June 14, 2009


After finishing the five coats of finish on the floors and allowing it to fully cure, work could finally
turn to paint. First up, the trim and the front door, which received two coats of high-gloss white.

A close-up of the living room archway moulding, where the baseboard meets the fluted trim.

The archway now sports high-gloss "ultra pure white."

Two coats of gloss on the front door millwork.

Next came a very small job, but a satisfying one nonetheless. The eyeballs are installed in the
recessed light fixtures.

Installing the eyeball trim in the ceiling fixtures took only a few minutes, but it's one of those
"major milestone" tasks. Suddenly, the room felt like it was coming together.

Next, I installed all the quarter-round moulding along the floor. I painted it prior to install, and filled
the nail holes with white filler. I'll go back around and touch up the nails and saw cuts with paint.

I also purchased an oak quarter-round to install along the floor in front of the bookcase.
After staining it to match, I used three coats of shellac to finish it. Shellac creates a finish similar
to polyurethane, but it is alcohol-based, so it dries to the touch in minutes.
After three coats of shellac, I was able to install the piece within the hour.

The quarter-round is installed in the foyer as well, with a 30-degree cut returning it to the plinth block.

Four months after tackling the monster project of removing old wallpaper, the rehabilitated walls
are at last getting their paint. The color is "brown bread," a greenish khaki.

Another milestone...painted walls.

A picture with the flash shows more of the khaki than the green. The room feels much warmer and
inviting now that the color is up.

I like this picture...newly finished floor, new moulding, new bookcase, new wall, new plug and fresh paint.
It's a little snapshot of the entire project in one corner.

The moulding on the archway really "pops" now that the walls are colored.

A close-up of the archway. The flash reflects off the gloss onto the walls. Now that's gloss!

The baseboard tim stops by the window to accommodate heating baseboard I'll soon be installing.

The project is rounding third and heading home.

| Back | Top |