Trimming the Den

Here we are again.  In the den.  Seems like there’s always something to do down there.  This week I’ve been focusing on the trimwork in the den/sewing room.  If you recall, the window facings, baseboards, and fireplace surround were all medium brown stained wood:

And they were a little worse for wear.  So, me and my trusty paintbrush got to work painting them all out in a crisp semi-gloss white.  Starting with a whole lot of prep work, priming with Kilz, followed by two coats of paint.  Whew!  What a lot of work, just for trim!

First I filled all the knots with wood filler, sanded, and caulked all the seams.  It was my first foray into caulking!  Let’s just say, I am hooked!  I love my caulk gun…. better than icing a cake, and much prettier results. :)  After the caulk was dry, I continued with a coat of oil Kilz to cover the wood grain.

  

The next step was paint!  Two coats of Olympic’s semi-gloss “White”.  Very creative, no?  I don’t go for all this “Ultra white” and all those other shades of white.  I buy the white off the shelf and paint the trim to match all over my house.  Boom.  Done.

Lovely and light, don’t you think?

By the way, I don’t usually keep a magazine rack full of cat toys in the fireplace.  Honest. 

Bandit is thrilled with his new perch spot.  Little does he know that this behavior will be short lived.  He is modeling in front of our blue paint swatch.  Today I purchased three gallons of Olympic’s “Cosmic Rays” blue paint.  So, that will be the next step, obviously.  But for now, I am happy to gaze at my new crisp white trim and especially the new and improved fireplace surround.

What do you think?  I am super happy to have this step finished, finally!

I’ll be back with more makeover results after the painting process!

Thanks for stopping by…