Painting

How hard can painting be? Simple, right? Anyone can paint.
Indeed.

Backsplash with Wall 

Once the tiling and grouting was complete the kitchen looked great, but still unfinished. Time to paint. The walls over the cabinets were easy. They'd remain white as that's best for the ambient cove lighting. The area over the pass-through and entryway we wanted to add a little spice.

After poring over paint swatches we decided on a slightly green tinted off-white semi-gloss. Actually, Babs decided; I didn't have a clue, but the green tint made sense in that it would work well with the green tile. And so the saga of paint, drywall compound and marital conflict begins....

Day One:

After spending 50 bucks on a gallon and slapping on two coats we stepped back to admire my handiwork. Two things became obvious: one, I suck at drywall and two, the wall looked whitewash white. Not a hint of green.

Problem one stemmed from the basic fact that the cove lighting essentially provides overhead lighting. This means every bump and divot I wasn't able to smooth out throws a dark shadow. Sort of like holding a flashlight under your chin in a dark room. Great for making kids laugh; not so great for a wall.

Problem two stems from the fact that we don't know what we're doing when it comes to picking paint colors.

I spent the next few hours re-priming and mudding the wall. While it was drying we were once again, off to the local Janovic for more color therapy. A cool thing (and brilliant marketing gimmick) from Benjamin Moore are small samples of every color they offer. Each small jar had enough paint to cover a 2x2 foot area with two coats of paint. We bought grey, greenish-grey, canary yellow and an orangy-peachy tint.

That evening I went to check on the drywall compound and found it cracking. I don't know if my technique was the problem or the drywall compound had lost too much moisture in the container, but it had to go. I scraped off what I had so painstakingly applied just a few hours ago and prepared for another day attempting to paint this wall.

Day Two:

Back to Janovic for another bucket of the blue stuff (lightweight all-purpose joint compound) and several more hours of mudding and sanding. No cracking this time, but another day lost.

Day Three:

After applying the paint samples, our kitchen had that Partridge Family bus ambiance, although there was no "come on, get happy".

We stepped back and Babs said: "I don't like any of them".

"I sort of like the Ansonia Peach", I responded.

[Must be the resemblance to the color used in The Gates]

"None of them really pop", she replies.

"Sweetie", I say with sarcasm, "either we pick a color or I pick a color, but either way this wall is getting painted today". "I like the Ansonia Peach". "What say you?"

"Ok, peach it is", she says with resignation. "I guess I can live with it".

Two coats and another day later our wall was finally painted. Once the entire wall was done and everything cleaned up we both agreed (and I hope you do as well, gentle reader). It pops.

Happy ending.

Total cost: $100 for two gallons of paint, $25 for the samples, $10 for the drywall compound and 4 days of torment.