Library project, done!

I think I spent more time trying to upload and find these photos than I did painting the library. Here are the before shots I took a few weeks ago. I just had randomly filled the shelves when we moved in and didn't even have enough junk and had to put my ugly stuff out, like paperback books and random photos that Sean had brought home from his army office last fall. 

Every project starts the same, with that first fast coat of primer that means no turning back now. That first brush stroke is always a little nerve wracking. I do recommend that you ask for them to tint your primer if you are putting on a dark paint. It also gave me the chance to squint my eyes and consider whether I wanted to do a shade of gray instead of black. I decided no once again because this house already has so many shades of gray and trying to coordinate them all is a nightmare. So dramatic black it is. White was just not the look I was going for in here. Obviously it's what will happen in the kitchen. Oh, the dark kitchen with just one window...

Oh the shelves... 19 to be exact but thanks to Linda's sander that part went fast. I also brought in the sonos player for some 90s guilty pleasure songs.

Oh, the other before shot. I would like credit for covering my furniture with sheets. I decided that getting black paint on the couch would cancel out any money I saved by doing this project myself. I still can't believe how fast it went. I must have been delirious that week. I know there was at least one late night because I had a lot of touch ups to do the next day when the lighting was better.

My other somewhat brilliant plan was to paint the shelves in the garage. Prime, paint, paint, 6 coats per shelf. Went shockingly fast. Of course, the fumes may have factored in there.

Halfway through painting the trim around the windows. It was in fairly poor shape, really dried out from the sun hitting it hard. Now to replace the broken blind...

Primed. 

Here was my dilemma: how to paint between the windows... all white, all black or stick with the scheme used elsewhere in the room? And the blind? I got rid of it. Actually, I still have it in the garage...

First coat of black. I am really dragging this out because it took me hours and hours to somehow trick my laptop into acknowledging that I had downloaded new photos, so now you will see every single one. Relive the pain with me. Notice the oak crown molding. Shudder.

 I bribed Anna and Megan into helping me paint the small edges on the French doors. Then Sean later helped scrape the paint off the glass. It was all such a pain, but again, cheaper than new doors. We can do hard things.

My infamous painting pants. These are the ones that the kids insist I change out of before I leave the house. It gets annoying though, with all those trips to/from school. I hate wasting time changing 6 times a day!! Even Emily is aware that this would be embarrassing for her to be seen with.

 Ah, the staging stage. Put the Nell Hill pottery in place, then my favorite photos and artwork, then the books.... not just sorted by color but also by the color of the titles. How's that for OCD, Stephanie??

 View from the foyer. Eventually I want to move the current dining table, which is technically a game table, in here to use as a big desk. Move the couch to the basement or kid hang out. First I need to find and buy the ultimate huge dining room table though, to later move to the hearth room after the kitchen remodel. Yes, it's a 19 stage plan. Sean is beginning to understand the process now.

 Let the record show that I planned to bring my painter guy back to do the crown molding, but in the end I started drinking coffee with a lot of flavored creamer. Next thing I knew I was putting four coats on that fancy molding with little teeth or whatever you call them. A painter's nightmare, that's what it is.

 Other angle with the closet door shut. That is where I moved all the ugly books and the games. Nice and organized and easy for the kids to use but when I don't want to, I don't have to see it.

 The big wall. Managed to get a lot of random clutter out of storage to display here. And I finally moved in for real... I am using some of the cupboards down below to hide the ugly photo albums and all the outdated technology that we are afraid to get rid of.

 I thought I would change the wall color but in the end it was fine and I was tired. Another day...

 I haven't painted the actual windows yet... wasn't sure if I should go white which seems the obvious choice or black which I am seeing in houses I love in magazines. Either way it's going to be a huge pain to accomplish so I will pretend that I am debating for years...

Finally putting up all the photos I had stashed away. Sean had a bunch from his army office but I managed to work all those in too. So glad to have this room done and I carried that momentum into doing the laundry room. Yes, it is done! In like two days. Again, thank you black magic: coffee. I knew I saved that level for a reason. Once I finally gave up on the old washer, I decided I could not allow delivery men into my laundry room until I cleaned it out and cleaned it up. I'll post that once I figure out the photos. New washer and dryer come tomorrow, oh the excitement!