“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.
Tirsa says
Aaah, so much better! Not only does the tile look better, even the old door color looks more acceptable surrounded by crisp white trim. Four coats of primer/paint. Ouch!
Amanda says
We are feeling your pain…or should I say paint? We just bought a house with LOTS of dark wood trim, and we have been priming and painting like our lives depend on it. :)
Just when I think I can’t paint any more trim (and my hand has turned into a paint brush clutching claw), we finish a room and it gives me the oooomph to start all over again in the next room!
Wishing you painless, and happy painting…and a VERY speedy finish :)
Jennifer : Creative Scatter says
I know I say this about everything y’all post.. but this looks amazing! The transformation is night and day! It looks so much more open and cheery!
Maggie says
We had almost the identical slate in our foyer when we bought our house, built in 1928, assume the tile was from the 70’s. There was actually hardwood that matched the rest of our house in great condition under our slate. we just chipped up the slate and refinished it.
Ash H. says
I already asked this somewhere, but now that you have a MILLION comments I can’t find my comment to see if you replied. I just asked if you had to hook the spray gun up to a compressor or if it just plugs in?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s an airless sprayer so it just plugs in, no compressor needed!
-Johm
Kate @ Savour Fare says
I kind of dig the pale yellow (though I’m sure it’s not great in person) – kind of a bright and sunny feel. Look at Benjamin Moore Lighthouse as a possible color!
Brittany says
hahaha ‘softly cry into our paintbrushes’…this post made me seriously sick to my stomach imagining the horror of painting all…that…blue….our bedroom trim was painted pink and it nearly killed me just to prime and paint all the trim for just one room.
Lesley says
I feel the need to state that yellow is my favourite colour (my open living room/dining room is (closest BM match) American Cheese). Now I can state that with all of the white trim and the grey floors, I really like the yellow look if the walls as they are. Any chance of that being the final colour?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s never out of the question! I think we’re game for anything right now (although they’d need to be repainted even if we kept that color).
xo
s
Bethany @ Dwellings By DeVore says
Loving these updates, what a big difference a little white paint makes!
lesismore says
My hand is cramping up just thinking about all that trim to paint. I have a whole house of dingy “white” trim to paint and I’m putting it off, but you’re inspiring me!!!
Debbi says
WOW!! This house is quickly becoming your home. The paint and floors upstairs are eye candy. This is going to be a beautiful home when you finish. What would you suggest for our 13 yo home that has real & fake oak trim, door, and cabinets galore? Paint or leave alone? This is not my dream and stay forever home…too many stairs after knee & hip replacements. Thanks for your time & talent.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s all a personal preference thing, but we love white trim, so we tend to paint any wood toned trim just to crisp things up.
xo
s
Lindsay Ross says
My old house had 3 colors of hideous trim: flat navy blue, flat forest green, and metallic silver! (Yes, you read that correctly, the kitchen had metallic silver window sills and trim! It took awhile to white it out : P
Stephanie says
Thanks- just what I needed to know. I’ll add a liquid deglosser to my next door frame (only 7 to go) :-p
Do your painted doors stick to the frames?
YoungHouseLove says
They didn’t but we hear sometimes they can (depends on how tight they are when you start and how thick your paint is applied – definitely do thin and even coats and give them lots of drying time!).
xo
s
Seaweed & Raine says
There may be still a lot of blue making you blue, but man does that look SO MUCH BETTER!!! Breathe in a sigh of relief. :) Looking good guys.
Sheree
Sarah @makingitmyhome.blogspot.com says
the lack of blue paint really brightens the whole entry way! the stone floors took on such a transformation from a different color paint. We have stone floors in our foyer as well and I cant figure out how to lighten the grout without regrouting the entire area-any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone have tips for Sarah!? Isn’t there some sort of bleaching or painting-over grout system at Home Depot?
xo
s
Lindsay says
Hi house painting party people, I just wanted to say that I spotted a graco truecoat sprayer in the clearance section at Lowes in NJ for $159 instead of $199. IT was weird because there were identical truecoats that were not on sale. I checked with an employee…the ones on sale are last year’s model and no different than the new model. Might be worth swinging through your local Lowes if you are in the market for a sprayer.
YoungHouseLove says
Woah, that’s awesome! That’s the one we bought (on sale) that we used for all the foyer doors and the trim upstairs. We love it!
xo
s
jennifer says
Looks awesome! It may seem like it took forever to paint, but from my perspective, you guys are moving at lighting speed. Great work!
Heather says
I feel like I remember that you did NOT prime when you painted wood trim in your old house. What goes into your decision to use a stain blocking primer or other primer versus just painting or using paint and primer in one?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes we didn’t prime and we should have since it took tons of coats. Now that they make low VOC stain blocking primer I’d always use that for wood trim or doors.
xo,
s
Heather says
Good to know! Any recs on brands for low VOC stain blocking primer?
YoungHouseLove says
Our favorite has been Zinsser Smart Prime, although we hear it’s getting harder to find. Boo!
xo
s
Toni says
Whoa, something is going on in the universe: The Pinstrosity bloggers used this same song in a post title recently! It’s stuck in my head once again… what IS the best way to get rid of it? Perhaps some Celine Dion to go alon with your Titanic-themed post. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
No way! That’s so funny!
xo
s
Megan says
I think your house is sighing in relief as each blue trimmed room goes white. I love the look of bright white trim and this is no exception. I can’t wait to see it painted and decorated. Are you going to hang your gallery wall in the hall?
