“I’m Blue Da Ba Dee Dabba Da-eeeeee” (anyone remember that song?). Picture us maniacally singing it while priming and painting trim for hours days. We’re slowly losing our minds, but we’re having fun doing it. Please feel free to click over and jam out so we feel less alone (and slightly less certifiable).
Ok, so when we last left our hero, er, our foyer, he was sporting some snazzy blue trim.
We had stripped down all the wallpaper, and had also removed two closet doors and the bathroom door so we could take them out to the garage and use our paint sprayer to apply a coat of primer and two coats of white semi gloss paint.
As for how we like our paint sprayer, it has definitely been a huge help in these two scenarios:
- when we can remove something and lay it or lean it on a drop cloth and spray it (like doors, cabinetry, or crown molding before it’s installed)
- when we don’t have a ton of other rooms/floors/areas to tape off (like when we had removed the carpeting upstairs and could quickly spray all of the trim and doors without worrying about getting it on any of the floors upstairs)
We’ll still definitely roll walls and ceilings (we think the sprayer is best for when we tackle trim, doors, cabinets, furniture, etc). Like how you wouldn’t spray paint walls but you might spray paint cabinets, doors, or furniture.
Here’s a video of it in action, just in case watching the motion of someone using it helps you picture things. John’s moving a little slow here, so for an even smoother finish we learned to go faster (it lessened the chance of drips).
The pros that we’ve found to this particular model (we had a Graco True Coat II – but we’ve since switched to this Wagner model) are:
- great coverage (it goes on thicker and smoother than a brush or roller for a faster finished result)
- you don’t have to water down the paint with anything (many sprayers require this, and it’s nice and easy not to have to worry about it)
And just to be balanced, here are the cons:
- as with every paint sprayer, there’s overspray, so it’s not as controlled of an application as using a roller or brush since you get paint flying around outside the item you’re sprayer (check out the image above – all the paint on the plastic drop cloth behind the doors is overspray)
- you have to learn how to control it so you don’t get drips – spray quickly and don’t hold the sprayer too close to the surface (this just seems to take some time to master, so it’s not as much a shortcoming of the sprayer as it is a skill that the operator has to hone)
So with the doors out in the garage being primed and painted with the sprayer, we dove into priming and painting the rest of the trim in the foyer by hand.
As for why we didn’t remove the trim and spray it in the garage like the doors, we were all for using it on the doors that way (which were easily removed and brought out to the garage) but removing and reinstalling all of the baseboard, chair rail, and crown in the foyer, as well as the trim around the seven doorways (!!) in there would have taken forever. We also considered taping things off and then spraying while standing in the foyer, but it leads into the kitchen, the dining room, the office, the portico, two closets, and the bathroom – so taping those all off to protect them from flying paint would have taken about a million years.
So we primed, and we primed, and we primed, and we primed (two coats on all of the blue baseboard, trim, chair rail, and crown). This is my tired of priming face.
If you have shiny wood trim or glossy painted trim, you’ll want to rough it up with sandpaper and wipe it down with liquid deglosser before moving on to the primer and paint step (be sure to use a stain-blocking primer if it’s raw wood). But since ours was chalky and matte painted wood, we didn’t need to sand or degloss it, and we could skip right to applying a primer followed by some semi-gloss paint.
It really depends what color you’re starting with when it comes to how many coats you’ll need of primer and paint, but in our case it was four coats (so after two coats of primer we could move onto two more coats of paint). We used Benjamin Moore’s Simply White in semi-gloss just like the trim and the doors upstairs. Here are some other designers’ best white paints you could use instead.
Finally after everything dried we could rehang the doors (with the new knobs that we ordered to match the ones upstairs).
We have yet to paint the back of the front door in the same teal color as the front of it (or ebonize the stair railing and paint those blue spindles white)…
… but it’s already a lot lighter and more open than it felt when we inherited it with blue trim and wallpaper aplenty.
Here’s a before picture from the other side.
And a now shot with the white trim and doors. It’s also funny how much less blue the slate looks now that all the blue trim isn’t reflecting on it. It definitely still has some blue undertones, but it feels more neutralized now that we de-blued the trim.
