Stairwell Update: The big reveal

As promised, after two days of painting and wallpapering, here's the big reveal for my Stairwell Update.

The walls and ceiling are now the same color. The shelves are uniform and I added storage I had around the house to keep together like items - dog stuff with dog stuff, diaper stuff with diaper stuff, cleaning stuff with cleaning stuff. Things finally have a place!
  
From the basement, things look clean. I'm thinking about adding some hooks under the bottom shelf t,m,; o hold things like the diaper bag, the backpacks and other things that can hang here rather than clutter up the living room. 

 Despite having to freehand the black paint here on the stairs, they look better than the dirty grey - and little feet apparently approve. All said and done, this project cost about $100, including painting supplies. Had I been able to get only a quart of porch paint, I'd have been able to drive that cost down. The most difficult part was waiting the three days to walk on the stairs!

Stairwell Update: Wallpapering

After painting, I still had that terrible strip of paneling that showed through the paint. In past renovation projects, when you don't want to drywall and you really can't patch a wall, we've put up wallpaper. I'd decided not to use my paintable wallpaper on the front of the stairs, and this became a perfect solution for covering up that nasty paneling place.

I carefully measured my wall space, leaving a little extra for cutoff at the top and bottom. I then measured out my wallpaper, cut it in a straight line at the end, and rolled it up so the pre-pasted side was facing out rather than in (as it comes on the roll). I then filled my son's baby tub with water, dipped my roll in so that as I unrolled the pre-pasted side faced out and got a little wet. I folded my paper in half with the pre-pasted sides facing each other. This allows the paste to activate and allows for even wetness. I had to be very careful not to let the wallpaper tear as it was very fragile in the non-design parts.

After allowing that to set for a few minutes, I unfolded the wallpaper and positioned it on the wall. Start at the top and work your way down the wall. If you need to re-position the paper, just pull it up and start down the wall again. Work from the vertical center of the paper, feathering out your wallpaper brush or a wet rag to work out your bubbles and to smooth the edges down to make sure they stick. Then take a straight edge and boxcutter and trim off the top and bottom of your paper along the wall and floor or trim.

Please note: old houses are notorious for not being square - i.e., you can't count on a wall or ceiling being straight. Because I was only putting up one strip, I eyeballed the distance from the wall to position my pieces. Ideally, you should take a level and draw a vertical line (pencil or chalk) on the wall as a starting place to ensure you start with a straight line.

Because it looked weird to have one wall papered and the other wall plain, I papered the mirroring wall in the same manner. I decided to leave it unpainted because I like the contrast of stark white to the Antique White of the paint. The good thing is that I have the option to paint it in the future if I decide to do so!

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

Stairwell Update: Painting

When painting, it's important to prep your area before you begin. Paint will not stick to a surface with dirt on it, so cleaning your surface before painting is important. I used a scrub brush and rag dipped in a Lysol/water mix on the stairs to get them ready to paint after I'd used that same mix and rag to wipe down the ceiling, walls, shelves and other trim.

While my clean surfaces dried, I gathered my painting supplies. I prefer to use a 4" roller because it doesn't suck up as much paint and doesn't get as heavy as you continue to paint. I think the ease of use makes up for the smaller surface area with each stroke. I also used a small, plastic paint tray. Normally, I'd have used a larger paint tray that could be cleaned up and used again, but having a 1 year old has severely limited my time. I needed a quick, easy clean up, which also meant a cheap brush to do my trim work.

Please note, because I used a cheap brush on the trim for the white, I had to buy a new brush to use on the black - the first brush was a mess and there was no way I was going to get an edge on the stairs with that blown brush. Moral of the story? Use a good brush from the beginning.

I began by painting the Antique White. I worked in small sections, painting the trim and corners first, and then filling in with the roller. Working in small spaces helps with blending between paint brush strokes and paint roller marks. It makes for a cleaner finish if you transition from the brush marks on the trim to the roller while the paint is still wet. Because I was painting the ceiling the same color as the walls, I didn't have to tape off the ceiling. Keeping the paint color the same from walls to ceiling helps make a space look bigger.

