Wall Treatment / Texturing

Our house has some pretty nasty walls, you know the kind that are pitted and wavy and look like they are a hounded years old.  Oh yeah, they probably are that old since it is an old homestead from back in the day.  They are in desperate need of a paint job, but there is no way I can just pain them.  A simple paint job would show all the pot holes and hills in the wall.  Over the next few months I will be going from room to room texturing and painting walls. I will post my findings as I go, and today I will  start with our bathroom treatment.

Materials used:

Ceder tongue and groove, various lengths

white pine 1x6, the length of one wall

white pine 1x4

trim/crown molding for ceiling

wash rag

joint compound, a box of the ready to use

trowel, no notches, or putty knife

screws and driver

counter sink bit, fit for your screws

level

I began by pulling all the drywall down, except for the ceiling, which allowed me to replace the old insulation and fix the window that really needed replaced.  I took my first tongue and groove board and trimmed the ends, then placed it under the window.  Since the window is the only obstruction on that wall, it made since to start there.  If I had started at the top or bottom of the wall I might have gotten to the window and had to make several crazy cuts.

I then trimmed the ends of all boards that followed to allow them to butt up to each other properly.  With the tongue and groove I didn't have to screw all the boards into place, just the starting row, the row closest to the floor and the one at the very top.  You will want to pre-drill with a counter sink to get a more professional look, and to make cover up easier.  Also, use your level to ensure your first row is straight, other wise it can throw off the whole design.

I put the tongue and groove on three of the four walls, and gave the wall with the sink a different look.  I measured the length of the wall and ran the 1x6 pine horizontally.  I started in the center of the wall with a board that had some character.  I ensured that it was level then placed my remaining boards from floor to ceiling.  I then used 1x4 pine to create a frame for this wall.

When all the boards were hung (except the trim) it was time to decorate, my favorite part.  I starred at the walls a  bit and decided that I needed texture on the ceiling since all my walls were smooth.  I gave the ceiling a light sanding then wiped the dust off.  I then gabbed the joint compound and applied it to the ceiling.  I spread it on like peanut butter, and tried to make sure that it just looked neat in the end.  Because the compound was thick in several areas I let it dry for a couple of days.

After it was dry I took a dry rag and rubbed it over the ceiling to knock down any loose compound then I primed it with a good primer.  While that was drying, I put on a polyurethane coat on the tongue and groove.  Now that the ceiling was on its way to being completed, and the ceder was treated, it was time to treat the white pine.  The boards had some cool features that I wanted to highlight, so I just gave the horizontal boards a white wash, and painted the frame pure white.

White washing is super easy, I pour about two cups of paint into the paint pan, filled the sink with clean water and grabbed an old wash rag.  I dipped the rag in the sink and rang it out really good, then dipped a corner of the rag into the paint.  With a circular motion I put the paint to the wall, if the paint wasn't diluted enough I dipped the rag in the water and went over the area again.  In the end the paint becomes a tint for the wood, and can be done with any color.

nasty wall paper and ugly blue everything else

after gutting the walls,  we insulated and
 put a layer of tar paper up 

ceder tongue and groove
brings in warmth

we kept this mirror, but removed its frame and
turned it vertical

if you look by the potty, you can see
where I need to finish with
the white wash

old mirror with new background

at the end of the tub there was a
massive cabinet, that was just
a waste of space.

we removed the cabinet, which ment we had to loose
one wall to the shower, so we put up pvc pipe and hung
a shower curtain.  this really opened up the small bathroom

ceiling texture,  it's only been primed.  I'm waiting on my bulk
glitter to com in.  I want to add a hint of sparkle and to do that I need
wet paint. (iridescent white glitter in a ulta fine grade, hand blown in to the wet paint can spruce up any wall)

Swiffer Magic

Back in the day Swiffer came out with that nifty sweeper, you know the pole with the disposable pads that pick up dust and hair off the floor.  Well I used mine until I got the Shark which vacuums up everything and then steams the floor clean (LOVE IT).  I still had those cloth like rags left, which work great in the car for cleaning the dash dust and the pole had made it to the garbage bin.  That is until my brilliant idea came to light.  