So while the stairs are still quietly mocking us, we’re slowly inching towards a fresher looking foyer. We can’t wait to paint those yellowed walls.
And just in case you’re worried that we might be close to done painting blue trim, you’ll be comforted to know that it’s still hanging out in our office and our dining room – both of which not only have window trim and baseboards, but also have crown molding (along with blue chair rail and built-ins in the dining room). So there’s a fair chance you might be reading about us painting blue trim for the next decade or so. While we softly cry into our paint brushes.
But man oh man, does the glossy white result make us happy. The things we do for love.
Psst- In family news, here’s what we did for the Fourth of July and here’s how we spent our sixth anniversary.
Laurea says
I loved the slate (?) floors before you even moved in. Even with all that dingy wallpaper and trim, to me it looks cool and inviting. I love it even more now that it looks more neutral. It adds interesting depth and character that many new houses lack.
Gail Lopes says
My son has just bought his first house, so he is experiencing many of the same projects you are attacking. After seeing Sherry leaning off a step ladder and John standing on a very small chair in several of your photos, I’d like to recommend something. This bench was left at my son’s house by my contractor brother-in-law http://www.homedepot.com/p/Werner-39-1-2-in-x-12-in-x-20-9-16-in-Aluminum-Work-Platform-AP-20/100662616. We started using it for all the painting and wallpaper stripping and my brother-in-law is lucky that we returned it to him! It was WAY better than the step ladder. Everyone who used it is going out to buy one of their very own! Anything to make that blue trim paint disappear easier!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Gail!
xo
s
Meg says
Looks amazing! I love that slate floor so much! Really hope it’s staying!
Rachel says
Haha I feel your pain. Our trim is nowhere near as ugly as yours (it’s just ugly wood, thankfully nobody painted it blue!), but we spent the entire weekend removing it from one room (!!) so we can spray it white before reinstalling it. We chose to remove it because the longer stretches of wall required 2 or more piece of trim each, and whoever put it in wasn’t good at lining things up. Also, the trim was obviously installed before the carpet, so it went down all the way to the subfloor, and would have been impossible to paint. Now if only the floring fairy will take away the yucky carpet and replace it with hardwoods… ah my wallet can dream!
Also, I don’t know you you all are familiar with Veggie Tales (awesome kids show), but this is the first blue song that pops into my head. I’m afraid if I were in your shoes, it would be playing in my head all day long!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Ah, Veggie Tales. Good times.
xo
s
Laurie says
Night and day! You guys have really inspired me to tackle my own trim and doors which I’ve pretended I didn’t see for 6 years.
That sprayer sure is tempting too since I have 12 doors (closet and room) that need to be painted. I’m thinking that that project alone could justify the sprayer. Especially if I talke someone into going halfsies with me for their own door paintin’.
Would you say there is about the same, or more cleanup of the sprayer than the regular brush/roller cleanup?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I’d totally buy it just for 12 doors! That’s the perfect use for it! The cleanup is a bit more involved than cleaning a brush/roller (you have to flush it out with a special cleaning formula) but it’s doable :)
xo
s
Julia says
I love the change! The floors look a lot better too! I thought you had removed the carpet runner on the stairs?
YoungHouseLove says
We just pulled back the top stair to see the wood (make sure it was salvageable underneath) back when we did the hardwoods upstairs.
xo
s
Lilly says
Love how it is turning out! I have a question on this sprayer that is calling out to me in lazy painter’s seduction. I am about to paint our deck with a floor and porch paint (in an opaque grey – kind of like your first house deck). Do you think the sprayer would work on a project like that, or looking back are you glad you painted the front deck wood by hand? In my mind, I would do all the outlined areas by the brick, etc with a brush and then spray the bulk of it. It’s going to be pretty big at 16′ x 20′, so it might save me if it works! Thanks for the help!
YoungHouseLove says
I think I’d do that by hand just because the overspray is like spray paint (so I’d worry some of the aerated particles would get on the house and stain).
xo
s
Rosie says
I feel your pain! We are in the middle of awhole house of dark oak trim and 14 dark oak interior doors going white. DH helps prep and tape off (all the rooms are already painted except 1 and I dont have a super steady hand) but painting is all me. The master is all done so I know the result is so worth it, but the process still stinks.
