ShinySpork's Profile

Brilliant is right! My TV and half a dozen game consoles are finally going to look nice!

Wow! The empathy and creativity in these responses is incredible! To be honest, I felt silly asking the question but it had bouncing around in my head for months so I decided it would be better to look the fool and finally get an answer. I'm quite relieved I'm not the only one struggling with this.

I even took notes because frankly, I hadn't even heard of some of these things like citristrip or milk paint.

Like vlhaven, I have a one bedroom and open living / kitchen area. I don't have a patio, balcony or any outdoor space. The apartment community puts a premium on nicely maintained premises so hopping outside for some painting will probably not go over well. That said, it sounds like many people successfully paint indoors - albeit generally without spray paint. I think I can manage that with a tarp (a very clear requirement now!) and commandeering my kitchen table for the wall art I'm planning.

Now for indoor painting, clearly seasons play a large roll - I live in MN so northstory's comment about -30 windchills is well acknowledged. I've been in that weather and the feeling of mucus turning to ice inside your nose is not fun - trying to work like that would be literally painful (frostbite, anyone?). That said, I *really* need some life on my walls. Would an air purifier help while I paint (acrylic on canvas) or would that be a waste? What about some of those charcoal odor absorbers?

Maybe Someday's suggestion of artisan handtools is fascinating! There's no arguing that plenty of quality furniture has been made like that but I hadn't even thought about it. Such an interesting idea...

Clearly there's no getting around a little bit of chaos but I'm starting to think it's about planning and perspective. If I can prepare a solid weekend and accept a bit of chaos for DIY prior to starting, maybe I won't suffer the taunting problem AKK730 so perfectly described.

Thanks everyone! I'm looking at my space so differently now...and googling DIY orgs and trying to think of how to complete some projects at Mommy and Daddy's without Daddy finishing it for me in his style. :-)

What if you went with two coordinating colors but use the darker of the two on the wall with the peak and use the lighter on the walls where the ceiling is low? The one color on the low wall and ceiling should help get rid of that sharp low line. Meanwhile, you can have your fun color on the wall that reaches the apex of the peak so it doesn't visually bring the ceiling lower but still adds some drama.

Whatever coordination or color you chose, you'll need a paint that has serious depth. I think they may be called full spectrum paints or something but don't quote me in that. :-) Anyway, the reason I mention it is you'll want a paint that doesn't get muddy or grim when light gets scarce (and it will) because of the low ceilings. Even a white can do it, so I'm not talking about color in this paragraph. I have beige walls in my apartment and that paint is flatter than a poorly prepared pancake and it gets gray and dull in shadow despite being a light color.

What if your accent wall was painted with metallic rust stencil over a nice semi-gloss solid? That could add just enough glimmer without going too far. Personally, my favorite application was a simple moroccan trellis pattern in a dark gray metallic with purple influences over a semi gloss dove gray. That's not the pattern or color scheme you probably want but I wanted to explain how I've seen it done successfully.

You may consider a smooth yellow - not butter or lemon - with rustier red accent wall and copper metallics.