Murder she wrote

My first 3 day weekend of the new year - so I decided to paint the family bathroom. I figured it was a small room, an easy project for a weekend.
I planned to go bold in there with red paint and wanted some texture, so the sea sponge method was chosen.
I went down to the hardware store a couple days before and picked out a selection of paint chips and brochures. I'm lucky in that I plan to use at least one of the colors in the kitchen - so I have some nearby drapes to guide my choice of colors.
It is interesting how you can get one impression of a color, but put it next to something else and other hues or tints seem to stand out. It is also interesting what a wide variety of colors can be defined as red.
I finally picked the two I wanted to use. I'm using a lighter color to be the base coat, then sponging a dark red over the top.
The first day arrives for real painting.
I used blue painter's tape to mask all the areas that are next to wall I'll be painting. I had one light switch I couldn't remove, so masked it. The other switch plate was taken off the wall and stored in a little bowl. The medicine cabinet proved to be a challenge, until I figured out how to take it out of it's hole. Since the mirror has a minor crack in it (I didn't do it!) - I'll be buying a new cabinet to replace it. Funny how unfinished it looks behind there. I got to reading a couple repair sites and they say some of the older cabinets had slots for getting rid of your old razor blades. The used blades slip right into the area behind the cabinet - out of sight out of mind. When you go to replace the old cabinets, you have to deal with this old blades. Someday those will be considered valuable antiques! My house isn't that old though - so no razor blades.
After masking I tried laying down a piece of drop cloth - what a hassle. I decided since it was a bathroom, I would just clean up whatever paint drips occured (famous last words to come back to haunt you).
I started with my base color, which looked a lot more pinky/purple than I though the paint chip showed, by it matched fine. The paint resisted going onto the wall a little bit (should have used TSP or sand paper), but wasn't too bad and would take a second coat without complaint. There were a couple fixtures on the ceiling that resisted masking, but I discovered they could be pulled down out of place easily, so my brush could do the initial edge paint with no problem. I planned to use a roller for the main portion of the wall and ceiling, but rollers can't get to edges very well. So you have to paint the corners and trim areas first (around fixtures, along mirror, around cabinets, etc...) This was the most time consuming part of the painting. Behind the toilet was the biggest challenge. If I was doing a "professional" job, I would have had to turn of the water and remove the tank - instead I just took the cover of the tank and reached back around as best I could. I know there is a big unpainted spot back behind there, but no one can see it so I'm not concerned.
The base coat went on well and didn't take too long to do. The room was starting to look pretty nice.
Day two I did the sponge painting. There was no masking to do and the edge work would be done last this time - so I started with the roller.
Wow - I thought the base coat looked dark on day one, but as soon as I put some of the dark red on it - the base seemed to get lighter. The dark red was a wicked red color, and very sloppy. The sea sponge roller was very drippy and hard to control. I got running paint everywhere. At one point there will red drips running down the white shower so bad it looked like blood.
Stepping back the room could easily pass for a violent murder scene.
I got a big old drop of paint right on the forehead as I was doing the ceiling. I appeared to have been shot.
I was worried it was going to look awful cause it was so wet and drippy in some places and sparse in others. I didn't want to over roll it cause the idea was to have blotches of base coat showing through. I finished the large sections and switched to the hand held sea sponge. This really helped. The hand held didn't hold as much paint, so it wasn't quite as messy, though the sections I daubed weren't as bright as the rolled sections, but it worked out. I would occasionally rinse out the sponge and daub over drippy areas - this pulled some paint off the wall, removing the drips and lightening the section. Continuing this, the wall began to even out for the effect I was going for. I kept at it until I was satisfied it looked ok. I intend to keep the baseboard and back of the door the base coat only - but will have to go back and paint over the "over spray, over sponging" on the edges.
I stepped back to survey the work and had to laugh a little. Still has the murder scene look to it, but would be fantastic when it got cleaned up. There was red paint on the mirror, shower enclosure, floor, me, light fixture edges, etc...
I cleaned up the sink area first - and that went pretty easily. I then attacked the shower area. By running the shower water in the flexible hose I was able to steadily rinse and scrub. I was very pleased at how easily the paint cleaned up. I did have to use a little cleanser on the shower, but mostly it was water and "scrunging."
I thought I might have to pull out the Goof Off for the tile floor, but it wiped up easily too. I learned a trick that made the job easier. I got a couple old towels, soaked them and laid them out on the floor. This did a lot to loosen the paint so it was ready to come up when I scrubbed it up later.
Cleaned up and showered (both me and the bathroom) - I headed out to the store to buy a few extras to jaz the room up. My husband installed the new medicine cabinet and one of those shower rods that curves out for more space. I have some new towel rods I'll be installing next week and I even found some nice fluffy white towels I liked (unfortunatly they didn't come in the red I also want). I am keeping my eye out for a painting to finish the one empty wall in there and then the guest/family bathroom will be done and ready. One project on the list almost checked off.
I have a 4 day weekend coming up in February - I think I make attack the kitchen. That'll be that same dark red color - but not sponge painted. I can't cook in a room where I imagine a murder has taken place. Which reminds me - has Diane Mott Davidson written anything lately? :D