Chez says
What a huge difference! I love what a can of paint can do. Buh-bye blue!
Lise says
Looks great! So glad to see you doing this, even though it’s so much work. We just bought our second home and all the trim is dark wood….
Shelley @ Calypso in the Country says
I am just blown away by the difference. You are right, the floor does look less blue now – in fact it doesn’t even look blue, it looks gray! Love it!
-Shelley
Amy says
Every time I read about you painting the blue trim I really feel your pain. I gasp every time and think “Seriously? There’s MORE of it?!” as I shed an empathetic tear.
We have some major trim-refreshing/installing/replacement plans as well. I’m dreaming of a day that all of my baseboard and trim will be glistening white….
Caroline says
Wow, this post gave me a flash of PTSD. I moved into a flat where the previous owner had liked, colourful and contrasting trim. The livingroom had turquoise and hot pink trim, door and shutters, and the hall had strong red (paired with bright yellow walls!). All of this was thickly slapped on gloss paint. I can’te even tell you how much white paint I got through, but it was worth it in the end!
ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com says
That looks a million times better and warmer, if believable!
Maureen says
I have a question for you… What do you think about different colored interior doors throughout the house? I want a near black for the living room/bedroom area, and gray for the rest of the house. when you are standing in each area, everything is very closed off, so you can’t see the different door colors from one spot to the next. Just wanted to see if you thought this would look crazytown.
YoungHouseLove says
I think that sounds cool!
xo
s
Ashley says
Oh man I feel your pain! I spent all of last week painting trim and doors, and I still have a few more doors and rooms to go! Definitely my least favorite project to do but my favorite when it comes to results! It lightened up my dated 70’s house like you wouldn’t believe!
Kim says
Wow, what a difference. Even the yellowed walls don’t look to shabby with the white trim!
Stacey says
It’s crazy how white paint can totally transform a space! It’s SO much lighter and airy. Love it!
Manda Wolf says
Looking good guys! You can already see a hugh differance. For some reason I think the stair spindles should be the same color was the front door. Just a thought.
YoungHouseLove says
That could be fun too!
xo
s
RLR says
Wow – the color of the slate really HAS changed! It’s a pretty gray color on my screen :) And I’m turning into a huge fan of grey, so I really like the “new” look! It is amazing to me what paint color can do!
Pamela Bertone says
Wow-way to go woman! You two are machines!! :)
Leigh Anne says
This song brings back hilarious memories for me. We would buy the video on TV (can you even do that anymore??) and drink every time they said the word blue. Good (drunken) times would then ensue! “Jammin'” by Bob Marley was another favorite…crazy kids!
Becky says
It looks great! I’m still working on my trim after (ahem) 5 years in my 1980 house.
I’m not sure what your plans are for the slate but I wanted to let you know about a grout paint I tried in my bathroom after reading about it on Pinterest. Basically it’s a paint/sealer combo and I just painted it on over my old, dingy grout and it looks amazing. It’s a bit labor intensive but I thought the results (in my tiny 1/2 bath) were worth it. It’s called Polyblend grout and sealer and I got it at HD. (You can search Pinterest for “grout paint” to see other’s results – I don’t have a blog or I’d show you mine!)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Becky!
xo
s
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says
I just used a product called Grout Renew (also from Home Depot) on a 30-year-old tile shower in my condo, and the grout looks brand new now. It totally transformed my old shower.
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says
I’ve seen it a thousand times, and yet I’m always so amazed at the difference a coat of white paint makes on things. The trim looks fantastic, and the entryway looks so bright now. The slate floor also looks great now. I wasn’t crazy about it before because it looked so blue. Now it looks like a truer gray.
I hope this doesn’t offend, but I just have to ask about the grout. I’m so curious. When you showed pictures of the bathroom floor, I thought, “Wow, the previous owners really did a number on the grout!” I thought it was just really stained like bathrooms and kitchens can get when they have grouted tile floors.
But I’ve noticed that the hallway looks the same way, and I can’t imagine that the previous owners were just that messy. :) So is it a colored grout? Kind of a mottled, non-solid color grout? And more importantly, do y’all plan on regrouting or refinishing the grout in any way?