YoungHouseLove says
We thought about that for a second but John thinks something big over the console would be really cool and I have to agree. But I’m determined to find another spot for the gallery wall!
xo
s
Amy Button says
In the last 7 days I’ve done two coats of paint on 7 interior doors. If only I’d had a sprayer! I’m totally jealous right now. They look fabulous!
Maggie says
Do you plan on keeping the slate floor? I also have “slate” in my entryway but I’m not really loving it. I think I’m just not sure how to decorate to include it.
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to work with it if we can replace/repair a few damaged areas and regrout it! I think it’s a nice classic neutral (like wood floors) so maybe just let the room come together with the floors as they are and see what you think?
xo
s
laura says
hello! Your place is realy coming along. I think it is so funny as I am doing the SAME projects right now on my condo . . .front door, white trim, bathroom vanity, painting doors. So anyways quick question: after painting the white trim do you find it holds well? I have done 2 coats of primer + 3 coats of white semi gloss paint. I have found a couple spots in the bathroom doorway that I have to touch up already – kinda bummed. Also we are finding we needed to use a “plainer” (sp?) to shave the doors down because after painting them they were sticking?? Ugghhh – does this happen to you? Any thoughts, suggestions? I am assuming that when painting trim, vanities, doors there is nothing i can put over them to protect them or is there? Thanks so much as you always are so great about answering my questions but I LEARN so much from your blog! xoxo laura
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! So sorry about the door sticking and those touch up spots. My only guess is if you try to keep the paint super thin and even it’s faster to cure up and not as thick, so it holds better (not as much chipping off or peeling) and there’s less sticking (six thin and even coats might be as thick as 4-5 heavier ones, but it dries up harder so it’s less tacky/sticky if that makes sense. Which helps doors not stick as much and keeps it holding to the trim (and not peeling off) as much.
xo
s
Sarah says
I stand in blue trim solidarity with you. My entire third floor’s original Victorian trim was painted that exact same shade of blue in about 1963 and nobody ever changed it until I came along. Took me the entire month of March to get it done when my daughter was napping or asleep for the night! I’m actually still getting the baseboard heaters finished. SO worth it though! :)
Liz says
I’m with you! Except we have two floors of that blue trim! ;)
AmAnda says
Maybe I missed it but did you guys use Decorators White for painting trim before? Any reason why the change to Simply White?
YoungHouseLove says
Every house’s lighting is different and in this house Decorator’s White just read a little less pure and crisp than Simply White when we held up the swatches.
xo
s
Andree says
Hiya! I have a sprayer question :) Upon reading how much you loved your sprayer, I went ahead and purchased a similar model from the same brand. I loved how it quickly painted all the trim, but both attempts made for a LOT of dripping. I even went ahead and purchased a nozzle made for thinner latex (which I guessed rightly was one of my issues), but the second is obviously user error. I need to practice more.
Then I got to wondering… did you guys need to do TWO coats (with drying time) to get the best coverage? Especially with my molding, I found that there was still a lot of un-painted areas (cracks), but not having budgeted enough time I had to re-paint everything by hand for the second coat. (I had already removed the plastic covers from the window and ceiling at that point and it would have taken more time to re-do them than to simply paint by hand…)
If you followed all that, thank you in advance for your answer :)
YoungHouseLove says
We did have a few areas that we needed to drag some paint over by hand (like the crack in the molding that the sprayer missed) but the more we use it the better we get about realizing how to get better coverage (ex: when we spray right in front of the item instead of up or down at an angle, it seems to coat those seams better so it’s all covered in one coat of primer followed by one coat of paint).
xo
s
Chelsea says
Ok, I know this is an older post but I was wondering if you had any advice to painting trim without tape. I need to do my whole house!! The walls were painted before the trim went up, but the trim got put up before it was painted. I was pregnant so no one allowed me to paint it before, but there was no one around to do it for me either! Its been four years and its time… haha! I never tape anything so I don’t know why the trim is giving me so much trouble! Any tips would be helpful.
YoungHouseLove says
I love a short handled paint brush (gives you a lot more control) here’s a post about that. And here’s a post with a video showing a few tips for how I cut in/edge. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Chelsea says
Thank you Sherry :-) I may have to give a short handled brush a try!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!
xo
s
Liz says
WHOA! You guys are living in my house! Brick colonial that has miles, and miles, and miles of that snazzy blue trim. I have right now 12+ blue doors that all need to be painted. Ouch. Love your tips about the sprayer. Your home looks great and it’s nice to know I’m not alone ;)
Mandie V. says
Hello there!
Looks soooo great. We are currently doing the same thing in our 2 storey farmhouse… and considering getting a sprayer becuase its taking soooo long. It looks like someone just took a hammer to it a thousand times so I have to skim coat with spackle to get it smooth, then quite a few coats of advance because its soooo dark.
What kind of paint did you use with your sprayer? What kind of sprayer did you end up getting?
Thanks guys :) Looks soooo amazing!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Mandie! Here’s a post with more sprayer info (what paint we use with it, the type, how it works, etc): https://www.younghouselove.com/2013/05/buh-bye-blue-trim/
xo
s