Post 6: More Dining Room Prep and Finish

The thing about this blog is that it shows real life.  That means that one or two blog posts on a subject don't magically show something from start to finish.

The dining room gets a lot of attention right now because it's the smallest room in the house, and I started with it, and everything I'm learning about stripping wallpaper, patching holes, and painting is being done in this one room. Hopefully when I get to the other rooms, it's a known process and I won't have to re-do anything (unlike with this room, which you'll see towards the end).

So once again, let's look at where the dining room started:

After scraping all the wallpaper, I was left with mostly gorgeous plaster but a few spots to patch. Here are some photos, and then some videos:

As I mention in the videos, I didn't want to use joint compound on plaster. I also did not want to use plaster/master the skill of proper plaster work. So in doing some research, I found out about a product called MH Ready Patch. It's non toxic, water based, and dries hard.  It says it can be used to patch anything.

I love this stuff. It was so easy to work with, can be sanded after it dries, and is cheap :) .    Check out some videos:

Here's a photo of what the stuff looks like while it's drying, followed by one more video one of me actually using the product:

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So then I moved on to painting. Yippee!!  I made a quick video before starting:

And when I was done painting the walls, beauty followed.  Look at the beautiful white, clean room!

Then came the trim on day two. The last video in this post explains the start (but not the end) of that job.

I do mention that I really was torn about painting the trim.  One on hand, it's painting original trim, which seems like a cardinal sin.  However, all of the trim upstairs has already been painted, and I wanted a uniform look throughout the house.  Additionally, to sand, strip, and refinish all of that trim would have been a monumental effort.  I'm not sure it's a good enough reason to paint over it, but that's what I've ended up trying to do. 

I ended up choosing the same white as the walls, but in a semi-gloss as opposed to the flat on the wall. I can't remember the exact white I used (I'm not at the house at the moment, but I'll post that information in a future post).

Also in the video, I talk about using the liquid sandpaper product. I thought it would work - it didn't.

And here's a photo after the second coat of paint on the trim. It's not cutting it. Which means I'll need to strip/sand and/or prime with actual primer, before attempting to repaint. Grrrrr...