Sorry…my curious mind wants to know. :-D
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we can’t tell if the grout is stained or just a mottled non-solid color (perhaps that happened over time because it faded in some areas – so not sure!). We definitely have our work cut out for us though – so we’ll keep you posted about whatever we end up doing (fingers crossed something works…).
xo
s
Sena dees says
I love the trim reset! Just a quick side note though- has anyone ever told you (sherry) that you kind of look like Emilia Clarke? Aka Dany from GOT? I just noticed it in that tired trim picture! Although to be fair you’ve got way better eyebrows.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Sena! I get that a lot and it’s the one person that I agree with. I watch the show sometimes and I think “yeah maybe we’re long lost sisters and she’ll share her dragons with me” – pipe dream? Maybe….
xo
s
Stacey says
Ah, so much brighter! Love how paint transforms a space!!
Gina says
I can’t believe how much better the slate tile looks now. A little paint really does go a long ways!
Wrenaria says
Looking soooo much better and brighter! Paint is so transformative! Totally worth the sweat and tears. I wish I could paint my walls, but I’m renting and that’s generally frowned upon in my area.
But I’m making do with what I got. My room went through a bit of transformation this weekend with the addition of a new bedframe though! http://wrenariantroves.blogspot.com/2013/07/bedroom-transformation.html
YoungHouseLove says
Love it so much!! That bed is gorgeous! And I love the curtains.
xo
s
Katie says
Loved the look of your first house. I think the interior door should stay white.
Megan says
We just bought a house that has hideous pink washed oak trim from the 80s. It’s the number 1 thing on my list to get done ideally before we move in since we have 2 small kids. After reading this I’m thinking now we need to hire someone out as this looks exhausting!
Dy says
:( Your RSS feed is now cut off to only the first paragraph of your post, which makes it immeasurably harder to read while on the go. Did you guys make a change?
Dy says
Er, nevermind. I can’t read gray text, apparently :P
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry about the glitch Dy! We hope to have it all fixed by this afternoon’s post.
xo
s
Remodeling Indy says
Favorite color! Love that people are being adventurous with their designing. black, white and brown were soooo last year.
Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet says
Wow. HUGE difference. It definitely looks so much brighter in there.
Alana says
Looks great. It’s pretty impressive how much you guys are knocking out so quickly.
Also, I love the “beginner” projects your new house has provided. As much as I loved the big projects you guys were doing on your last home, your project size surpassed were I am with our house (and my skill level/tool inventory).
It’s crazy how far you guys have come in such a short time. Especially John and all his building projects! Koodos.
Tanya says
We have a paint sprayer and we love it. We built a new home a few years ago and it was such a great investment. We used ours to prime the enitre house and paint the ceilings; it worked great. We did cut and roll the walls in because we felt the wall color wouldn’t be as forgiving as the white on the ceiling. Not sure if your able to but we can switch the spray tips and it makes a huge difference depending on the project. We have a trim tip that is awesome; really helps to cut down on the over-spray. I am sure you’ll come to love your sprayer even more when you use it to paint a piece of furniture that would have taken forever to paint by hand! Keep up the great work; it is looking awesome!
taetae says
Hmm, is there wainscoting in the foyer’s future? Seems like it would really finish off the bottom of the wall under that chair rail!
Way to go on your progress so far!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve definitely thought about it! Should be fun to see if we end up going with it!
xo
s
Nora says
Just curious, and I don’t mean to be rude…is that grout in the foyer/powder room dirty or am i seeing shadows? Dirty as in stained because it used to be light but has turned dark over the years? I have come to hate light grout for this very reason. Also wonder if you plan to keep the slate or replace it.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s definitely irregular (dark in some areas and light in some). We have no idea if it’s stained or just weathered from decades of use (maybe this is how it faded?) but it definitely has to be addressed. We’d love to keep the slate if we can repair a few cracked spots and deal with the grout.
xo
s
Ash H. says
Does your paint gun require a compressor? Or does it just plug in?
