for our new ceiling fan in the master bedroom so that the lights could be on a dimmer without affecting the fan, but that wasn't really bad at all. (What was a pain was installing the new junction box!)

    Adam

    Adam ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  4. "" = /sarcasm/

    :P

    justinT

    justinT ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  5. It really looks great!! You two are so much better at painting than we are :)

    Kev and Shelly

    Kev and Shelly ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  6. It was like 3 hours of taping followed by a combined 4-5 hours of painting (2 coats). Taping is key.

    Adam

    Adam ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  7. Patience is truly the key. Or at least one of them. You guys must have it. I know I dont. You really did do a great job!

    MomT

    MomT ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  8. I need to amend my previous statement. Key things for painting: Patience, Taping, and good tunes.

    Adam

    Adam ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM

  9. You Betcha!

    MomT

    MomT ~ Aug 4, 2008 at 9:58 PM