Dining Room Update

I'm a bad blogger...  I really am.

Even worse, I'm a procrastinator.

What's it been?  Three weeks now?  

I knocked the office out in 12 days.  

The dining room?  

Not even close.  

Ugh.

Maybe its because I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed with the wainscoting, the holes in the walls, and figuring out that the hideous border at the top of the walls has to be painted over because when you try to remove it, it pulls pieces of plaster out with it.  ARGH!

I've walked away from it...  

A LOT.

Silver lining?

This is the worst room in the house, so once I get this out of the way, its smooth sailing.  But I have to actually do it first.

DARN IT!

Here are a few pics that I took yesterday.  I've since finished the primer on the trim and walls, I just have to do a second coat on the wood work.

Welcome to my chaos...

The bookcase is coming along...

The rest?

Eh.  Not so much...

This is the northeast corner and the front door...  On top of this window is where I figured out that the border pulls off the plaster.  Fortunately, I know paint WILL cover it up and you won't even be able to tell.  I painted over the border in office for the same reason and you can't even tell its there.  The white stuff all over the floor is the paint and plaster that I had to pick off yesterday.  FUN!  Not.  I can't tell you how unbelievably frustrated I was.  I walked away from it for a solid week after a huge chunk of plaster fell out.  LOL!

The replacement for the hideous 1950s front door is bought.  I'll save the description for the reveal.  I can tell you this, it is SWEET!

The gaping holes in the plaster occurred when we removed the cheap, pieced together trim that didn't match the rest of the house.  And look!  There's the hideous border in all its glory.  Hello, 1980s!  :P

My first thought when the plaster came off with the trim: 

Shoot.  Me.  Now.

(I'm definitely not one of those bloggers that tackles big, obnoxious jobs and makes it seem like its oh, so easy.  I wanted to puke when the plaster came off.  LOL!!!!)

This is why I decided to use the wainscoting.  It will add visual interest, is technically original to the house (just not this room), and will cover up pretty much all of the issues with the plaster.  It was either that or bust out all the plaster and hang sheet rock.  Nope.  Wasn't going there.  ;)

Speaking of the wainscoting...

It lays where I left it.  Some still has nails to remove.  Needless to say, the kids are banned from this side of the dining room.  I can just see someone puncturing a foot on a nail.  I'm still trying to figure out an easier way to scrape the paint.  Yes, I know.  There isn't one.  I can dream, can't I?

Ahhhh...  The wall beneath the stairs:

Like my mermaid?  A leftover from me trying to pull off beach decor in Iowa...  
And memories from a great night out with my mom on a trip back home.

Initially I thought about leaving the door for a little contrast, but whoever made the door...  Well, its not square and you can REALLY tell.  This is a small full bath under the stairs.  Gotta give 'em props for the layout and smart use of space.  Hanging the door?  Yeah.  Not so much.  So, it got a coat of primer too.

Trying to squeeze my ample booty in between here to prime is like...  Well, you can figure out a simile.  ;)  I have to paint the left side with my right hand, which is fine since I'm right handed, but I have to paint the right side with my left hand, which stinks.  Hopefully, no one will squeeze in there to inspect my painting job!  LOL!  I still have to figure out a way to get on my hands and knees to do the trim at the bottom.  Something tells me I'm going to wind up laying flat out on my stomach.  Fun times!  A perk?  A ginormous vent that dries the primer lickety-split!  :)

Advice time...  What do you think about painting the spindles on the stairs black?  Just for some contrast?  Sort of to make it look like wrought iron.  Plus, those things ALWAYS get filthy from lots of little hands and they are a pain in the HINEY to clean.  I'm considering it, but I figured I would wait until I got the whole room done, before I make a decision.  Since I'm going to paint the risers, I'm afraid there might be just a little too much white.  What do you think????

And the pocket doors...

I'm thinking about painting them too.  Maybe.  Not sure.  Little fingers smeared some primer on them (I love my 4 year old!), but I think I might be able to get it off.  What do you think about painting these a color?  I don't know.  Might be too much.  Although I have seen interior doors painted colors and it actually looks pretty good - although Scott might just have a heart attack.  He wasn't really happy that I was painting the trim in the dining room, but like I told him - it was either that or have to stain the replacement floor trim.  I'd rather paint.  :D

So, that's where I'm at.  Sad, ain't it?  Honestly, I'm just so overwhelmed with it, that I've had a hard time getting going.  Now that it's primed, I'm feeling much better.  Well, that and I'm getting sick of the living room looking like an episode of hoarders.  LOL!!!  Today, my goal is to paint the walls and finish painting the book case.  Then, I can start on the wainscoting with a vengeance and nag Scott to buy the rest of the trim we need for the floors and the book case.  So much for doing it with what I have on hand, huh?  Does it ever work out like you plan it?  ;)

I can say one thing for it...  The living room is going to seem like a SNAP after I finish this!  :)