YoungHouseLove says
Ours just plugs in.
xo
s
Jenb says
I spent the last two weekends, the weekend of the fourth- and the weekend of our 23rd anniversary. (we are a little ahead of you!) painting trim glossy white. It is taking forever, but it looks so much better when it is done. After this, 3 more rooms to go!
Emily says
I have a crazy question. Have you ever tried priming with BIN? My dad was a painter and thought that was the best stuff for covering dark colors. I’ve literally covered dark red with one coat of primer and two coats of paint. I’m sure you get lots of advice you don’t need, so I’m not trying to add to that :-) I just wondered if it was something you had tried before and didn’t like. It’s been awhile since I’ve used it.
Although, I have to say too – reading your blog is one of the highlights of my day. I think my husband thinks I’m crazy when I always say “well, John and Sherry did…” :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Emily! We haven’t tried Bin but we’ll have to check it out!
xo
s
Renna says
Hey YHL~
Just a quick idea for all that painting….find a drywall or painting contractor to show you how to tape off a room so that NONE of your paint over sprays into other areas. After 30 years in the business, my hubby can tape off any area and spray acoustical or paint and it never gets past the plastic/tape (oh, and contractors don’t use green frog tape, they use contractor’s grade tape). If we didn’t live across the country, I’d send him over to teach you DIYers and save you lots of time and hassle. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Renna! We just thought spending the time taping/sealing off seven doorways (ahh!) would have taken us forever so we went right to priming and painting – but for rooms with fewer doorway (aka: every other room in our house) we’d definitely consider taking our sprayer for a spin :)
xo
s
Tracey says
I’m so impressed!! I’ve been working up the courage to take on my first painting project and paint our trim! I’m so nervous! It is a medium-colored wood trim which may have been glossy 20 years ago but was already fairly dull/dry looking. We’ve sanded everything down (um, in one room), and ready to paint.
The lady at home depot just suggested the paint and primer in one, but now I’m getting nervous that it won’t be durable enough. Have you always erred on the side of caution and done the separate primer or are there some cases when you’ve used the combo? Also, I was going to paint some built shelves, for which we got a few additional unfinished shelves. Your comment: “be sure to use a stain-blocking primer if it’s raw wood” means I should probably get something different and not just slap on the same paint, eh?
YoungHouseLove says
We always do them separately since we hear the two in ones are good for things like walls (they don’t have bleed issues and usually are durable enough for that surface) but they’re not as great for painting wood furniture or trim. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Debbie C says
Ah, the white trim looks so much fresher and updated. All those coats of primer and paint…and miles of trim to go…I feel your pain. :|
Korie says
Wow… Looks so great. Loving the slate tile..it looks so much better with the white trim. I too am painting loads of dark wood trim and doors… What grit sandpaper should I be using??? I am actually painting the doors black with white trim. Super excited but nervous how it will look. Wish i could send you before and after pics… how do i send you things… is there an email i am missing on the blog?? As usual you guys inspire me everyday!! Thanks and cheers on a great job…. Now go ice that arm Sherry!! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
I’d go with 200 grit, just to rough it up but not scratch it too bad. As for photos, you can check out the sidebar box with our faces on it to see how to contact us and submit reader redesigns.
xo
s
Kiki says
I always love how a fresh coat of paint can drastically change an area. Can’t wait to see what happens next in your house!
Jeff says
The old blue door looks nice too after everything else is painted white!
Jessica says
Wow, what a difference white paint makes! It looks great so hopefully the reward of how awesome the white trim looks helps lessen the pain that you must have felt at having to do 4 coats of paint! I think it’s crazy/cool that the white paint helped de-blue the slate and now (at least in the photo) the floor looks more gray. Also, I’m excited to see the back of your door painted blue. I think that’s going to be such a pretty pop of color in your foyer.
Abby says
Your new house is looking AMAZING! Great job!
Katie says
This looks great! The sprayer sure saves time! Would you guys ever consider using sprayer when painting kitchen cabinet doors? We are about to paint our cabinets white and were wondering if this would be a good alternative to brushing paint on.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I think they’d be perfect for that! I’d practice a bunch with the sprayer first on other things to get the hang of it though!
xo
s
paintergal says
Yay! I love it.