I was in the kitchen scrubbing the cupboards and had worked my way up to the ceiling, which was in dire need of a bath.  I tried using the counters, but a person can only stretch so far, and who wants to climb up and down a ladder a thousand times.  I grabbed the mop, but that was a dripping mess, and that's when itt hit me - the Swiffer pole.  I rescued it for the garbage bin and grabbed one of the cloths.  I filled the sink with  cleaning solution and dipped the cloth in and  rung it out.  I then attached it back on the pole and scrubbed down the ceiling.  When the cloth got to dirty I rinsed and reused.

This came in handy when preparing the walls for a new paint job too. So remember just because it's old and out dated doesn't mean it's lost its usefulness. Also, if you run out of their cleaning clothes you can use an old wash rag, which work great on really tough spots.

A New Light For The Bathroom

The other day we said good by the old single bulb fixture from the dinosaur age in the bathroom.  I originally  bought a three part track light for the bathroom, but after showering the day after the new paint job we noticed a ton of condensation.  Being freaked by the water droplets and worried that it would quickly ruin the paint, we bought a bathroom fan light combo.  

It was a 50 dollar investment that really wasn't that hard to install.  We shut off the power to the bathroom, took down the old fixture and pushed the junction box out, which made it easy to find when we made our way up into the rafters of the house.  We are fortunate enough to have a very large area up there which made moving around nice.  However, we both had to come back down to get long sleeves on to avoid the itches from insulation.  

After clearing away the insulation form our work area I traced the fan box, and began cutting.  We used our trusty jigsaw and almost had calamity on our hands.  The fan box is supposed to screw right into the support beam, so I traced the fan box as if it were going to be screwed right into place.  As I was cutting we realized the kick plate on the jigsaw wouldn't allow the blade to go right up to the beam,  first thought OMG what now! Second thought,get a two by four, yep that worked, screwed that into the support beam and the fan right into the two by four.

Wiring the box was as easy as the instructions indicated, as was screwing in the light bulb and putting on the light cover.  It truly  does make a difference having a fan in the bathroom, and it is an investment worth every cent.  As for the three part track light we put that in the hallway by the washer and dryer. 

The Picture Frame

The picture frame is not just a fancy boarder to encase your precious photos.  It's is an extension of the photo and a piece of art to show off to your friends and family.  I very rarely hang a picture frame in it's original condition. Here are some ideas to spruce up your frames.

1. DON'T BUY NEW.  Check out your local thrift stores and yard sales, they have the best distressed frames that can be manipulated to perfection.  With a light sanding and various paint applications you can make unique frames that will perfectly compliment your photos.

2. DOUBLE UP. Frame the frame, take a large frame-minus the glass- and hang it on the wall.  Now hang a smaller framed picture inside of that frame,  this will give that picture more presence on the wall.

3.SCRAPBOOK IT.  Scrapbooks are wonderful, but how often do you open them up and look at the wonderful work we've done? Find yourself a frame to hang a page from your book.  The frame should be white or black (neutral) so that it will go with a larger variety of pages.

4. NO GLASS? NO WORRIES.  Don't toss the frame because it is still user friendly.  My daughter loves to hang stuff on the walls, a lot.  To save the wall for a thousand pin holes I hung a couple of glass-less frames with a cork board centers, this gave her a designated area to hang her goodies and saved the walls.

      My mom has a frame that she stretched some lacy fabric over and then hinged it to a shallow box.  In the box she screwed in some tea cup hooks to hang necklaces and on the fabric frame she has her earrings hanging.

5. IT'S GEOMETRIC.  Frames can be painted and collaged together to create unique geometric patterns.

I love frames and their multi-functionality. What have you framed lately?