After 24 hours, I started taping off my space to start the black paint. I had decided earlier that I was only going to paint part of the riser black along with the tops of the stairs. Because the white was freshly painted, I was careful of the type of tape I used. I tried the FrogTape(R) for delicate surfaces because it is made for newly-painted ares. I found, however, that it wasn't sticking well because my surface was uneven - 60 years of use will do that I guess.

I ended up free handing the black paint along the edges because the paint wasn't working as well as just carefully using the brush. Again, I had to use a new, more expensive brush for this trim work to help keep the lines straight. I was also able to keep a good line with my roller as long as I didn't have a ton of paint on the roller. By just adding pressure to the outside, I was able to keep the line straight. I then feathered that in with a brush and used the roller to fill in the center.

As I painted the stairs, I painted every other stair so I wouldn't get caught in the basement. I allowed the paint to dry for the prescribed 3 hours (check your paint can for a repaint time) and then finished the job with the remaining stairs.

Stay tuned for the wallpaper finish!

Stairway Update: Choosing Paint

My family and I started renovating my home in 2006, and finished most of the renovations in 2007. There was one space, however, that had not been touched in that time. It's a utilitarian space - used to get to the basement, but also to store some of my extras - like formula and household goods I need to keep away from the baby.

The steps were a dirty grey - who knows when they were painted last. The handrail was pretty, but looked like it had 60 years of dirt embedded in it. The walls were an amalgamation of cream, peach, unpainted drywall and paneling that had been patched together. My first thought was that if we could just get it all one color, it would look 100% better.

After doing some extensive Pinterest research, I decided to do an antique white and black combo. I initially bought some paintable wallpaper that looked like a tin ceiling to put on the riser part of the stairway, but when it got down and dirty, I realized it wouldn't look right given each of the risers has what looks like a framed area on them.

I chose Antique White from Behr's Premium Plus in Antique White, and decided on a semi-gloss finish for the walls. The paint store will usually steer you away from this finish, saying the shine will show blemishes in the wall. But this is a hallway that will get hand prints going up and down, and the only light is at the base of the stairs. I wasn't worried about blemishes showing. And a semi-gloss finish is really easy to clean.

For the stairs, I wanted a paint that could stand up to wear and tear as well as one that was easily cleanable. I went with Behr's Porch and Patio Floor Paint in Belugah I knew I'd probably only use a quart of this, but Home Depot only sells this in the gallon size.

Stay tuned for painting and wallpapering steps!

Easy Recipe: Quick, Healthy Pasta Sauce

I don't know about you, but by the time I get home from work I'm pretty fried. I'm always looking for quick dinner ideas. Tonight I'm throwing together a quick pasta sauce. Here's what you'll need:
1 large onion
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 pound lean ground beef (I use 92% fat free)
1 14 oz. can mushrooms
1 package frozen spinach
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasonings
1 tsp. Garlic Salt
Pasta
 Salt
1 tsp. Olive oil
(Optional Parmesan/Romano Cheese)

When I say easy, I mean easy. Chop the onion into large slices and throw it into a large skillet with the ground beef to brown. After breaking the ground beef into smaller pieces, I put a lid on my skillet to help it cook faster. Tonight, I took that time to get my 1 year old settled and check the mail.

When that's brown, turn down the heat to medium and throw in your spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes and sprinkle on your Italian Seasonings and Garlic Salt. Cover it and let that simmer until your spinach is unfrozen and warm - about 5 minutes - while you start your pasta water.

Put water, the oil and a generous dash of salt into a saucepan for your pasta. Once that boils, throw in enough pasta for your family to have a meal. I used angel hair - also called cappellini. Allow the angel hair pasta to cook for 6-8 minutes to taste. The longer you cook the pasta, the softer it will get. Mama's trick for knowing whether it was done was to throw it against the fridge - when it sticks, it's done (and it really works).

While your angel hair is simmering, stir your sauce and let that simmer another 3-4 minutes. Stir in about 1/4 cup of your pasta water into the sauce before you drain your pasta. Layer the sauce over your angel hair (add cheese if you like) and voila! Meal in about 20 minutes.